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Reflection on Yellowknife 2014

Tags: SEND North, Story

Perched on the side of the Great Slave Lake in the center of the Northwest Territories -Yellowknife is the hub of arctic Canada. This remote city (18-hour drive north of Edmonton, Alberta) serves as a gateway to the small communities spread out across the NWT and Nunavut. The geography is flat, with many lakes and scrubby evergreens dotting the landscape. A cold wind from the north blows as snow covers the ground for much of the year, and the frozen rivers turn into the world famous ice roads during the long dark days of winter. Diamonds mines and government positions offer substantial incomes for the residents of Yellowknife and the many small communities that are connected by air. There are very few churches in Yellowknife and even fewer in the surrounding communities.   God opened the doors for us to begin outreach in this region as one of our families moved in this past year.  If you have been following our social media posts, you will know about the key leadership council retreat in Yellowknife.  This vision and strategy meeting took place two weeks ago.  The following is a summary of the event from our Area Director, Barry Rempel:

God blessed last week’s Council retreat in Yellowknife in so many ways.  Our visit was hosted by our teammates who are blazing a trail in Yellowknife.  They did a fantastic job of looking after all the details.  We were able to meet some local ministry leaders, giving us opportunity to hear what God is doing in NWT and introducing SEND North to them.  Gary Ridley led all of us in some training sessions on how to lead in a more focused way.  We also spent time in prayer for the various ministries of SEND North.  We also had some bonding time as a leadership team through an evening of Canadian five pin bowling, fittingly won by one of only two full—blooded Canadians on Council.  Even with a few glitches on the way home, everyone’s travel worked out ok.  God answered prayer, and we are so thankful! Here is one prayer challenge that surfaced during our time in Yellowknife:  You may recall that our “ vision planning” has focused on three communities in Nunavut.  While in Yellowknife, one of the ministry leaders there said, “I can pinpoint 23 communities in NWT and Nunavut that have no sustained Gospel witness and need somebody right now.”  You read that right—not three but 23!  Much like our experience in western Alaska, as we step out in faith God opens the door further.  As our good friend Dwayne King used to say, “Go and pray, and then pray and go.”

A big thanks to all of you who participated in our 21 days of prayer for this meeting.  We are in the beginning stages of God's expanding work.  Your continued prayer is much appreciated! Follow SEND North on social media: Facebook      Twitter     Google+    LinkedIn    Pinterest     Download the free report, God's Extreme Love; Life and Ministry in the Far North.