Thank you all so much for taking part in the ministry here in Canada. It’s an honour to serve here with Pastor Johnston and the great folks of Gospel Light Baptist Church. Weekly, we are meeting many different people from all national and religious backgrounds as we go out soul winning. On one street, we frequently meet Chinese, Korean, Iranian, and Russian folks, as well as other folks from Europe and Africa. This mission field is teeming with people who need to be reached! One Thursday night out soul winning, my soul-winning partner and I met an Iranian man named John, whom we soon discovered to be a Christian. His words were, “I was praying for God to show me a church nearer to my house that I could go to, and then you came to my house.” He’s come several times since meeting him; please pray that he will get grounded in the Word, grow in grace, and help us reach other Persians with the Gospel. A Chinese man named Andrew, whom I met out on Sunday afternoon soul winning, has been coming off and on for the past couple of months. Culturally, he’s a Buddhist, but he’s curious about Christianity. Please pray for him to go beyond curiosity into saving faith in Jesus Christ alone. Please pray for others we’ve witnessed to or have given Gospel tracts to. There is one lady we met whom I forgot to ask prayer for in our last update; her name is Tekla (I’m assuming I’m spelling that right). She’s a Kenyan Catholic nun. We had a good conversation with her, perhaps the most open Gospel conversation I’ve ever had with a Catholic nun. Please pray for her salvation.
Teen IMPACT has started up again. This is possibly my favourite time of year, as I get to teach an extra class and spend more time investing in our youth. We will start the season studying “Truths for Life from the Book of Psalms” and end the season studying “Truths for Life from the Story of David.” To reinforce the truths we’re learning, the teens will be memorizing verses from the book of Psalms, as well as Journaling Through the Psalms, which is a challenge to read through the Psalms daily throughout the program and journal about what God is teaching them. They have already memorized several verses of the Psalms, and some have committed the first several Psalms to memory. I’m so thankful to be able to work with our teens at GLBC. It’s truly an honour and a privilege. Pray for God’s power as we seek to train the next generation of Canadian youth to reach Canada for Christ!
Pray for labourers in Canada. This is a forgotten mission field that is in desperate need of pastors and church planters. Here are a few statistics about the great need in Canada: (1) On average, 2 churches in Canada close every day. (2) By 2029, one-third of Canada’s churches will be closed. (3) Only 23% of Canadians attend church at least once a month. (4) Only 58% of Baptists in Canada attend church at least once a month. (5) Only 19% of Baptists in Canada believe their faith is important to how they live their lives. We’re seeing the effects of the lack of labourers, as wicked ideology has a firm hold on the lives of youth and even their parents here who grew up in the same Godless system. Many good soul-winning churches in Canada have pastors well into their sixties now, with no one to take their place. There are several churches that are without pastors and have been so for a long time. Pray for us and for Canada with urgency please! Considering these highlighted needs, pray for our youth. I’m not concerned as much if we have a lack of doctors, lawyers, and carpenters as I am for the spiritual darkness that looms over this nation. “. . . how shall they hear without a preacher?” I love Canada. It’s home now, and I want to do what God wants us to do in reaching this nation for Christ, whether that be training the next generation or stepping in to fill one of these needs. Please pray for us!
His servant and yours,
Brian Hebert
