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Bruce Enns

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” – Philippians 3:10-11

A generous white binder figures prominently in the Lead Pastor’s office at Forest Grove Community Church in Saskatoon. Full of encouragements and prophecies, affirmations and ‘coincidences’, this humble faith marker contains all the pieces of the puzzle that eventually became Bruce Enns’ call to the pastorate.

Bruce grew up in a stable Christian home on a farm in Carrot River, Saskatchewan. After High School, he claimed his family’s faith as his own at B.C.’s Camp Squeah. “That’s where God really got a hold of me,” he remembers. Bruce was committed to serving God with his life, but certainly not as a pastor, a vocation that held no interest at all for him. He mistakenly believed that pastors were a very serious bunch who had to be exceptionally holy in order to preach God’s Word.

Sports – particularly hockey, and specifically the Calgary Flames – fit Bruce’s idea of serving God. After a year at Columbia Bible College, extended travels to the South Pacific, and a short term job in Saskatoon, he gladly accepted a position as Assistant Athletic Director at CBC where he reveled in the connections made within the sports world. He married Lisa, his Saskatoon sweetheart, and completed various degrees in Church Ministry, Phys Ed. and Sport Management.

“I wanted to make an impact for Christ on my own terms,” explains Bruce of the past when he tied his identity to his role in sport management. “I wanted to be obedient, but still have a business card that said something cool.”

After a number of years coaching and teaching at CBC, Bruce and Lisa began to feel restless with their comfortable life, like God was calling them to step out in faith. They moved to Calgary, the national headquarters for numerous winter sports and home of Bruce’s beloved Calgary Flames. In spite of his many connections and qualifications, Bruce was unable to pin down a satisfactory job in his field. With only one class to teach at the University of Calgary, the growing Enns family struggled on a limited income.

“God slowly took away my foundations… my job… my identity…” says Bruce. “It was an unsettling time when I started to question God and His intentions for my life.” The turning point came at an interview with Ron Bremner, the President of the Flames. Though Bruce had geared his entire career toward this opportunity, when it finally came, he didn’t want it. He left the Saddle Dome that day relieved that there was no place for him within the Flames organization.

Freed of the old dream, Bruce was ready to consider a new one. In January, 2000, he began compiling The Binder as a record of God’s leading in his life. Valuing the discernment of their believer’s community, Bruce and Lisa invited people from Calgary, B.C. and Saskatchewan – “15 people who knew and loved us” – to gather and pray and hear from God.

The gathered ones confirmed Bruce’s worst fears. “It’s about time!” they said with one accord. When even Lisa agreed with their verdict and wholeheartedly affirmed his call, Bruce stopped running from the inevitable. Reluctantly he applied for the College & Career pastorate at Lisa’s home church of Forest Grove. He remembered laughing off a similar invitation years earlier for this same position. This time, he told God he would go, but only if there was a 99% acceptance of his candidacy. The vote at Forest Grove was 99.1%.

With no legitimate way out, the Enns family moved to Saskatoon where God gradually gentled Bruce’s unwilling heart. “I discovered that who He was calling me to be was more important that what I should be,” remembers Bruce. “When I discovered that God was calling me to be me – not to live up to anyone else’s expectations – I was able to give up the struggle and surrender my life to Christ.”

That surrender led to a surprising discovery. The things Bruce loved about teaching and sport management are also part of building God’s kingdom through effective pastoring: creating programs, solving puzzles, ordering chaos, presenting concepts, developing leaders. All these things and more remind Bruce every day that by God’s grace he is living the life he always dreamed of.
Today, as Lead Pastor, Bruce believes the coolest thing his business card could ever say is “surrendered to Christ.” And if ever he forgets that, he has The Binder to remind him.

Written by Ingrid Koss

Dave Balzer

The Spirit of the Lord… has anointed me to preach good news to the poor…. " – Luke 4:18

