God Provides a Building

 

This post is an excerpt from SEND Canada's 2020 Annual Report.

 

-----

In an open hall where children used to develop their muscles through running, jumping, and climbing, Macedonian believers now are developing spiritual strength as they meet in their own church building.

Word of Hope Church started in 1997 as a Bible study in a fast-growing suburb of Skopje. A decade ago, the church had grown to the point where it needed a building - and so it started a persistent effort to raise funds.

God provided for this church building through everything from matching grants to a sponsored 30-mile run, to a Macedonian-focused campaign called, “Give Me One More Brick.”

God Provides a New Building

As funds from hundreds of generous donors rolled in over the years, church members kept their eyes open for the perfect building. Last year, they found it! Bambini, an indoor playground near the church’s cramped rental, had put its building up for sale after COVID made it impossible for children to play together indoors.

Believers Persist in New Opportunities

Weekly worship services started in last December. The new space gives the church room for outreaches, including language classes, orphan ministry, and fitness groups.

Josie, from Ontario, served in the church as a short-term worker until March 2020. Josie commented, “I remember the complexities of having two separate rental spaces for the church’s ministry. While the believers made it work, having one larger building will be considerably more convenient and aid the ministry.”

Through God’s provision and the believer’s persistence, the building will allow the congregation to easily triple in size —important, as the surrounding neighborhood is now three times as big as it was when that Bible study started in 1997!

Additional Posts

By Michelle Atwell December 23, 2025
When God First Widened My World: Remembering Urbana 1996 I still remember the winter air. It was December 1996, and I was a junior at Oakland University in Rochester Michigan, serving as a small group leader with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship—the ministry that had profoundly shaped my faith since my freshman year. I was growing spiritually, serving faithfully in my local church, and stepping into leadership on campus. Attending Urbana felt like the natural next step. Urbana only happened every three years, and I knew that once I graduated, I might miss the chance altogether. My church believed in that moment enough to cover the cost. They entrusted me—and my campus minister—with a van full of college students, driving from Detroit to Champaign-Urbana during the quiet days between Christmas and New Year’s. I had heard the stories: thousands of students, passionate worship, a clear call to live fully for Jesus. What I encountered exceeded every expectation. A Campus Taken Over by the Kingdom Buses poured in from every direction, unloading students onto a snow- covered campus. Dorm rooms filled. Cafeterias buzzed. The entire university seemed overtaken—not by noise or spectacle, but by a quiet, collective hunger for God. For the first time in my life, I met students from places far beyond Michigan— Harvard, Loyola, Wheaton. My world was expanding in real time. I don’t remember every speaker or session. What I do remember is the unmistakable clarity of the invitation. God was bigger than I had ever imagined. Not just personal. Not just local. He was King of the nations. And there were people—millions of them—who had never heard His name. The question was simple, but it felt weighty: Would I commit my life, in whatever way God asked, to the Great Commission? Explore God’s leading toward the nations with a SEND missions coach.
By Diaspora North America November 4, 2025
Opening Your Homes This Thanksgiving 
By Diaspora North America October 7, 2025
Creating Safe Spaces for Conversations 
Show More