Mosaic started as a Sunday evening service at Tenth Avenue Alliance Church in 1998. In 2004, we were birthed as a church while remaining at Tenth, where we continued to foster a budding community while enjoying Checo Tohomaso's soul-inspired worship music on Saturday nights.
By 2006, our vision had grown beyond the perimeters of Tenth's building. When Mosaic moved out from under the ministry of Tenth, it was with the hope of seeing those often left on the margins of churches moved into the centre of church life, while encouraging those already central to become even more involved. We called it an experiment in social inclusion, dreaming of people from all walks of life getting to know each other, serving each other and worshiping Jesus together.
We have called ourselves Mosaic: First, because we know that we are all broken - some deeply wounded, others with scars not as visible but equally needing God. And we know God as an artist who takes this brokenness and re-creates us into a masterpiece, reflecting his glory. Second, we believe God is joining our lives together into a vibrant community. We come with all of our differences, our darkness and light, gaps and gifts, and watch God make us into something beautiful - a Mosaic.
Mosaic estabilished itself in "@ the space," an upstairs loft in the commercial area of false creek. There we continued our experiment of social inclusion, welcoming people from all walks of life into a faith community where they could share in one another's journeys. Don Cowie led Mosaic through times of growth, deconstruction, challenge, and beauty. After many years at the helm, Don stepped down from a leadership roll in early 2014.
In the fall of 2014, Mosaic pushed by gentrification and an agressive landlord, found ourselves in search of a new space to call home. We morphed from a warehouse church community into a basement church community, as we landed at our new location in the recently renovated Strathcona Church - a church building shared by a number of church communities.