I drew a figurative line in the sand.
I was thirteen and I knew I could go my own way…or God’s way. Deep in my soul, I knew I needed to follow Jesus for the rest of my life. From that line I was baptized, I pursued my faith, I sunk myself into Scripture, I got involved in my church and I began training for a life of ministry.
My church, Temple Baptist Church in Sarnia, Ontario, had a profound impact on the trajectory of my life. From training in children’s ministry to teaching my peers to mission trips to pastoral internships to mentoring to daycamp ministry and very influential youth pastors, I had many opportunities to grow my faith, practice ministry, serve children and build a foundation for my calling into ministry.
One story I’ve been telling a lot lately is about five children who lived next-door to me when I was a teenager. They didn’t go to church. They were a blended family. We had a basketball hoop and they came over and played regularly.
I loved being with kids. I loved telling stories. I loved the Bible and I had this idea to invite them over to my house to tell Bible stories.
So I nervously went up to their door, asked their father if I could have them over once a week to tell Bible stories. I was shaking in my boots, but I pushed through it and knocked on the door to make the request. He didn’t have any issues at all and he gave a quick answer, “Sure.”
From there, I built an ongoing relationship with these kids. I taught them about the God who loves them even making a collage on poster board about God’s omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence! Eventually they moved on, but I look back on that very very fondly and view it as one of the many markers in my life that point me to where I am in my life today.
From there and into young adulthood, I went onto Bible College for educational ministries and children’s ministries, then searched far and wide for a job in children’s ministry. I landed in my hometown of Sarnia at Bluewater Baptist Church now called Bluewater Church.
I’m grateful for people in my life who took a chance on me and mentored me. As a young man getting married, having kids and seeking to build a children’s ministry that taught kids how they can know Jesus, love Jesus and follow Jesus, I’m forever grateful for those experiences.
At Bluewater Church, we built a ministry now called the LEDGE over a period of 19 years. I am grateful for the opportunity to get a master’s in children’s and family ministry as well as a parent coaching certification.
From the beginning of my marriage with Daphne, we prayed often for how we could serve children in addition to our own. We contemplated adoption, we fostered 10 kids, I sat on boards. Just tonight, our family was reminiscing again about all the beautiful children that came to live with us for short periods of time. Then there’s all the activities in children’s ministry from creative storytelling, to team building, developing kids in ministry, sharing the Gospel in camp ministry, developing parent curriculum, parent coaching and so many things. In all of this, God has been preparing me for a life on mission serving families.
I reflect back on all the opportunities to build into kids and parents and families. I see how crucial marriage and family is for raising a strong identity in kids, for the fabric of our society and for the Gospel message embedded in the institution of the family. The message is Christ, the groom, laying down His life for the church, the bride.
The desire to serve families and equip parents, marriages and children to love and follow Jesus and pursue His wisdom, not the life of folly, began to burn stronger on my heart.
So I took a leap of faith…
…and became a full-time, local missionary.
I have a dream and a desire to spread the Gospel in the context of marriage, parenting and family. So I’m laying the groundwork to begin new ministry with FamilyLife Canada. I see so much pain and hurt. Broken families, broken kids, broken marriages. Weary and exhausted parents.
There’s so much potential to come along side parents, families and marriages to teach the Good News of Jesus Christ to a generation that is far from God, far from Christ and far from core Christian values.
I’m on this journey to develop a ministry partnership team so that, together, we can build more help and more hope for more families here and across the country. I am on a mission to fight for families to keep families together, to help families thrive in healthy relationships, to grow deeply in their connections with each other and make bonds to last a lifetime and leave a Christ-honouring mark in our culture.
Draw your line in the sand.
Take your leap of faith.
Commit to help fortify families on Christ’s foundation.
StevenBourque.com 
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