My Journey with the Lord

My Journey with the Lord

Pastor Dean asked me to share about ‘the work I am doing at the Friendship Community Mission in Whalley and what God has done in my life since coming to Friendship Baptist Church.’ I am honoured and feel a sense of privilege to be able to express to each of you, my friends here at Friendship, a journey that is far from being complete but prayerfully in the right direction. I have found that coming here each Sunday, seeing the familiar faces and warm welcomes, brightens my soul reminding me of the desire to do the will of God.It was about six years ago that I walked through the doors of Friendship and since then my life has changed. It was not instant or a complete 180-degree change but a slow, gradual change.

Likewise we have seen many changes here at Friendship…
A lot of things were different about this church building then,
It was long and narrow, with small windows high up on the walls
We had pews instead of chairs
And really nice orangey-brown 1970’s flooring

Also with myself, change happened…I am a different person than I was then…
I was set in ‘my’ ways, doing what I wanted
I was one who spoke in a rather rude, arrogant way (if you know what I mean)
And I mostly looked after #1 first, followed by doing ‘good’ things if they fit my agenda and time.

Changes happen…And now our church is a beautiful, bright new and updated place to worship, and yes, there has been many physical changes here and I’m sure there will be many more to come. And the same goes for myself…there has been many visible and attitude changes over these few years with myself and I’m also very sure there will be many more changes to come as I spend more time doing what the Lord wants of me.

I can tell you stories about my past that made me the person I am today…the good stuff and the not so good…but I don’t think that is necessary…we all have some wonderful, happy memories with our families and friends, accomplishments we have made and goals achieved… and we also have those little secrets that seem to haunt us, hanging in the back reaches of our minds, some with consequences that leaves us thankful we are still here today.





I would like to share with you today some thoughts, feelings and insights that I have had over these past six years… Many times I have wondered why different things happened in my life, sometimes, I wonder why I am even here, especially in this church… I was totally self-absorbed, thinking only of my own personal needs as I saw fit as a husband, father and provider for the family, but now I can see that God has been watching over me regardless of what I was doing at that time...He has always protected me from going too far down the wrong road.

Over the years many people reached out to me in different ways, and now, in reflection, I ask myself ‘Why did these people keep inviting me to church or to Christmas concerts and functions…and now I know why… Looking back, I know that Our Most Gracious and Wonderful God loves me, He has been planting little seeds in my path, seeds of hope and purpose to have Him in my life, these seeds slowly grew and become stronger eventually showing me the way to this church.

I was first introduced to Friendship through the street ministry of Friendship Providers in Action…I was asked to volunteer with the serving of sandwiches downtown, which I did and found to be a real eye-opener, I couldn’t believe that there was such pain and suffering right in our own city …the following Sunday I was asked to meet earlier before we went downtown and sit in on the service…which I agreed to as I was interested to see what this Baptist church was all about…having only been in a few churches in my time.

I mostly remember the music that first Sunday…it made me shutter, I had goose bumps; I didn’t know what it was at the time…but now I know, the Holy Spirit came upon me and let me know that I was home. That this is where I was supposed to be. Tears filled my eyes and God opened my heart to let me know that He wanted me…everything started to change in my life. It was the start of a slow, tedious journey but Jesus never gave up on me.

Each week I found that I just couldn’t stay away from church, I was afraid I might miss something…the drawing power was unbelievable…I continued to go downtown every Sunday following the service, doing my ‘good deeds’ for the needy but I had this emptiness inside me that needed filling. I didn’t know what was missing.






I really enjoyed the messages each week, but for some reason I can’t explain, I wouldn’t just accept everything at face value at first, with what these people were saying about God, Jesus and all that other stuff from the Bible. I questioned everything I could think of, I was constantly asking questions about the different beliefs, questions about Baptist religion and religious practices like communion and of course, what does Jesus have to do with all this…I had a brief religious background as a youngster being brought up a Jehovah’s Witness, which gave me some insight to the Bible but it was not the same as what I was hearing now, so I was getting confused with the different beliefs and doctrines that I had be taught as a kid.

I was encouraged to look into some of the extra programs that were offered like the Alpha program and the ‘rounding the bases for membership’ which would give further insight to what the church is about. I was starting to get a fairly good ‘secular’ understanding about the church, their beliefs and Jesus. I made a point of taking many different courses offered at the church to try and find answers to what Jesus is all about. Both Pastor Dean and Pastor Larry were always available for me as I kept pushing forward on this journey, picking me up as I stumbled and running with me as I ran ahead.

…But I still didn’t feel that I was doing what ever it was I was supposed to be doing. Something was missing…I thought I was doing everything I was expected to be doing, based on what I had been learning through all the Bible studies. I have participated in most of the programs and courses that the church had…I pretty well understood what it was all about in theory and I felt I was able to demonstrate a Christian way of life.

I was open about my beliefs at work and shared my thoughts about Jesus with my friends; I was free and honest about my actions and behaviour, realizing that I would be exposed to judgement from my peers. Actually many of my friends couldn’t believe the change that had come over me (in comparison to what I used to be like)…I was by no means perfect, but I tried real hard, knowing that some would like to see me fail and fall into sin.









Most of the people I had been in contact with at that time were either Christians from the church, believers who knew about Jesus but didn’t go to church, and the ones who didn’t care one way or the other about Jesus, church or religion. Many people, Christian and non-Christian seem to be more worried about living for ‘today’…money, things they didn’t need, holidays and making sure they didn’t miss out on the next deal, whatever it may be.

