One prayer request we have kept before our prayer network has been the calling of team members to join us here. We dreamed that not only would God send us partners in ministry and in life, but that they would have skills and gifts that would complement what we bring.
Ephesians 3:20 always reminds me that our God is able to do more than we could ask or imagine. Yet, I need this constantly reinforced. I need to be reminded, “Dream bigger!” The events of the last month have been a testimony to this truth.
I would like you to meet Bart and Elizabeth Blair. They have been integral parts of the team at Grace Community Church in Mississauga for 9 years. Bart came on as the worship leader at the first Grace Brethren Church in Canada 6 months after they launched. In many ways he has grown with them, but before he even came to them he came with a background in music and the arts. He has a degree in music from the University of Texas and spent several years in children’s theatre before he found his way to Canada. His incredible giftings and passion for leading well have been blessed as he has grown a stellar worship team at Grace.
Together with his wife Elizabeth, they have three children: Sarah-Lynn, Silas and Ephraim. Elizabeth works in the mortgage field, (which complements my real estate business well) and has a passion for touching people’s lives with the love of Jesus. She has been a part of many different outreach ministries at Grace.
The story of how God moved them to begin their journey to Medicine Hat is fascinating, but I can’t tell it nearly as well as they can. Check out Bart’s Blog for their account of God’s calling them.
From our side, we had a hint dropped to us that they were thinking about Medicine Hat at the beginning of August, but obviously they needed a lot of answers – from God and from others with wisdom and discernment to be sure this was God’s will. They also needed to see for themselves what Medicine Hat is like. From a distance, it seems like a tiny town in the remotest part of the prairies (especially relative to Toronto, one of the largest cities in the world!) They planned to visit us for 4 days towards the end of August. We had an amazing time of hearing their heart, where they felt God was taking them, and in turn sharing what caused us to be moved of God to Medicine Hat and why we are in love with this city.
Finally, a week after they left, we got word: they were coming! Wow! They are coming on faith – they both have good careers, their children have good friends, but now they are stepping out as a family for God. They come with no promise of income, no guarantees, but they come because God has called and they have said, “Here I am!” They still need to sell their home and transition out here. We expect them to arrive around Christmas time (what a Christmas gift!) Suddenly we have two people passionate for the Lord, desiring to see a new church birthed here in Medicine Hat, connected with our fellowship, gifted and experienced in ways that we couldn’t imagine!
We’ve been waiting with bated breath to tell you about this but to be fair to everyone in their lives, we needed to let them make the announcement in their way. But now we can celebrate with you all! Thank you for your prayer and keep praying! If God can do this, what is next to come?
Tags: bart blair, core team, elizabeth blair, faith, fellowship of grace brethren churches, grace, medicine hat, mississauga
