TIM'S STORY
I arrived in Toronto 7 years ago, and through Grace Toronto Church and GCMJ (formerly Hope Toronto), I was catapulted into the Adam House ministry, which has since become one of the pillars of my life in Toronto. God has poured His grace and mercy into me through this ministry. It is a story of His glory through my weaknesses.
At the time, there was an active GTC team regularly hosting a casual Friday coffee night once a month, to build friendships and relationships with the residents at Adam House. I was a novice to this kind of setting, my only previous exposure was a weekly commitment at a soup kitchen ministry as a dishwasher in the back kitchen. To add to the hurdle, as an introverted planner, going into social situations like the Friday coffee night without a tangible pathway to a pre-defined outcome (of connections or relationships leading to Gospel conversations) resulted in an almost insurmountable amount of stress. By God's grace, I was convicted of the need to develop capacity in that area and, by His mercy, through a series of baby steps, examples and friendships with the various leaders both of the team and of Adam House, I was afforded a lot of help, gradually becoming more involved with the ministry and starting to build relationships with the residents.
Things began to improve, and through various developments I was approached by my predecessor to co-lead the team with Danyao, who together with her husband Ryan could not have been more patient in working with me. Being of a personality type that gets stressed out over imperfect outcomes and unpredictable scenarios, it did not help that I had no prior ministry leadership experience. God, however, knew perfectly what I needed and when, and gave me just enough to get started. Over time, I only became more fully aware of my limitations and utter dependence on God.
As in any role, successes are riddled with mistakes and failures. In my learning curve, which is ongoing, I have overestimated, miscalculated, made wrong assumptions, and acted out of pride rather than trusting in God, among other mistakes. But in almost all of those situations, I have underestimated God's redeeming power and His active role in my forgiveness and sanctification through these mistakes. I cannot help but often reflect back on a camping trip experience a few years ago where we made assumptions that led us to overestimate the turnout (based on the previous year’s success) by a factor of two, resulting in a lot of waste. Despite my frustration about my utter failure in planning properly and the resulting stress, in the end we managed to connect on a deeper level with those who were able to come. God used this experience to reveal and illuminate my idols and lack of trust in Him, and hammer home the importance to come back to Him and focus on the people, my “neighbours”, that He has called me to serve. Through this and other, often challenging, yet incredibly edifying experiences He has allowed me to taste His goodness and sweetness, and allowed those encounters to fuel my continued involvement with Adam House, with spillovers to other areas of my life.
Reflecting on Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 1:28-31, I'm incredibly amazed at the talents and energy that God has put in the team over the years that has allowed us to try different things out to connect meaningfully to the residents that we are trying to befriend and minister to. I am grateful for this team of dedicated and faithful co-labourers, sharpening and reminding me that rather than it being my ministry, it is His ministry that I'm a part of; and that He called us to it despite our weaknesses, so that we have nothing to boast in ourselves but together from different backgrounds reconciled as one body in Christ, we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit to witness and express the Gospel love to the people that we serve.
Last but not least, I cannot credit Rosemarie Friessen, the interim director for GCMJ, enough for encouraging me and the whole team through these years. If you have a desire to experience how God is working in your and other people’s lives in a tangible manner, I encourage you to explore the excellent opportunities in the partner ministries of GCMJ.
AFFILIATE AND COMMUNITY NEEDS
Find ways to love our neighbours in partnership with our affiliates and other organizations serving the community.
SERVING - FOR INDIVIDUALS
Adam House
- Female Spanish-speaking prayer partner needed for a woman in Adam House for a weekly 15-minute prayer chat over the phone. For more information, contact Danyao (here).
- Prepare fruit packages and deliver to Adam House North (Finch & Leslie) as a token of care for the residents in the cold winter. 2 volunteers are needed to fill the Feb. 12 and Feb. 19 slots respectively. For more information, contact Tim (here).
Pregnancy Care Centre
- Attend a First Response virtual information/training session
- Learn about the PCC as an organization, the Biblical basis for Christian care, the issues surrounding unexpected pregnancies, and how to give a compassionate and life-affirming first response to someone who shares news of their unexpected pregnancy with you
- If you are interested, please contact Rosemarie Friesen: rosemarie@gracetoronto.ca.
Safe Families
- Sign-up to become “Family Friends” to a segregated family in our city.
- Family Friends provide: love to parent(s) through encouragement; security and confidence to parent(s) (just knowing someone sees and cares about them); knowledge and information where needed; access to our extended church network; a shared desire for the security and well-being of their children; the Gospel hope of Jesus Christ; and possibly other tangible or service-based needs according to your comfort level and time!
