I have a special prayer request to give you that could change the course of our ministry in a major way. As you may know, since coming to Canada, we have been partnered up with veteran missionary, Brian Johnston, in a missionary team since 2018. Pastor Johnston started the church with just himself and his family back in 2003, beginning first in a hotel room from 2003–2006 and then moving to a private school from 2006 to the present. Since the beginning, the church has rented someone else’s property. God has blessed over the years with many souls saved, baptized, and discipled for Christ. The dream has always been to save up enough money to purchase our own building; but, with the scarcity of church buildings for sale, the high demand for property, and the abundance of wealthy investors to snatch up any new available buildings, the price, as well as an the lack of an available building, has put that dream out of reach. To put it shortly, a rare building opportunity has come up that will go up for auction very soon. Would you please pray about partnering with us in this endeavor? Truthfully, we need a miracle with the price that this building is expected to go for, but we know that God can do anything. Our pastor has written a special letter about this need that I’d like to share with you, which will better explain the need we have. If you believe God wants you to help us financially, please see the giving details at the bottom of the attached prayer letter from Pastor Brian Johnston. Please prayerfully consider the need that our pastor has outlined below.
In Christ,
Brian, Liz, and Abigail Hebert
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dear Pastors, Supporting Churches, and Praying Friends and Family,
This month, we were able to take men to look at the CHURCH BUILDING that will be FOR SALE shortly. I had never seen the inside before, and it was actually a much more impressive building than I expected. Though it is an old building (the original part built in 1877, with two more additions in recent decades), the building was in much better condition than I expected it to be. Some work definitely needs to be done on the building, but overall, the building has been well maintained, and a number of significant improvements or investments have been made in the church building. This is a RARE OPPORTUNITY to actually find a church building FOR SALE. Very few church buildings have ever gone on the market in the almost 23 years that we have ministered here on the north side of Toronto. Because it is so difficult to find properties zoned for a “place of worship” and because there are so many different religious groups and ethnic groups represented in the Toronto area, it is a very competitive real estate market. The owners know the bidding will be highly competitive, so they want top dollar for their church property. My wife and I have given towards our church building fund every week since the first week of this church plant almost 23 years ago.
We do trust that the LORD knows what we need, but we PRAY for a MIRACLE! The need in our ministry is real. We have many limitations because of our church’s renting a school building that we can only use for our Sunday service times. We believe we could do much more with our own building. I know it seems like this is something IMPOSSIBLE for MAN and only POSSIBLE for GOD! It seems like the bidding for the building will be far beyond our ability, but that’s not going to stop me from making our best offer and praying for a miracle! God has done miracles in the past in providing for our ministry when it seemed like the finances just were not there, and we know that God can do anything He purposes to do—He is not limited! So, we ask you to PRAY. We ask you to give if the LORD would lead you to do so. I get it–some of you may think this is a ridiculous proposition. We only have about CAD900,000 (Canadian dollars), and the owners of the church building have said that they want over CAD4 million, but we know that God can do anything!
If you or your church could buy a brick ($10,000), obviously that would help us get a little closer to the goal. I know it may seem ridiculous to ask, because it seems impossible, doesn’t it? Is anything too hard for the Lord? “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” I could talk about the USD/CAD exchange rate and how beneficial that is to us right now, but none of that matters. We need a MIRACLE of the LORD! We need something that only HE can do! I’m human, so I wonder sometimes if we could have done anything different. I wonder if a wise businessman or investor could somehow quickly multiply the money we have saved. I wonder if there’s anyone who could help us with this huge financial need. But I know that my help cometh from the LORD, and the need of our ministry is something that can ONLY be ACCOMPLISHED through PRAYER! We need to see the mighty works and power of God that can only come in answer to prayer! Please pray with us and for us. The LORD knows what is best, but we pray that someday we may see something so miraculous that all that men will be able to do is praise and thank and glorify the LORD for doing something marvellous in our eyes!
Ministry matters more than money. People matter more than buildings. We will continue to preach Christ. We have never had our own church building in almost 23 years of church-planting missionary work, and yet we have still seen the LORD do some awesome things. We praise Him and give Him all the glory for the thousands of souls that have been saved, the hundreds of people who have been baptized, and the people who have been scattered abroad and are still loving Jesus and preaching Christ in other places! God has been SO GOOD to us!
Over the past month or two, we praise the LORD that a number of Spanish people have trusted Christ as their Saviour. This is the slow beginnings of a Spanish ministry/Spanish church plant as we seek to meet Spanish people and point them to Christ. The man leading our Spanish ministry has been making contact with people through social media, having opportunities to share the Gospel, and then discipling new converts via video calls. Allesandro and Karla, a couple from Mexico, came to our home twice for dinner, and they were recently saved. Unfortunately, they just moved this week to another suburb of Toronto, far away for people who don’t have a car. Many times, the Toronto area is a very transient area because of new immigrants or refugees looking for a better situation or more affordable housing! But we will press on; we always press on—the harvest is great, and the work must continue!
We were also blessed in December at Christmastime to distribute 2,300 New Testaments to homes and people in our city. People worked together to put them in plastic bags with a Gospel card from our church, and then a great group of people from our church bundled up very warmly in below-freezing temperatures and went out on the Saturdays before and after Christmas to distribute the Word of God as a gift to immigrants and refugees in our city. Probably many of them have never had a Bible in their home before! We have some incredibly faithful partners in the Lord’s work. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Thank you to those who sent special gifts for Christmas.
Brian and Rachel Johnston and Family
Serving in Toronto, Canada, since February 2003
USA Support Address: Global Outreach, P.O. Box 906, Springboro, Ohio 45066
Memo: Brian Johnston – Missionary #125 • Cheques Should Be Written to Global Outreach.
