Who we are

At the core of why we do what we do is the belief that church isn’t just a good idea, but a God idea. It’s where we’re together, where we belong, where we flourish. It’s a reflection of Heaven.

THE STORY

John Burns graduated from UBC as a dentist in1978 and moved to Williams Lake (in Northern British Columbia) to begin practicing dentistry. At the time he and his wife Helen were living separately. Their marriage was quite broken, and their future uncertain. It was in this season that they both encountered God and experienced a miraculous restoration of their relationship. After six transformational years up north, they returned to Vancouver with their three young girls, where they opened a dental practice in the Guildford area.

A home group that John and Helen led began to grow exponentially, and eventually led to the launch of our church in 1986. A handful of committed people gathered as Victory Christian Centre began. The first of many Sunday gatherings was held on January 5th of that year, in the cafeteria of the North Surrey High School. We eventually moved into the gym, as the church grew, and then purchased land and built a new building on 152nd Street at 68th Avenue in Surrey. This has been home since 1990.

We changed our name to Relate Church in 2009. Though much has changed and developed over the years, relationships have always been at the heart of why we do what we do.

In 2018, Angela Doell stepped into the role of Lead Pastor. She leads Relate Church today, alongside her husband Rod. Rod and Angela have been married for 31years and have two grown children, Madi and Miller (married to Lillie). They are passionate about creating home for others. 

The story of our church is still unfolding. Our commitment is to continue to create hubs of life where people are known, loved, and knit into God’s growing family. We are devoted to leaving this city and this generation better than we found it, through the transforming love of Jesus.