- If you are interested, please contact Serena (here) for next steps.
Squads
- The Salvation Army Squads program is running an empowering event for at risk girls aged 9-13. Needed items are things that can be used for raffle prizes (for families or young girls) or as part of the take home bags to help make the day special for the girls.
Yonge Street Mission
- YSM’s virtual Coldest Night of the Year fundraising walk will be on Saturday February 20th.
- Church members can walk 2km or 5km in the safety of their family/team bubble or walk solo. They can choose their own route and what time and day to walk in February.
- Get involved and sign up for CNOY (here) by selecting "Toronto Downtown Yonge (Virtual-Only) - Yonge Street Mission" and help YSM reach their goal of $150,000 in support of street-involved youth, families in need, and adults experiencing chronic poverty who are served at YSM.
SERVING - FOR GRACE GATHERINGS
Safe Families
- Together, sign-up to become “Family Friends” to a segregated family in our city.
- Interested members of your GG will attend a virtual information session, fill out an application, and complete the training required by Safe Families. For more information, contact Serena (here).
- Family Friends provide: love to parent(s) through encouragement; security and confidence to parent(s) (just knowing someone sees and cares about them); knowledge and information where needed; access to our extended church network; a shared desire for the security and well-being of their children; the Gospel hope of Jesus Christ; and possibly other tangible or service-based needs according to your comfort level and time!
Squads
- The Salvation Army Squads program is running an empowering event for at risk girls aged 9-13. Needed items are things that can be used for raffle prizes (for families or young girls) or as part of the take home bags to help make the day special for the girls.
Yonge Street Mission
- YSM’s virtual Coldest Night of the Year fundraising walk will be on Saturday February 20th.
- Church members or groups can walk 2km or 5km in the safety of their family/team bubble or walk solo. They can choose their own route and what time and day to walk in February.
- Get involved and sign up for CNOY (here) by selecting "Toronto Downtown Yonge (Virtual-Only) - Yonge Street Mission" and help YSM reach their goal of $150,000 in support of street-involved youth, families in need, and adults experiencing chronic poverty who are served at YSM.
TANGIBLE NEEDS
Adam House
- New winter boots (or gift card equivalent) needed for 2 men and 2 women. See size and donation details here.
Light Patrol
- Needed items to support current outreach: male and female underwear (M, L, and XL) and tarps.
Pregnancy Care Centre
- Needed items for new mothers/parents: baby clothing, diapers (sizes 1,2,3), wipes, formula, gently used furniture (crib, car seat, stroller, etc.), and new or gently used maternity clothes.
- To arrange drop off of these items, please refer to: https://pccfriends.ca/in-kind-donations/
Tabitha House
- Needed iterms for the house: large pot (for cooking pasta), popcorn maker, and kettle.
Yonge Street Mission
- Needed items to support current outreach: meat, dairy, vegetables, and starch (rice and pasta).
For more information contact: rosemarie@gracetoronto.ca
PRAYERS
Help love our neighbours by praying for them and the organizations that serve them.
+ ADAM HOUSE
Praise God for a missionary from Interserve Korea who joined Adam House North in January to fill the much needed community manager role. Ask God to bless his ministry as he builds relationships with the residents and church volunteers, and creates more opportunities for church volunteers to walk with and love our neighbours at Adam House.
Pray for encouragement for the regular Grace Toronto volunteers who keep engaging the residents through weekly fruit packages, 1:1 English lessons, and a monthly online social.
Pray for former residents, many of whom are experiencing loneliness, that God will send friends to walk with them in this difficult season.
+ LIGHT PATROL
Some of the youth Light Patrol are connected to have expressed that they are feeling lonely and sad. Please pray that they may experience God's closeness in their lives and that they would be able to build meaningful relationships in the near future.
Please pray for some of the youth who are seeking God. Pray against the enemy, as he is distracting these youth from coming to God and confusing them.
Please pray for the interns who joined the Light Patrol team this month. Pray that they would be open to learning more about God and His ministry through Light Patrol, and that their talents would be used by God in mighty ways to bless the youth Light Patrol serves.
Walking outreach still continues. Please pray that God will lead the Light Patrol team to where the youth are staying and that the team may bring the Good News to them.
