What God Is Doing Among York County's Alliance Churches
“What a beautiful picture of what happens when the Spirit of God is present among his people. As I was driving home, I felt in the Spirit that God opened up the heavens tonight at our gathering at Lake Redman and something was loosed in the churches represented. May God’s will be done.”
- Lee Manuel, Pastor at Cassels Community Church, following a York Region prayer gathering, June 2026
Today's post is written by Brian Kannel, Lead Pastor at York Alliance Church.
Over the last decade or more, but particularly in the last few years, God has been doing a new and beautiful thing among the Alliance churches in York County.
What began over 15 years ago with a monthly lunch for pastors and licensed workers has grown into something much greater.
How We Got Here
Several years ago, we gathered as a group of church leaders and prayed for one another and particularly for York County. We dreamt together in prayer of where and how God might move, and we repented together for the ways that we had grieved His Spirit by not leading with courage and how, as church leaders, we have let pride win out over humility.
The district’s “Essentials One Day” in the Spring of 2023 created a jumping-off point for the Church Design Lab (CDL), which was a pivotal 10-month experience for our pastors and church leaders to work both individually and together on how we would take the call to make disciples seriously in our churches and in our region.
A Story of Partnership
Following the completion of the CDL last summer, we worked together to develop a framework that captured in writing the relational connections that have grown between us. Each of us committed to that framework, and while we are still certainly operating as independent churches, we’re also working together as a team in some new and significant ways.
For instance, when Lee and Maureen Nanfelt retired last December, ValleyView Alliance wasn’t just the responsibility of the district.
Each of our churches felt a level of responsibility to step in and serve in whatever way we could.
A pastor from one church stepped in as the transitional leader. Two regional churches were represented on their search committee, with another regional pastor leading them through the PEAK evaluation. Several churches participated in filling their pulpit each week starting in January, and we also provided worship leadership support once a month over the course of the year.
Ultimately, ValleyView’s leadership determined that the best move for their church going forward would be to join the York Alliance Family of Churches rather than calling a pastor on their own, establishing an even deeper partnership with four of the churches in our region.
The First Gathering
All of this led to a beautiful Wednesday night this past June. We wanted to gather our folks together from each Alliance church in the county to celebrate the way that God was moving among us.
We reserved a pavilion at a county park, pooled our resources together and provided a BBQ pork dinner for the over 200 people. A worship team then led us in praising Jesus in the middle of the park. We then listened to stories of God’s work from lay people representing each church in the region, heard from each pastor a few ways to pray for each church, and we prayed, again and again, with all one voice, trusting God to continue to do what only God can do.
What’s Next for York County
Over the next year, we are planning a variety of ways for our churches to connect and live on mission together. This fall we are going to bring together our leadership teams for a Sunday evening dinner where we can dream together about the way God can use our relationships to forward the Kingdom in York and Adams County.
In January we will be hosting a Regional Missions Conference, featuring international workers and ministries that are connected with one or more of our churches, to give all of us a bigger vision for God’s mission in our current world.
We have a Saturday on the calendar in the spring when all our churches will serve York County through partnerships with local mission organizations. We are also planning several summer mission trips to serve both in York and around the world, and we hope to have representation from many of our churches on those teams. And, of course, we are planning to gather to eat together and pray for one another once again next summer.
“I felt in the Spirit that God opened up the heavens tonight at our gathering at Lake Redman and something was loosed…” I believe that is what has already happened, and what continues to happen in the York Region. Thanks be to God.