Brief History

Five Stones Church started in Nov. 2003 when Pastor Rich Kao and his family, after pastoring for 12 years in Minneapolis, MN sensed a call to the West Coast to plant an international, multi-generational church.  After weighing several key cities (LA, San Fran, Seattle, San Diego), with God’s leading, they decided to move to Vancouver because of it’s incredible diversity, cosmopolitan mix, and reputation as a gateway city to Asia. With wife Memie, and their four children, they made their move in July of 2003.

In April 2005, with more families joining the start-up church,  the group found a new Sunday morning “home” in Douglas College (New Westminster) where the church met on Sunday mornings for the ensuing five years.  Being centrally located, well known, and close to the sky train, it allowed families from around the city to travel to the church’s services easily.

In May 2008, the church added administrative offices and a local compassion warehouse ministry called Dream Centre in Burnaby.   This served as Five Stones’ Monday to Friday headquarters while Sunday services were still being held at Douglas College.

Then in Feb. 2010, after several years of searching and researching, God opened a full-time space for the church right in downtown New Westminster — BC’s first capital and the original Vancouver — that would permit Five Stones to hold services and house all their offices in the same location.   Finding a zoned building that would allow for this was a multi-year search that required much patience.   But in the end, after much prayer and perseverance, God provided a place above and beyond what they could have imagined.   With a rich mix of heritage and urban vibe, 612 Columbia has become a wonderful new home for the 5 Stones family.  The church entered into a 5 year renewable lease for this building on Aug. 1, 2010.

A Word About Our Name

The church’s name comes from the classic story about David & Goliath in I Samuel 17.  Armed with five smooth stones, David was able to secure a dramatic victory over the giant Goliath with Spirit-inspired courage, creativity & simplicity.  As David brought great glory to God, so 5 Stones exists to glorify God and make Him famous in our city.

A Truebridge Church

Five Stones Church is part of a larger family of churches in the US (located primarily in the Midwest), called Truebridge.   Pastor Rich served on the church planting team of Truebridge for over 10 years before coming to Vancouver.  Rich and his family were sent out from City Hill Fellowship, one of the main churches of Truebridge.  For more info, click here.