Connection Church is the heart and passion of Pepe and Leah Martinez, our founding pastors. God called Pepe and Leah into a life of ministry early in their marriage. For five years, they planted a church in Chiapas, Mexico before returning to Canada. As they transitioned back into life in Canada, they wrestled with what to do next. Until Pepe began feeling the call of God to plant a new church.

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But do they return to Mexico to plant another church? Or possibly start an English or Spanish church in Victoria?

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Pepe hesitated to start an English-speaking church because of the language barrier with him being a native Spanish speaker. So they pursued a Spanish church in Victoria and ran it for a year. But the only people that attended were Canadians wanting to learn Spanish. Nothing was quite fitting together.

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For eight months, Pepe prayed about branching out and starting a whole new English church in Victoria. Finally, his pastor encouraged him to take a step of faith and do what God was telling him to do.

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So in 2014, Connection Church started out with a small group of people meeting on Sunday evenings to pray, eat and start building out the vision of this church. The church officially started Sunday morning services on January 7, 2015 and has been growing ever since.

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So much of the heart of this church came out of a desire to create a place where anyone would feel welcomed and where they would encounter God. Our pastors’ heart is to create a community that isn’t just a bunch of strangers, but a church family does life together with a heart to grow and serve in the Kingdom of God.