Our Purpose

The purpose of Trellis Foundation is to be a catalyst of biblical, intentional and innovative discipleship in the Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada.

We believe being a disciple of Jesus is a great adventure. An adventure that leads to the kind of life we’ve always wanted. (John 10:10)

Following Jesus is what discipleship is all about. The definition of disciple is simply a person who is learning from Jesus how to live their everyday life. A disciple is a student whose teacher is Jesus.

“A trellis is a tool that enables a grapevine to get off the ground and grow upward, becoming more fruitful and productive.”
–Peter Scazzero

Our desire is that Trellis Foundation, in the legacy of Covenant Bible College, would support growth in God’s kingdom in amazingly fruitful ways. Sometimes all that is needed is getting an idea ‘off the ground’. We believe this is what we are to be about. Trellis Foundation will be distributing grants to Canadian Covenant charitable organizations (i.e., churches, camps, and other future organizations) doing the crucial work of discipleship in Canada.

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing… This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.” –Jesus, recorded in John 15:5,8 MSG

Our Core Values

Our criteria for distributing grants flows from these three values:

❖ Biblical Impact

‣ We believe that Scripture is both our food for life and the way that God shapes and teaches us. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to be immersed and guided by his word. We are also called to make and mature other disciples. We value biblical inspiration and grounding for the work of discipleship. We value a biblical awareness of what God is doing among and around us so that we can join in on the movement of God in his kingdom.

❖ Intentional Planning

‣ Dallas Willard said, “You don’t drift into discipleship to Jesus. You make a decision.” Likewise, the work of deepening disciples calls us to be deliberate. We value the opportunity to be a catalyst toward intentional planning so that people, leadership, time and capacity resources come together for good. We value the potential for communities to come together with renewed energy as they invest themselves, their finances, their space, and prayer in the work of discipleship.

❖ Innovative Ministry

‣ Culture is always in flux. Generations change. Paradigms shift. There is an ongoing need to ‘speak the language’ of those with whom we are communicating. We value innovative ministry that addresses the heart of needs in our world, the growing edges of our society, and reflects creativity within the context of a specific church or ministry community. It is both the challenge and the opportunity we have to try new things in new ways for the sake of God’s kingdom.

We are eager to serve as a trellis on which the Spirit-led growth of Canadian discipleship can flourish and bear fruit for Jesus’ kingdom.

CATALYST: a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing and permanent chemical change

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