Bruins Faith Night is now over and we trust God that he will generate the fruit and bless the results.
There were so many good things that happened leading up to Faith Night and I continue to hear stories after. We didn’t win on the ice, but there were other victories that night. We had more churches than last year take interest and participate. Crossroads and Mountview both had big groups at the game. Evans Hundermark was so excited he wrote to the editor in the Chilliwack Times. You can read it
here. Many of you prayed or had a booth or just showed up to support the event. There was a group of teachers that purchased a box and they had a ton of fun. Some groups raised money, others promoted their faith based cause and many of us enjoyed the hockey.
Paula Quick and the choir sent chills down my spine during the singing of the anthems. A lady in our church (Patt Elzinga) who lost her 18 year old son in a farm accident in May, sang a solo “When Peace Like A River.” Knowing her story and her grief, I was touched deeply by her proclamation and words of hope that was in the song — “Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.” She said if grace was a person, He was holding me during the song.
Curtis Fast and the Liberty Band was outstanding. They rocked the house. With the boys from BC Teen Challenge and the sound piped through the house sound system, they were loud and proud. It was a powerful moment when they sang the David Crowder song, “Here is our King.” ”Here is our King, Here is our Love, Here is our God who’s come to bring us back to him. He is the one, he is Jesus.”
I am continually amazed at the support we receive from the Bruins. Their video pro,
Robbie Snooks, (who will be working with NBC during the Olympics) filmed and put together professional level videos of three players who shared their faith. He showed the video a number of times during the game. He also aired the BC Teen Challenge video which was bold, tasteful and Jesus honouring. If you need video work done, talk to Robbie - he is first class.
Our booths received more traffic than last year. Joy Moravec was our booth hostess and she was on top of things making sure the agencies were taken care of and questions were answered.
I feel the event is still in it infancy. We are learning how to do this type of thing within the context of a hockey game.
My goal is to proclaim the person and message of Jesus without compromise and continue to get invited back. There is a fine line there.
We had 3330 people at the game. Who knows what next year will bring. But keep it in mind. If you have ideas for improvement or how you want to get involved, I’d love to hear from you.
Mike VanderKwaak
