About
Centre Church.

One Church family.
On a mission together.

WHO WE ARE

Centre Church is a New Testament church in the heart of downtown Red Deer that exists to love God, love people, and serve the city in Jesus’ name. We believe the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus are central to God’s plan to heal and restore our fallen world, and we can’t wait to be a part of what he’s doing among the churches in Red Deer and beyond.

The Story of Centre Church

OUR STORY

HOW IT STARTED.

Centre Church was born out of Trinity Christian Fellowship, a church that gathered for over 70 years in Red Deer, AB. It’s a Bible-believing community that stands firmly on the shoulders of many faithful believers who laid the foundations that brought us to this point. In 2024, the leadership team sensed a clear call from God to step into a fresh adventure as Centre Church, pressing into all that He wants to do through us.

WHAT GOD’S DOING NOW

Centre Church officially launched on Easter Sunday 2025 with a group of around 40 people, asking God to do far more abundantly than we could ever ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20). Built on foundations of Word, Spirit, Relationship, and Mission, Centre Church longs to see lives transformed by the wonder of Jesus Christ, rooted in biblical truth and propelled by love for those around them.

WHERE WE’RE GOING

We believe that God has given us a vision to see 100 people come to know Jesus by the end of 2030 - whether these people stay at Centre Church or end up at one of the other churches in Red Deer, we don’t mind! We’re not building our own little kingdom, but God’s. We’re passionate about seeing believers live out their faith at work and at home, equipping parents to lead their children, and helping our city to draw closer to the ultimate and eternal source of joy and relationship: Jesus Christ.

Our Leadership Team

  • Brian Barritt at Centre Church in Red Deer, Alberta

    Brian Barritt

    Elder

  • Gary Heistad at Centre Church in Red Deer, Alberta.

    Gary Heistad

    Elder

  • Lois Bos at Centre Church in Red Deer, Alberta.

    Lois Bos

    Treasurer

  • Katie Taylor at Centre Church in Red Deer, Alberta.

    Katie Taylor

    Administrator

  • Jaydon Albrecht

    Church Member

  • Shafer Parker

    Interim Pastor

Farewell To The Betts

Dave and Sharaya Betts have served Centre Church faithfully for 6 years! They lead the charge diligently as they started their family, and we’ve had the privilege to watch them become parents to 3 beautiful kids! We’re incredibly grateful to Dave for his hard work in fostering a deep community, standing for our mission and values, and leading us into a new chapter as Centre Church! We appreciate Sharaya for encouraging Dave and taking care of things at home while he took care of so many. We will miss JJ, Emily, and Elliott running around and bringing smiles to our faces every Sunday!

Thank you Dave, Sharaya, JJ, Emily and Elliott for loving Centre Church so beautifully! We believe that we are all apart of one Body in Christ, so we are excited for what God is calling them to next in Red Deer. Centre Church continues to pray for them and celebrate our friendship with them.

Dave served as our Lead Elder at Centre Church. We are now in the process of looking for a new Lead Elder. If you or someone you know may be interested, please e-mail info@wearecentrechurch.ca for more details.

Interim Pastor - Shafer Parker

  • We’re happy to introduce our Interim Pastor, Shafer Parker! He and his wife, Jeanne, will be serving Centre Church during this period of transition.

    Shafer Parker is a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S., Shafer is a Bible teacher and Board Member for Koinonia Christian School, Red Deer and the Koinonia Christian Education Society.

    Having served churches in Canada and U.S., Shafer brings 40 years of pastoral experience to his Bible teaching ministry. He has an M.Div. from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis,Tennessee and has done the course work toward a D.Min. in Applied Theology with Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. From 1994 until 2003, he worked as a professional journalist and editor. Over the years he has spoken at a wide variety of events and has taught at seminaries in Russia, Ukraine, and Cameroon.

    Shafer has been married to Jeanne Hood Parker for 50 years. Together they are parents of two sons who have blessed them with seven grandchildren.

    Shafer will begin his time at Centre Church on Sunday, July 5, 2026.

Our Beliefs

You’ll find a brief overview of our beliefs here. If you have any questions or we haven’t included something you’d like to know more about, feel free to reach out to us by emailing us at info@wearecentrechurch.ca. We’d love to hear from you!

  • We believe in God the Father, Creator of all things, one eternal God revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

  • We believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God and one true Saviour, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, very God and very man.

  • We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, that He calls humanity to account regarding sin, righteousness and judgement; that He indwells, empowers and purifies believers, leading them into all truth; that His charismata (gifts of the Holy Spirit) are for believers today and should be exercised by the church according to the guidelines given in Scripture.

  • We believe in the creation, test and fall of humanity as recorded the Bible; that from birth we are spiritually corrupt and therefore totally unable to attain divine righteousness and eternal life in our own strength.

  • We believe in the Good News; that Jesus Christ suffered and died by crucifixion to pay the penalty for our sins, was buried and rose from the dead three days later; and that He bodily ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father as Lord of all, making intercession for His people.

  • We believe in salvation for sinners, by grace, through faith; that there is no way to receive complete forgiveness and eternal life other than through faith in Jesus Christ’s atoning death on the cross for our sins.

  • We believe the Bible transcends culture. The Bible is the Inspired and Inerrant Word of God in its original form. God continues to speak through the Bible. The Bibles is the definitive and final revelation, the source of doctrine and the authoritative standard for the Christian Church and for the whole world.

  • We believe that those who accept God’s free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, confirm their acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as Lord by public baptism in water by immersion. This is done in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord to the glory of God (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) as an act of obedience and expression of our faith and covenant relationship with God.

  • We believe that after death, believers in Christ receive eternal life in the presence of God (heaven), while those who die as unbelievers suffer eternal separation from God (hell).