God is good and so faithful! We have officially closed on the purchase of 322 & 330 Geary Avenue. It’s important to know that the end goal is not just a building, but to take ground for the Lord. Rather than trying to gather people in order to accomplish a building vision, we’re looking to gather buildings in order to accomplish a people vision.
C3 Toronto started as a prayer meeting, a small gathering of people worshipping God and believing in the vision He’d given them for Toronto. The Vision Builders program was birthed in 2014; that first year’s theme was “Behind the Scenes of Hope.” It started our church down a path of giving sacrificially and believing that God would make a way—against all odds and human reasoning—for us to acquire a permanent building in the city of Toronto.
Eight years have passed and we’ve occupied over 20 temporary spaces throughout the city. Our church family has continued to outgrow small space after small space. From year to year, when the only constant we experienced was change, God never stopped doing the miraculous by answering prayers that, at times, felt almost too unrealistic to utter aloud.
We bought a house and donated its use to Matthew House. We were gifted a commercial shopfront property. We saw over $1 million given sacrificially by the members of our church family—three weeks before 2020, our initial goal.
The enemy would have wanted us to believe that all promises, all miracles, all hope were on hold. But God…
…is so much bigger than anything that could try to snuff out his promise. Despite Vision Builders 2020 being cancelled due to restrictions related to COVID-19, our team began to get traction in their search for a permanent location. The fire of hope remained alive that God was going to move again.
C3 Toronto started as a prayer meeting and one of our first and longest-running prayer locations was The Rehearsal Factory, 330 Geary Avenue. For 5 years, over 700 hours accumulated where we gathered together to pray desperate prayers, grateful prayers, hopeful prayers. We gathered to believe together for the vision God had given us for a permanent home in Toronto.
And then The Rehearsal Factory came up as a potential listing. The building we’d prayed in, worshipped in, cried out to God in. Through God’s miraculous provision, we have purchased that very building and the one next to it!
You’ll find the property located at 322 and 330 Geary Avenue in Toronto’s West End.
Just a short walk from transit and the Dupont and Dufferin intersection, it’s in an up-and-coming area and is easily accessible to the public. You’ll find local favourites like North of Brooklyn Pizzeria, Blood Brothers Brewery, Dark Horse, and a new development – The Galleria right around the corner.
With a span of 0.7 acres of land, the two buildings carry a combined total of 36,150 square feet. One 20,650 square foot building and one 15,500 square foot building.
The Details
So what comes next? There’s still a lot of work to do, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned about ourselves as a church, it’s that we remain faithful through it all. Read more about the financing, what the process looks like, and our vision for the future.
We have plans, and this is where you can partner with us to see this dream become a reality.
The construction budget is $1.5mil and we are on our way with $400k in the bank for these renovations. By becoming a Vision Builder, you can partner with us to see God’s vision for the potential of this building realized, reaching the full construction budget and breaking ground as soon as we are able.
No gift is insignificant—every sacrifice brought in trusting obedience to God brings Him honour and glory as it helps to see His vision realized. We are encouraging you to prayerfully consider what part God is asking you to play.
Step One
Fill in a COMMITMENT CARD BELOW—once you’ve decided on the amount, this is a concrete way to intentionally set your goal.
Step Two
Make a plan on how you’re going to fulfill your commitment. This can be as easy and as practical as setting up regular direct debit amounts.
Step Three
Continue to pray for the building of our future home. The journey has only just begun and we’re not done yet, but together we’ll see the Vision come to pass!