Rick Guenther
I was born & raised in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. I grew up in a religious home but I really didn't know what it meant to have a personal relationship with God.
After high school I enlisted inthe US Air Force and it was there, at a base in Arizona, in 1972, that I came to know Christ in a personal way.During that same time I met Ruth and she pluggged me into a good Bible believing church. We eventually got married in 1973. In 1974 we both went forward at a missions conference to give our lives to the Lord and the work that He would have us do - not having any idea that eventually we would end up in Canada.
We stayed in the Air force till 1978, I then got out of the military and started going to a Bible College in Omaha, Nebraska. This school was a very missions minded & I became more & more interested in getting into missions. So...I became a missions major and eventually heard about a mission working in Canada to reach out to First Nations people. In 1983 we (Ruth, myself and 3 children) went and worked on a reserve in BC for 6 weeks, with NAIM (North America Indigenous Ministries). After that we believed that God was leading us into full-time missions work. After getting some missionary training and graduating from Bible school we were sent to the north coast of BC in 1985 and worked in a small village for 4 1/2 years. After that NAIM asked if we wanted to be involved in an urban ministry in Saskatoon - we agreed and came here in 1989.
Since then we have been involved in a number of ministries among the First Nations people here, such as: Kids Church, street ministry, mentoring groups, prison work, Bible studies, visitation, counseling, etc.
During this time we have been attending Ebenezer Baptist Church. They have been very supportive of our work here. Over 3 years ago they started looking at the possibilty of starting a new church. After much prayer & research they actually started two churches - one among the Slavic/Ukranian community and the other among the immigrant/refugee/First Nations community in the Meadowgreen area. We were asked to be a part of the church plant team - we agreed! We continue to work with NAIM, and now Ebenezer, in reaching out to this unique community.
We started renting some property near 18th & W in the fall of 2009. We came into this multi-ethnic community with the willingness to serve & try to meet the needs of this area. We now partner with a variety of groups to help us do this: Global Gathering, Open Door Society, MCC, Saskatoon District Health, Burmese Youth Group & others.
We started having Sunday regular services & a pot-luck lunch every Sunday in Sep.2010. We also have a Friday afternoon youth group & a ladies Bible study.
We are pleased to have about 65 people coming on a regular basis from different countries & First Nation reserves.
We enjoy partnering with the Burmese Karen Youth group who use our facility about once a month.
Psalm 96:2,3(NLT) says this, “Sing to the Lord; Bless His name. Each day proclaim the good news that He saves. Publish His glorious deeds among the nations…”
We thank God for the opportunities that He gives us every week to “proclaim the good news” to the nations that He is bringing here. May He continue to bless our efforts in the coming year.
Yours in Christ, the Hope of the Nations,
Rick Guenther
