Three Questions is a semi-regular series introducing individuals across the NAB by asking them about their story, their ministry, and what they are learning. These features on members of our NAB family also provide great opportunities to pray for them as we get to know more of their story. This week, we hear from Melissa Chaffee, the newest member of the NAB’s Women’s Connection Leadership Team and a pastor of Congregational Life at McKernan Baptist Church in Edmonton, Alberta.
What’s your story?
Growing up in the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA, or the Alliance) ministry as a normal way of life was modelled by both sets of my grandparents and my parents. My grandfathers were ordained ministers in the Alliance. My parents served in several lay capacities in the church prior to my father becoming a full-time minister later in life. I gave my heart to Jesus as a 5-year-old and was delighted to be included in some of the ministries my parents led, assuming that my role in church ministry would always be as a volunteer.
As an adult, I loved the various ministries I had the opportunity to serve in, including leading worship and Bible studies and serving on the healing prayer team. I did not grow up with examples of women in formal pastoral roles, so the possibility had never even crossed my mind. All that began to change in May 2014 when I had a profound encounter with the Lord, and he gave me a specific word: “You’re going back to school. You’re going to be a pastor.” For context, at this point in my life, I was a stay-at-home mom with four sons aged 8, 6, 4, and 2. This calling seemed like an impossibility. But in 2016, God unexpectantly opened a door for me to begin in a part-time role in children’s ministry at my church. In 2018, I went back to school at Taylor Seminary for a master of Divinity degree. . . .
For more than 50 years, Church Investors Fund has partnered with local churches in Canada and the US for facilities development. And it is often through these new buildings and additions that NAB churches are able to proclaim the inbreaking of God’s Kingdom in their communities.
CIF recently highlighted an organization working in partnership with an NAB church in Anaheim, California. JMh Anaheim was first established by Pastor Nathan Zug in 2013, working out of Magnolia Baptist Church, to help connect faith-based organizations with other groups to serve the city. Out of this grew a handful of programs, including Better Way Anaheim, a partnership with the city that helps provide a pathway to work for the unhoused; Choice Market Truck, which takes food to high-need neighborhoods as a kind of mobile food bank; and Love Anaheim, which connects volunteers with organizations across the city.
In fact, Love Anaheim – as well as Love Orange in Orange, California – was a big part of connecting students at The Gathering last week with the service projects they worked.
You can read the full story from CIF – and find out more about their ministry – by following the link below.
(Please note that the date and location of Module 3 has been updated to reflect the latest information.)
Blue Ocean is a one-year introduction to what it means to join God on mission, to be formed into a follower with the character of Christ, and to learn to reach friends and neighbors with a robust Gospel in our culture. We meet three times a year in three different cities across the United States and Canada for multi-day retreats. Blue Ocean includes pastors, leaders, and regional ministers from across the NAB. Each cohort represents a cross-section of regions, church sizes, and ministry styles. The discussions are both encouraging and challenging.
Module 1
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Dates: October 21–24, 2025
Topic: Missional Theology – Joining in with the God of Mission
Module 2
Location: TBD
Dates: February 1–4, 2026
Topic: Missional Formation – Becoming Like Christ
Module 3
Location: Medina, Ohio
Dates: May 5–8, 2026
Topic: A Missional People – Becoming a Sent People
There is no cost for Blue Ocean, though participants are responsible for covering their travel and accommodation costs. All other costs are covered by the NAB.
