Native Ministers- Young and Old

The past few weeks have been very interesting for me. For the past month I have been visiting the Lay-Minister, Betty, from Klemtu who has been in and out of ICU with many significant health issues. There have been days when we didn't know if she would make it through the night. To date, God has answered our prayers but she has a long ways to go before she can leave ICU.

Her family has had a long history with the Church in Klemtu. For the past bunch of years she has served as the Lay-Minister there. The position is just like it sounds, in the absence of an ordained minister, outlying churches often elevate someone from within the Church to function as the local minister. It speaks to the continued need for qualified and trained Native Pastors to fill positions in local Native Fellowships.

This past Sunday I was in Campbell River and had the opportunity to see my replacement, Brody Naknackum (sp?) handle the service. Brody is a local Native believer. He comes with some of his ministry training complete. I heard a number of wonderful remarks about Brody and am thankful for his willingness to take on pastoring Campbell River Native Christian Fellowship. I overheard one lady say to him after the service, "You always have something just right to say for me." Someone else said to me, "Its nice to have a pastor that speaks our language." She did not mean the literal traditional language of the local people, services are conducted in English. She meant, someone who could speak from a Native perspective. Brody hopes to return to school in the fall to continue his training but that will leave a gap to fill at the Fellowship.

Please pray for Betty and her health challenges. Also pray for Brody as he pastors in Campbell River and for the two Fellowships (Campbell River and Klemtu) as they seek long term solutions to their need for Native Pastors.