As a young man walking in a field at England’s Capernwray Hall, David Balzer questioned God, “What do you think I should do with my life?” "Preach the good news to the poor…" was the immediate answer. David had that same conversation with God numerous times before he realized it was not simply random scripture coming to mind, but God’s directive for his life.
Today David is literally bringing God’s good news into people’s living rooms and hearts through the radio ministry of Family Life Network (FLN), the broadcasting arm of the Manitoba Mennonite Brethren Conference. David is probably best known as the dynamic co-host of the popular weekly radio talk show ‘God Talk’ on Winnipeg’s CJOB and as the director and host of 'Connecting Points’, a Christian interview program airing weekly across Canada.
David and twin brother Dan were born in Germany while their Canadian parents broadcast German evangelical radio programming. At age five, the family moved to Ecuador for 10 years where their home was open to the world. German tourists, local street people and North American missionaries were all welcome. “I assumed that faith in Christ was lived through hospitality,” recalls David, “because that’s what my parents did.”
As a teen in Germany, David joined a summer mission to Spain where he witnessed door to door and earned his own support through donations. This ‘survival by faith’ approach provoked David to think about the reality of God’s presence. It also exposed him to “an incredible diversity of how people see God.”
At the end of grade 12, David’s father passed away with little warning. The funeral was overwhelmingly attended by people who had experienced Christ through the radio ministry. “I remember watching the dirt fall on the coffin and thinking, 'Are you going to follow in these footsteps or not?’” For David, the stories of changed lives told around the grave sealed his conviction that a life committed to ministry was really worth living.
Simultaneous degrees from the University of Winnipeg and M.B. Bible College (now part of Canadian Mennonite University) gave David a Biblical framework for understanding the world. He also attended several European Bible schools to more fully understand what it means to be a person of faith.
Meanwhile, David joked with Dan that, “if I’m ever going to get married, it will have to be to someone I’m on a committee with because I’m just no good at non-consequential small talk.” Back in Winnipeg, he and fellow committee member Kathryn discussed strictly committee work for almost a year before David realized that any talk with Kathryn was very consequential to him.
Three years working at M.B.B.C. were followed by three more as a Youth Pastor. With a family well begun, the young Balzers knew it was now or never for David to continue his education. With the Lord’s directive in mind, he began master’s degrees in Communication (preaching) at the Fresno campus of California State University, and in New Testament Theology (the good news) at the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary.
Immersed in two very different settings, David depended on the people at the seminary to help him articulate his faith when he returned to the university’s secular community. He remembers this as a time of learning “what it means to earn credibility and trust before speak into someone’s life.”
David and Kathryn believe in the value of community discernment. They invited their seminary home group to help them map out a life plan. They listed what they had to offer, what their hearts were saying and what was realistic for them. Since the FLN ministry was near the top of their list, they readily accepted when FLN offered them a job.
Today David thrives in a ministry tailor made for him. “Thousands of people across the country care about what I do,” he says, adding that he can serve God effectively because of their vision and generosity. “There is huge value in being so relationally connected.”
David advises young people who are considering ministry not to wait for the proverbial bolt of lightning. “Just go after the things that are in your heart… and invest in discovering who you are.”
In spite of his huge passion for God and for ministry, David believes his call to serve God sadly lacks the razzle-dazzle of a good story. Razzle-dazzle or not, his story profiles the blessing of a man who chooses to follow after God’s own heart. “When the opportunities were there, I said yes to God more often than I said no.” And that, as the poet said, has made all the difference.

written by Ingrid Koss

John Unger

“Flee the ministry as you would the devil himself – unless the Lord calls you to it.” (Martin Luther)

Growing up as the grandson of a pastor, John learned early in life that the realities of full time church work could be difficult. Even so, ministry was always a viable option for the farm kid from southern Alberta… but only if God called. “When you give your life to God, you say ‘yes’ to whatever God asks,” John affirms, “and you never get shortchanged.”

As a young Sunday School teacher, choir member and occasional preacher, John was confused by the many individuals who encouraged him to become a pastor. Though he prayed faithfully for God’s direction in his vocational choices, he believed God was leading him to become a farmer, seasonal trucker, and eventually an engineer. Meanwhile, a quote from The Jungle Pilot by Nate Saint left a lasting impression. Said martyred missionary Jim Elliot, "he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose".

To keep the ministry door open, John and his wife Merrill quietly committed to God and to each other that if the church called them, they would hear it as God’s call. When the Clearbrook M.B. Church called John as a youth pastor in the fall of 1979, he and Merrill responded with confidence, selling the farm and even turning down a lucrative engineering opportunity. After six years, the Clearbrook Church ordained John. The Ungers accepted the ordination as confirmation of God’s call. Realizing they were not merely on a detour but on God’s new direction for life, the couple uprooted their family of four young children and enrolled at the MB Biblical Seminary in Fresno. It was a welcome opportunity for both John and Merrill to be refreshed and to gain tools for more effective ministry. Learning to think theologically, to listen, to counsel, to preach, and to study scripture… these were some of the valuable skills learned at school.

