GOHOP

Dear Church Friends,

After 10 years of being The Pastor of The Commons, I’m starting a new ministry season with a transition to working for the Greater Ontario House of Prayer (GOHOP).

Hamilton is a very special city, where God is doing some amazing things with churches and Jesus followers collaborating for the good of their city. GOHOP is a new monastic ministry that is part of the glue that holds this beautiful spirit of collaboration together and spreads that spirit to other communities. GOHOP is also part of the global 24/7 Prayer movement, so my new job could be summed up as a “Prayer Monk.” There is even a book written about this movement called “Punk Monk: New Monasticism and the Ancient Art of Breathing.” (the musician in me likes that description a lot). My kids say there is no way they are telling their friends that their dad is a monk, and will just keep saying that I’m a pastor. Fair enough. Some parts of this ministry are a natural extension of what I was doing as a pastor. Other parts are very new for me.

The biggest change is that being on staff with GOHOP is more like being an urban missionary. Like many missionaries, I need to raise my own financial support. Although this is a little scary, I really feel called into this new ministry season, so I’m trusting that God has a plan. I am also trusting that there are people who know me (and maybe even some who don’t) who feel called to give to enable me to work as a Punk Monk (I’m just going to own that title).

I have no idea if you are part of the group that God is going to use to raise my financial support, but part of my journey is to be willing to ask the question. So I’m asking, would you please take a look at the info below and prayerfully consider if you might be part of my financial support team? There is no pressure or hard feelings if it doesn’t feel like this is a good fit for you. I also wouldn’t want anyone to support me instead of their local church (that needs to come first).

Here are some links with more info about my new job and how you can help: