Browsing Category

The Church

Bible The Church

God Hears You

Posted on January 19, 2016

Have you ever wondered if God hears you when you pray? Maybe you are reading this, and you don’t even believe in God. Maybe you are not a big fan or prayer, or you don’t know how to pray. For me, prayer is a discipline. It doesn’t always come easy, and to be honest it isn’t always my first response when experiencing difficulties. Maybe you are someone who has been praying about something important to you for some time, but it seems as though God isn’t listening to you. It can be frustrating at times, and I am sure we have all experienced the overwhelming feeling like God isn’t to be found anywhere.

Have you ever felt like giving up on prayer?

Last week I was dreaming a little about our future as a family. I was thinking about the kids and what they will be like as they grow older. I was envisioning the future Jamie and I might have and a thought popped into my mind. Rather than telling Jamie about it right away, I decided I was going to pray about it. My prayer was focusing on asking God to open doors for us to be able to share our story. Our hope is that as we walk this journey of ours, that we can somehow be a source of encouragement and support to those who may need it. God answered that prayer! Today, I received a phone call from a gentleman asking me to come and share a little of our story at an upcoming banquet. How awesome is that! God heard my prayer, and He answered me.

If you are someone who finds praying difficult, understand you are not alone. Start small. Just start by thanking God audibly for all that He has done. Thank Him for who He is, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Ask God for the grace to continue on.

1 John 5:14
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”




Life The Church

What Would You Do?

Posted on June 4, 2015

I have been giving a lot of thought to how our local church can have a greater impact within our community.  Our city is filled with people who are lost, just waiting for someone to reach out to them.  We have issues with gang violence, prostitution, drug addiction, homelessness issues and the list could go on and on but do you know what our biggest problem is?  We are considered to be located in the Bible-belt of the Lower Mainland in British Columbia, Canada.   It is sad when the church isn’t  fulfilling its God given mission… rescuing people.

Have you ever wondered why it seems as though churches are more concerned with the people inside the church walls rather then the ones outside the walls?  I once heard a quote that went something like this, “most people don’t go to church because no one has ever invited them.”  Ouch!  Did you know that there are people right now who are waiting for us to reach out.  People who are dying on the inside.  People who are tormented because of their past.  Marriages that are ruined because of unfaithfulness.  Families who are in the process of loosing their homes.  A young man or woman who has heard about Jesus but no one has ever introduced them to Him.

There is a story in the book of Mark which moves me when I read it.  Mark 2.  It is the story of the paralyzed man who was lowered through the roof by four men.  Now the Bible doesn’t say specifically these four men were friends of the paralyzed man but for conversational sake, let’s say they are.  These four friends are committed to seeing their friend get what he needed.  He needed an encounter with Jesus.  they were willing to do whatever it took to get their friend to see Jesus.  They pressed through the crowd, they were innovative in their thinking, they were committed!  What is so fascinating about this story is that it was their faith that healed their friend.  Listen to verse 5, “Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child your sins are forgiven.”  That was it.  Jesus saw their faith and he responded with healing.  Jesus doesn’t respond to our need, He responds to our faith!

There are people in our lives just like the paralyzed man.  We have friends, family members, co-workers, there are even complete strangers that God is calling each of us to be like one of those four men.  Someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to see salvation come to those in need.  I want to encourage you to read through Mark 2:1-12 and just meditate on this portion of Scripture today and allow God to speak to you and direct you to people who need you to be a friend.

Is there someone in your life right now who is waiting for you to be like one of these four men?

Life The Church

Effective Habits for Developing Leaders

Posted on March 30, 2015

One of the very first decisions I made when I became a leader was I did not want to stop growing.  John Maxwell once said, ” Leadership is influence,” and that, “everything rises and falls on leadership.”  A lot of times within the ‘church world,’ we focus our attention on the spiritual or character development of a leader.  Now, these areas are quite important and I am not trying to negate them, but, sometimes we overlook some of the more practical aspects of leadership, namely effective habits.

Often times leaders are not born, they are developed and I want to share a couple of practical, effective habits I believe every developing leader should have.  I have compiled them in no specific order.

1.  Personal Reading

this is an effective habit which can increase insight, knowledge and understanding

2.  Prayer Life

you position yourself to hear from God.  You gain fresh insight and revelation

3.  People Awareness

be aware of the world around you

be aware of what others are going through as they may need you to point them to Christ

4.  A Continuation of Learning | Developing

as a leader it is important to continue to grow

5.  Accountability

develop authentic relationships

develop prayer partners

allow others to speak into your life

6.  Meeting with a Mentor

you gain a different perspective

someone who will listen to you

7.  Journal

you can track your progress

write about what you believe God is calling you to do

These are just a few of the effective habits that every developing leader should develop.  What would you add to the list?

Blog Life The Church

I’m Going To China

Posted on March 7, 2015

I can’t stop staring at the title of this post. Never in my wildest dreams did I think a trip like this would ever be possible. In April, I am traveling to China with a team led by my friend Casey Bjorndal of Gideons International In Canada. The church in China is the fastest growing church on the planet, but they have a great need for the Word of God.

Watch this video to see what we will be doing.

Would you consider partnering with us to build God’s Kingdom in China. Every $5 given will place a Bible in a believer’s hand who cannot afford one. No amount is too small.

Click here to partner with us through donation.

Thank you for your consideration.