by Gideon Willard
A couple of weeks ago, Rob Bartholdson and I sat around a table in an old church building in a small Arctic community more than 1,000 kilometres from home. Seven Inuit listened carefully as an elderly priest shared a Bible lesson from training he had received 40 years before.
We sensed a real hunger to understand God’s Word. We also sensed that something was missing.
This was Team Arctic’s first visit as part of a multi-location Ministry Opportunity Assessment, or MOA. Lord willing, the MOA will span nine communities across the region. By listening and learning in each location, we can better understand where future ministry teams could serve effectively and help establish thriving churches.
After a two-and-a-half-hour flight to the community, which we’ll call “M,” Rob and I spent several days meeting people. We learned about the local dialect of Inuktitut, the ministry that has taken place there and the current state of the church.
People welcomed us warmly. We also heard about deep hurts and a longing for the hope that only God can give.
The day before we left, a young couple told us they had been hoping for something that would bring a new heart to their community. In as direct a way as Inuit will ask, they said they would like us to move there and get involved.
We don’t yet know whether God will lead a ministry team to M or to one of the other communities included in the MOA. But we returned home with a fresh sense of the need and the opportunity. People are asking for help. Could God be preparing workers to answer that invitation?
Will you pray?
- Ask God to establish a thriving church in M.
- Pray for wisdom as Team Arctic carries out the MOA across all nine communities.
- Ask God to raise up labourers who will serve among Inuit with humility, love and a commitment to learn.
Will you give?
Travel between Arctic communities is costly. Right now, Ethnos Canada has enough funding to carry out the MOA in only three of the nine communities. Your gift will help the team include the remaining six communities, listen well and determine where future ministry teams may serve.