And I am aware that any of us can find ourselves falling into this same trap, looking for materialistic goals and aspirations. I was at a turning point myself as well; did I want to be a Christian in it for myself, to keep what I had close at hand or a Christian in it for Jesus, reaching out to others, telling others that Jesus is the way to Salvation???

I can honestly say that it probably took me about three years before I figured it out…I mean three years before it started to really make sense. What I’m talking about is the actual Gospel message of Jesus… Really believing, in my heart and soul, all what Jesus is about… I had the faith to accept Jesus as my Saviour but I felt there was more that He wanted of me.

I continued to faithfully go to church on Sundays and then going downtown with the street ministry. I found that Friendship Providers offered me the chance to reach out and help some of the ‘other’ people, ones that no one seemed to care about. I really enjoyed the interaction with many of the street people, learning about their ‘story’ and what needs and hopes they may have. We had an opportunity to get involved with an actual street church and I thought this would be great so then we can spend some time with our friends allowing us to get to know them better.

It would have been about three ago when the Sunday street sandwich ministry started a service in a street church downtown at Hastings and Carroll called the Gospel Mission…right in what is considered the worst part of town, the downtown eastside, skid row, crack alley…every possible drug, crime and problem can occur there at any given time. I can remember that as a young man in my early twenties, I used to go by myself, to the bars down there to ‘watch’ the drunks and I ended up getting loaded…I think Jesus had something to do with getting me back down there again, this time with open eyes and a soft heart.







What I found out is that many of the people down there were really not much different than myself…or maybe yourself ??? If you can be aware to the idea that if things had been a little different in your life; like maybe a mental breakdown, miserable upbringing by your parents, marriage problems, physical and sexual abuse, drugs and poverty…also some of these people have had work related accidents, permanent disabilities, job loss, you can go on and on…what if one of these things happened to you???… What would have happened to ‘me’ if somehow I didn’t get out from the bar scene that I was involved in??? Why was I spared the life on the street??? Now I was starting to see what was missing in my life…

What I have learned from being with many of our street friends is that they have a strong desire to get out of their situations and they don’t want to be there but they just don’t know how to get away from the life and many haven’t received the spiritual wisdom and guidance in order to move on. I have had many conversations with them, and the stories just shake you up, and thankfully I can say ‘that could be me’ but for the grace of God.

The downtown street church has since moved out to Whalley…the downtown eastside of Surrey…similar circumstances, different location. In the last year and a half, the street ministry has expanded beyond belief. Our night is Friday, but the location is open now seven nights a week with many different churches involved in the single purpose of sharing the love of Jesus with those less fortunate than ourselves.

When we first started only two or three people would show up but we refused to be discouraged, we knew we were there for a reason and sharing with just a few was a start to what was to grow eventually to as many as 80-90 visitors a night. We went out as the scripture says in Luke 14:23 ‘ Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full’ …we went up and down the streets inviting everyone we saw to join us and now the house is full, full everyday!!!

Each week we are able to bond with our friends through music, prayer, a message of hope …followed by a great meal. I have the privilege of being able to look out at their faces; they are usually listening intently as I share a simple message. I have found a theme for our church that seems to work…and this is familiar scripture to us,
Mark 12:30-31 ‘ you must love the Lord God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. The second is equally important ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’


“Love your neighbour as yourself, treat others as you would want to be treated… We teach brotherly love, sharing, compassion for each other and the principals laid out by Jesus through His Word, The Bible. I stress the importance of allowing Jesus into their lives to help them with the daily struggles that we all face, that He will guide them in the right direction and help them make wise choices. I look forward to Friday night as much as I patiently wait for Sunday to come around…Sunday is my day to get filled up with the Holy Spirit…the rest of the week is the time to let the Spirit out, telling others of the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

I have said this more than once… “not one of these people has ever said ‘ I want this life…a life of misery and despair …but they have it, not by choice but by circumstance. We may have been blessed with ‘they’ want…we should cherish what we have and share it with others. Give your blessings away and accept your reward; and that reward is the love of Jesus through the people you help. I used to think that I was unqualified to share or express my love of Jesus to others…but I have found out if you love Jesus, He will shine through you, it can’t get much easier than that.

I can go on with all the great and wonderful rewards the ministry has done for me but I would like to close with what you can do for the ministry in our church. We have many different kinds of ministry here at Friendship and we have the support and encouragement of our pastors and leaders to go out and tell the world about Jesus because it is all about Him. Each of us has been given a gift through Christ. Every single one of us is here for a reason, …why are you here in this church today??? I believe God has put us here for a purpose.

One thing I have noticed is the spiritual growth in the church, maybe it’s me growing spiritually as well, but I think the church itself is growing in a way only God through His Holy Spirit can make it happen. We are maturing as an inspired, spiritual church family and our ministry leaders are giving us the opportunity to challenge ourselves to go beyond our comfort zone. The Holy Spirit is alive and well here at Friendship and remember this is ‘your’ church, yours to take advantage of all it has to offer, I believe we should take that challenge and run with it.

Ephesians 4:4-7 sums it up quite nicely, that we are all believers in Christ, in one body (as our church) by following the principals laid out in the scripture with each one of us strengthening the other through our Christ given gift and His love for us.



We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and living through us all. However, He has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ.

Find that special gift, you may be surprised with what you have been blessed with… remember it is a gift from Christ and He wants us to use it!!!