+ PREGNANCY CARE CENTRE
Prayer for the women who are facing unexpected pregnancies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many women feel that due to the instability caused by COVID-19, they see abortion as their only option. Pray for the staff and volunteers as they counsel these women and show that they are not alone and abortion isn’t the only option. Pray that as a church we may find ways to come around these women and show them what God’s love looks like.
Praise God that as housing prices fall it means more affordable housing for women who are facing unexpected pregnancies. Sometimes that may make the difference between choosing to parent or not.
+ SAFE FAMILIES
Prayer that God would call members of our Grace Toronto community to find room in their homes, hearts, and lifestyles to become a Host family for a child in need of a safe place to stay.
Prayer that the staff and volunteers would find strength and motivation in the sacrificial love of Christ as they sacrificially love and serve children and parents in need of mercy and compassion.
Prayer that Safe Families Canada would become a place of refuge in Toronto for families who have nowhere else to turn in times of isolation and crisis.
Prayer that God would support, comfort, and provide for the needs of families who struggle in isolation, now more than ever:
Single mothers are carrying the full burden of parenting without any time to recharge. Now with schools closed, they juggle work, child care, and the anxiety of parenthood all on their own.
+ SQUADS
The children often have two prayer requests:
Ask God to help keep their families safe, here in Canada, and especially those who are overseas in embattled countries.
Ask God to help provide them patience and guidance in online school.
+ TORONTO CITY MISSION
Praise God for donors who helped provide meals and gifts for TCM families.
Thank God for continued interest in volunteering for after school and tutoring programs and online engagement with kids, youth, and families despite moving programs online.
Pray for continuous safety and health for the families and the mission and for children and youth to engage with the Bible more and grow in their faith.
Ask God for engagement with the children and youth who have yet to connect to online programming.
+ COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
Fight4Freedom
F4F received designated funding late last year that allows them to hire a survivor for a contract term. They have been praying to have a survivor on their staff team for years. Pray for the whole hiring process as well as for the survivor who will be joining their team.
F4F along with a partner is offering two paid internship positions for individuals they minister to. Pray that God would greatly bless and use these internship positions and that He will continue opening connections to set up more internship opportunities for those they serve.
VOLUNTEER OPENINGS
FIGHT4FREEDOM
Fight4Freedom is an organization that works in the GTA with women, children and men enslaved in the sex trade. In addition, they offer aftercare, advocacy, and referral support to individuals who are ready and able to transition into alternate work. They are currently recruiting qualified individuals.
+ Details
Street Outreach
Commitment: minimum 1 year, weekly outreach
Outreach time: Fridays from 10:30pm-2:30am (usually it doesn't take up the whole 4 hours)
Through our street outreach ministry, we continue to journey with women in Toronto who are involved in sex work and often face challenges related to housing, substance use and mental health. During outreach time, we walk around the neighbourhood where it's known to have sex-work-related activities. We approach individuals with gifts and try to start up conversations. We listen as they share stories about their upbringing, relationships and long-distance parenting. From these stories, the common narrative that often emerges is one of intergenerational trauma perpetuated by cycles of criminalization and structural violence – many share about growing up in foster care, getting recruited into the sex industry, using street drugs to self-medicate, having 3-8 children apprehended due to addictions and then being incarcerated for drug possession. We continue to pray that our relationships with these ladies would allow us to speak truth and hope into the narratives that distort their sense of worth and identity. At a systemic level, both our ministry and survivor care departments are working with community partners to provide survivors and individuals who would like to exit with health support and to develop sustainable employment opportunities.
Club or Parlour Outreach
Commitment: minimum 1 year, monthly outreach and prayer gathering
Outreach time: one evening a month between Monday to Thursday for outreach; one evening a month for prayer and gift bag preparation; meet up time varies between 6-9pm; each outreach usually is within 3 hours time
Each club or parlour outreach team goes to the same strip club or parlours every month. The team approaches a club and asks entry permission from the club manager. Once allowed access, the team will go to the main area and approach individuals working there with gifts and try to start up conversations. For parlour outreach, the team approaches a parlour and tries to start up conversations with the individual who answers the door. We listen as they share stories. Same as street outreach, we continue to pray that our relationships with these ladies would allow us to speak truth and hope into the narratives that distort their sense of worth and identity. At a systemic level, both our ministry and survivor care departments are working with community partners to provide survivors and individuals who would like to exit with various support and to develop sustainable employment opportunities.
NOTE: Volunteers may encounter nudity during outreach. It is an asset to be bilingual in English and Chinese for parlour outreach.
If you are interested, please contact Rosemarie Friesen: rosemarie@gracetoronto.ca