Montréal Teens: From Meal Prep to Mission

A church kitchen in Montréal, Qué., whirs to life every Friday with the sounds of knives on cutting boards and pots clanging as church members prepare meals for seniors in the neighborhood. And, this past summer, teenagers joined in, thanks to a ministry partnership with Resonate Global Mission partner Mission Montréal.

The church, Église de Dieu du Mont Sinaï (Church of God of Mount Sinai) in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, runs a program called “Healthy and Safe Living at Home” that provides home-cooked meals, cleaning services, accompaniment to medical appointments, and friendly visits for 70 seniors in the neighborhood every week. Part of this work includes providing 150 meals each week—a tangible way to share the love of Christ in a city where only 4 percent of the more than 4 million people living in the metropolitan area attend church.

Mission Montréal—an initiative of Resonate, Christian Direction, Diaconal Ministries Canada, Classis Eastern Canada, and First Christian Reformed Church of Montréal—exists to spur on mission in the city. One of the ways they do this is by supporting churches as they engage with their communities. When Mission Montréal leaders heard that the church was short on help for meal prep on Fridays, they stepped in to help fill the need by creating a paid internship for eight teenagers. 

“This project – birthed by a church, working with the neighborhood and involving many partners – is such a great example of how a church can do community outreach,” said Jacynthe Vaillancourt, a Resonate-partner ministry leader who works with Christian Direction and leads the Mission Montréal initiative. 

Église de Dieu du Mont Sinaï’s vision of “going ‘into the world’ and being salt and light in the neighborhood is aligned with how we see gospel work and what it is like to bring good news to the community. . . . The impact that this project has is amazing,” she added.

The internship created by Mission Montréal leaders provided much-needed help in the kitchen by bringing in eight teenagers who helped with preparing, labeling, and packaging meals as well as cleaning up. 

The paid internship was meant to give the teens not only job experience to help build skills, but also an opportunity to serve their community through hands-on ministry work.

Vaillancourt said they have seen a lot of growth in the teenagers throughout the summer. One teen in particular was initially quite stubborn about mandatory rules, such as putting away her phone and drinking water on hot days. She mentioned she didn’t like cooking—but within a short time she was working hard in the kitchen.

“She worked without any complaints and was really good at the work she was doing,” shared Vaillancourt. “She mentioned at the end of the internship that she wanted to do it again next year.”