In Thunder Bay, Rodney Martin is the Director of Public Relations. He writes, “In the past year I have met so many wonderful people. I have been opened to a side of Christianity that I have never been exposed to before. A very loving community, driven people devoted to missions, and helping people. Just to be able to witness this has been a highlight of my year.”
Prayer Please pray for us as often as you remember us. In many places we are encountering a spiritual heaviness, and many of our staff often feel discouraged by the weight of the task given to them. If you aren’t on our prayer email list for monthly prayer updates, please contact us at office@lhnm.org and…
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Hospitality in Church
By Lila Graber
What does it look like to show hospitality at church? Life experiences are good teachers. Jesus’ words come to mind, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” I’ve appreciated warm welcomes when I’ve been a visitor. Less often, I’ve had those awkward, uncomfortable feelings of being an outsider when others either didn’t know how to engage or didn’t want to. Those experiences are important, too.
Years ago, when my sister was in the hospital being treated for cancer, I went to be with her for a week. On Sunday, I looked online for a church to attend. Since I was in a completely unfamiliar community, I chose one that was on the route to the hospital. I’m sure it was a good service, but the most distinct memory is that afterward, people gathered in clusters to visit. It was not a large church, but no one spoke to me or greeted me. At the time, it seemed most comfortable to leave. Another memory is the kindness of strangers who invited our family to their home for a meal after the service on the first visit to their church.
A Time for Prayer
By:Andrew Lang
Have you ever felt like there’s not enough time to do everything you need to do?
With 4 kids, a couple jobs and a house to build there’s no end to the demands on my time. On our staff prayer retreat this year we discussed “the ruthless elimination of hurry” and the line that stuck out to me the most was… “are you too busy to follow Jesus?”.
In ministry it’s easy to get busy doing things for God that you forget to spend time with him. Or we get caught going through the motions and not connecting on the level that we so desperately need.
As you read through and pray over the staff of Living Hope, pray that we would connect with Jesus each day, that our hearts would be filled to overflowing with his love and That we would be able to say to those that we are interacting with, follow me as I follow Jesus.
Miracles and Answered Prayer
By Rodney Martin, Thunder Bay
Miracles. When it comes to miracles in the Bible, we often see an event or situation that involves a powerful move or a powerful display of God’s power. The display often surpasses our natural laws or understanding. These miracles are extraordinary occurrences that can only be explained and attributed to the supernatural work of God. Whenever God does miracles in the Bible, it is to reveal Himself: His character, His love, and His purposes to us.
Miracles can provide evidence of God’s power and presence to the world and demonstrate His authority and love on behalf of His servants. A miracle can be performed directly by God or through His servants. Other words used to describe God’s miracles in the bible are signs and wonders (often used together), powers, and mighty works. And quite often, as believers, we share these testimonies of God’s miracles to encourage one another.
By Andrew Lang
I recently attended a gathering put on by the former students of the Mennonite-run residential schools. During the gathering I was able to listen to many stories from the former students about their experiences while at residential schools. Those stories included physical abuses, an encounter with the one true God, sexual abuses, memories of loving staff sharing their love for God with them, neglect, the formation of life-long friendships, and cultural abuses amongst other experiences.
Living Hope hired Rodney Martin in August as Public Relations Director. He is originally from Constance Lake and pastored in Sachigo Lake for a time. His contribution to the organization is invaluable. Here is his perspective on partnership:
What does partnership look like? The question when posed seemed to baffle me, because it was something I never really thought about. So when I looked up the definition, this is what I found: A partnership consists of two or more people who combine their resources for a greater purpose.
By Andrew Lang
As 2023 draws to a close, I am amazed at how I’ve seen God at work through our staff and associate team this year. It has been such an encouraging journey, and I am looking forward to what God will do in this coming year. Since reflecting and celebrating is such a major theme in the Bible I thought it would be fitting to talk about some exciting things we’ve seen God do through us and what we are planning for the future.
Here’s what we are excited about:
By Andrew Lang
The mission of Living Hope is to equip and empower local churches that matter. We are shifting energy as an organization so that we can more effectively do that, specifically with partnership in mind.
I’m excited that we have been able to trial a number of events, and are building relationships to help build up the local church in northern communities. We’re hoping to build on the momentum we’ve gained this past year, reach even more people, and be a resource to more First Nations Christians in Northern Ontario.
Living Hope hired Rodney Martin in August as Public Relations Director. He is originally from Constance Lake and pastored in Sachigo Lake for a time. His contribution to the organization is invaluable. Here is his perspective on partnership:
What does partnership look like? The question when posed seemed to baffle me, because it was something I never really thought about. So when I looked up the definition, this is what I found: A partnership consists of two or more people who combine their resources for a greater purpose.
And that was when I began to feel very uncomfortable. “Two people combine their resources…” What could I, as a First Nation person, possibly bring to the table that has any value? My native mindset is telling me, “this will be a very unbalanced, one sided partnership.” (Kind of like my partnership with Christ…but that’s another topic.) But if I’m honest, in my mind this will seem more like a white dominated partnership where once again I’m defaulted to live on handouts and sympathy, having made no real contribution to this relationship.
© 2025 Living Hope Native Ministries.