While John is very thankful for the time spent at Seminary, he believes the craft of ministry is honed by doing. “Every organization bears children after its own kind. Schools develop academics, but churches grow pastors.” For example, one can learn the theory of preaching, but a skilled preacher develops by repeatedly speaking through the church calendar. One can learn the theory of pastoral care, but an effective pastor grows at the bedside of a dying person, with the parents of a runaway teen, or by marrying a couple and then dedicating their children as the years go by.

In each of his pastoral experiences, John builds on the prayers, counsel, exhortations, forgiveness and encouragement of his congregation. In doing so, John and Merrill discover acceptance and love. “They allow our mistakes and humanness… they encourage our gifts and ministry… and they surround me with good people to do the things I’m not good at.”

John also places high value on the life experience he gained before he entered full time ministry. He suggests young people “get a degree and work for awhile” so they can bring their real life skills to the table as they embrace full time ministry. Living in the cutthroat world of contracts and budgets, lay-offs and cut backs, unpaid invoices and relational challenges… all these change the way a person speaks God’s Word.

Still an engineer at heart, John sees himself primarily as a problem solver. “Show me what we want to achieve and I’ll find a way to get there,” he says. To succeed in his first job as an engineer, his boss advised him that the two most important things to remember were: “F=ma” (Force = mass × acceleration); and “you can’t push a rope.” This advice, John finds, is equally useful in the church. First of all, the bigger the organization, the more effort it takes to get things going. Secondly, people don’t like to be pushed – effective leadership draws people to follow.

Friendships, mentors, and supportive co-workers and networks are at the top of John’s list for fueling vibrant ongoing ministry. He finds that meeting with others to laugh, talk, share life, dream and pray together brings vision and protects against burnout. Finding a mentor for himself is a rare gift; mentoring others by helping them find and fit into their ministry niche is energizing.

Of a 23 year church ministry career that has included youth work, music ministry, lead pastoring, conference work, and college and university presidency, John reflects, “the church has been a good place to be. Not always easy, but always good.”

written by Ingrid Koss

Louise Sinclair-Peters

“Only ask and I will give the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your possession.” – Psalm 2:8

Together with her husband Dave and their four children, Louise Sinclair-Peters is thrilled to be bringing Thai people before God’s throne of grace. “Just think,” she says as part of MBMS International’s 'Team 2000’, “some day we will be in heaven, worshiping around the throne as part of Christ’s bride from every nation, tongue and tribe.”

Louise Sinclair grew up in a sometimes violent and chaotic home with an alcoholic father. Because it was affordable, Louise’s mother sent her two children to Manitoba’s Camp Arnes. There, 11 year old Louise immediately encountered love and acceptance. Before the week was out, she had put her faith in Jesus. She returned home with the lovely secret of heaven in her heart.

Every summer, Louise experienced spiritual refreshment at camp but did not know how to live as a believer in the winter. In High School, after yet another weekend of excessive drinking, she suddenly realized she was becoming exactly what she had vowed never to be. “I didn’t need God to save me from my parents…” she was surprised to discover, “I needed God to save me from me.” Right then, Louise cried out to God to lead her to something better.

A camp mentor suggested that ‘something better’ could be Bible School in New Zealand and Australia. Upon arrival, Louise knew so little about Christianity that she failed the basic Bible knowledge entrance exam. By the time she left, she had gained invaluable knowledge of scripture, prayer and faithful living. She came home to Winnipeg excited to counsel at Camp Arnes: “to share my testimony with little girls just like me.”

At camp, Louise met fellow counselor, David Peters, a young man with a stable Christian background. She was immediately drawn to his sincere love and commitment to God. As the two interacted at camp and as Dave went out of his way to invite Louise to his church, their wildly divergent backgrounds began to come together into one exciting future.

Newlyweds, the Sinclair-Peters attended Elim Chapel where God began the miracle of inner healing in Louise. “The traumas and hurts we go through in life need not disqualify us from ministry,” emphasizes Louise. “If we open up those painful experiences to God’s healing power and light, they can strengthen our character and compassion for others.”

At university, a Christian professor encouraged Louise to channel her strong sense of justice and advocacy into ministry. As she experienced deep rest from the turmoil and bondage of her past, serving God became the natural choice. She began testing the waters by ministering in the local church and as a hospital chaplain.

