The new senior pastor of the Estevan Alliance Church certainly picked an interesting time to come to the community.
Craig Hollands started on the job on April 1. He said he and his wife Amy have really enjoyed the community thus far, even though they haven’t been able to experience all that Estevan has to offer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Estevan made a positive impression on them when they came here for the first time in December.
“We thought ‘This is definitely a city we could make home,” said Hollands.
He started a week and a half before Easter Sunday, which would normally be one of the church’s biggest services of the year. This year, though, he was trying to figure out how to do an Easter Sunday service online.
The technology was difficult at times, but the service turned out great.
“That was our second week of live streaming, so we had some hiccups that we had to learn from. It was a memorable service from that point of view,” he said.
As for Good Friday, Estevan Alliance participated in an inter-church service organized by Living Hope Community Church, in which Hollands pre-recorded a brief video that was incorporated into a longer video and posted to YouTube.
When he took the job in Estevan a few months ago, Hollands never imagined he’d spend so much time with the church’s tech people to figure out live streaming and cameras for his first services here.
The congregation members have been great to deal with. They have been calling to talk to him, and the church has hearts plastered on their windows.
“We’ve had people dropping stuff off on the doorstep and ringing the doorbell, and then as people have been getting my contact information, I’ve been getting emails and phone calls. Everybody’s been saying the same thing: we look forward to meeting you in person, but we’re glad you’re here.”
Even though church buildings might not be open to the public, churches are still looking to love and care for people, just in different ways.
This is the fifth church that Hollands has served in during his 30-year career. He began in ministry shortly after marrying Amy, and worked at two churches in B.C. before coming to Saskatchewan.
Estevan is his third church in Saskatchewan, after Carrot River and Prince Albert.
Hollands said he has a love for people that he brings to the job. He has also handled a variety of duties, including preaching, music, children’s ministry and administration during his career.
“Really, my overall passion is a love for Jesus and helping others to experience and love Jesus,” he said.
And he believes that getting to know people, building relationships and caring for them is the best way to share his faith with others.