Soon Louise, in the midst of a Masters of Divinity degree from the University of Winnipeg, was drawn to Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno. There she experienced the Christian community she was looking for. As a couple, Dave and Louise lived, prayed and served with people who were united by a mission focus. Foundational truths learned in the classroom were worked out in the streets of their community. “Evangelizing and praying in radical ways with radical Christians became the other half of our seminary education,” she says.

From seminary, Dave and Louise were called as a pastor couple to Cariboo Bethel M.B. Church in Williams Lake., BC. They spent eight years there, growing in their respective roles as pastor and counselor, and raising their young family. When friends from Seminary contacted them about a 10 year mission project in Thailand, they thought that moving their family across the world was ludicrous. But as they sought the Lord’s will, they were reminded of their Fresno years when “we were chalked full of creative zeal waiting to be unleashed!” The desire to go to Thailand grew as their Williams Lake community blessed and released them. Today, stationed with Team 2000 in Chonburi, Thailand, the Sinclair-Peters are part of a dynamic three family church planting team.

Reflecting on the surprising turns of her life, Louise recalls the many Christ-like mentors who “cried with me, befriended me, and called out the gifts and abilities I didn’t even know I had. And,” she adds, “they confronted me when I was going the wrong way.”

God did indeed have ‘something better’ in mind for Louise. The little girl who rejoiced to discover there is no fear in Jesus is now the woman who joyfully shares that same message with others – both here and across the world.

Check out ‘Team 2000’ at www.mbmsinternational.org

written by Ingrid Koss

Merv Boschman

“I believe that God isn’t looking for the brightest bulb on the tree… He’s looking for people willing to shine as He created them to.” – Merv Boschman

The story is told of a young man who is hiding in bed with his head under the covers. His mother knocks on his door to suggest he get up and go to church. He refuses, but his mother repeats that he really should. After several more protests from the young man, he finally says, “Give me one good reason why I should.” "Well," says his mother, “because you’re the pastor…”
Merv Boschman believes that God calls every Christian to be a minister through whatever they do with their lives, but full time ministry as a vocation should only be pursued by those with a settled peace that God has called them to it. He encourages young people who are preparing for ministry to “make sure you’ve got a divine subpoena” because, without the confidence of God’s call, the difficult times will soon have you hiding in bed with your head under the covers rather than being exhilarated by the work God gives you to do.
How do you recognize God’s call? For Merv, the call began through the encouragement of people in his church and through repeated opportunities for leadership, including an invitation to preach when he was just 16. Merv sensed that God wanted him to fully invest his life in people and had no peace until he agreed.
A pivotal moment came after high school when he and two friends were involved in a fatal boating accident. When one of the young men drowned, Merv became disillusioned. How could a sovereign God allow this to happen? And why did he himself survive when his friend did not? Days of frustration and doubt followed until one elderly church member visited Merv with a scripture. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us… forever….” These words from Deuteronomy 29:29 gave Merv a new understanding that he could still trust God without knowing all the answers. In the end, the tragedy turned Merv’s heart to ministry.
Going to Bible School seemed the obvious next step. There, Merv learned about the indwelling and empowering of the Holy Spirit. His father’s life verse – “Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6) – came alive as he was refreshed by God’s Spirit theologically as well as experientially. Another refreshing experience at Bible School was meeting Carol, a young woman whose gifts of hospitality, encouragement, listening and intercessory prayer were to make her an incredible life and ministry partner.
When Merv and Carol married shortly after Bible School, it was with the assumption they would live their lives in full time ministry of some kind. They became involved at Willingdon Church in Vancouver, a church that encouraged and fostered young people to hear and follow God’s call. After a four year lull where Merv says, “we pushed the pause button on God’s call while we got ourselves established,” they finally responded to the Lord’s nudging and embarked on a fulltime career in church ministry.
Over the years, Merv has been thrilled by various opportunities to serve as Church Planter, Associate and Lead Pastor, and in leadership in Christian Higher Education. He believes God teaches him much by living on the edge, particularly the need to depend on God in all circumstances. One day, finding himself in over his head, Merv stumbled upon significant words to live by, “Good grief – this is a huge responsibility! If God doesn’t show up, I can’t handle this!”
A recent invitation to become the Executive Minister of the Alberta M.B. Church precipitated a painful decision. Though Merv and Carol clearly sensed God calling them to Alberta, their parents, children and grandchildren all lived close to their home in BC. Could God be trusted with their family? The struggle ended silently one Sunday morning during the words of a song: “Jesus, all for Jesus… all I am and have and ever hope to be… for it’s only in your will that I am free…”
Even in a new city, the Boschmans believe that “God’s pleasure is still upon us.” While they miss their family, they look forward to periods of extended time together. While they long to see their grandchildren more often, they anticipate the welcome surprise of little ones jumping into bed with them in the morning. For that reason and many others, this dedicated servant of God says, “Thank you, God, that faith in you is never wasted. You can be trusted!”

written by Ingrid Koss

Sherryl Koop

“The more you are called to speak for God’s love, the more you will need to deepen the knowledge of that love in your own heart…. Only when your roots are deep can your fruits be abundant. The enemy is there, waiting to destroy you, but you can face the enemy without fear when you know that you are held safe in the love of Jesus.” – Henri Nouwen

The woman who lists ‘adventure’ as a hobby on her resume considers the joy of ministry to be one of Christianity’s best kept secrets. Instead, flying in the face of what she labels the North American killjoy perspective, Sherryl Koop jumps in with both feet and “follows God with abandon while embracing passionate faith in every moment of every day.”

For faithful living to be eventful and joyful, Sherryl recommends we give up our cultural priorities of wealth and prestige, and grasp instead the essence of God’s great love for us. She borrows a page from Eugene Peterson’s “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction” and likens Christianity to climbing a huge mountain. She explains, “The sacrifices God asks us to make in our walk with Jesus seem like a really hard uphill climb. But when we walk it anyway, the exhilaration at the top wipes out the memory of the 'sacrifice’. Too often, Christians see only the climb and the sacrifice… they don’t believe there will be an amazing view at the top.”

As a child, Sherryl’s parents graciously ministered to saint and sinner alike in their home. The family collected money in a can on the fridge labeled “Hunger Hurts.” Whenever the can was full, they sent the money to one of the missionaries Sherryl’s mother had read to them about. When one older sister moved to Malaysia and another became a nurse in a northern Manitoba aboriginal community, Sherryl learned that faith in Christ can shape situations all over the world. Watching her family’s “home grown” ministry expand into a working faith “out there” stirred Sherryl’s own longings to live wholeheartedly for Christ.

Sherryl credits her confidence and daring to her ‘genderless’ upbringing. “My parents taught me I could be and do anything.” Not knowing the sky had limits served the teenage minister well as she exuberantly tackled tasks that were often far beyond her age and experience. As a leader in training, Sherryl experienced her church to be a real refuge and support. Mentors – Christian and otherwise – also gave valuable affirmation. “For leadership and faith to grow,” says Sherryl, “a person needs a surrounding community to affirm them when they excel… and even more so when they fall flat on their face.”

In spite of her mission minded family, Sherryl’s mother panicked when she discovered her daughter was leaving a well paying job to accept a Youth for Christ position. “Mom,” countered Sherryl, “you’ve been grooming me for this my whole life!” "Yes," explained her mother with laughter and tears, “but I didn’t expect it would be you who would go!”

It was Sherryl’s childhood dream to serve God as a social worker. Though she has taken many relevant courses along the way, there is no formal degree among her many accomplishments. Instead, following God boldly through one door after another has allowed her gifts to develop, faith to grow, and experience to deepen. During 17 years with Youth for Christ, Sherryl worked in many social work settings including as a lifestyle counselor for youth at risk, leading numerous short term youth mission trips world wide, and as a chaplain and counselor within the Manitoba Provincial Government’s judicial, education, and family services sectors.

These days, in her twin jobs as the Youth Ministry Director with the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches and as a travel agent with Bonaventure Travel, Sherryl is as likely to be leading a house building tour to the Dominican through “Vacations with a Purpose” as she is to be providing youth pastors with practical and personal tools for ministry. She might be sending young people on a short term mission or helping an adult group integrate their recent third world experience into their life back home. She might be making travel arrangements for a missionary or leading a tour of the rich and famous on a kayaking adventure in Belize.

Whatever this ministry minded adventurer finds herself doing – alone or in a crowd – her personal relationship with the God she serves allows her to journal with the utmost conviction, “Oh Lord, you are the best travel partner I’ve ever had!”

written by Ingrid Koss