Don Lemen

My wife and I moved to the Comox Valley in May of 2020, just at the beginning of the pandemic. Margaret and I had been attending a Baptist church for the 23 years we lived in Surrey, so finding a new church home wasn’t something we had done for a long time. We both came to faith in our mid 30’s and had always been members of churches in the North American Baptist Conference. As there are no NABC churches in the valley we wanted to connect with a church that held similar beliefs. After reading Living Hope’s Vision, Mission, and Statement of Faith it seemed to be a good match. I also read the minutes of the last annual general meeting and noted an appeal for members to help on worship teams and sound. As this was an area of ministry I had always been part of, it seemed like it would be a good fit.

During my youth I attended and was a member of the United Church. At that stage church was just something I did but there was no real commitment or relationship with God. When Marg and I were married in 1964 I was transferred to New Westminster and for several years had no connection to church or faith. It wasn’t until 1980 that things changed. Our 15-year-old daughter volunteered as a candy striper at the Kelowna General Hospital. An older lady she was helping asked her “are you a Christian?”. She came home and asked Marg, and because of that prompt they started attending Lakeview Heights Baptist. While I did not join them I could see how God was changing their lives and was curious. The following year I made a commitment at a Terry Winter Crusade.

I remember one of the first things our pastor did was to get Marg and I involved with Evangelism Explosion. We attended some training courses and then would go out into the neighbourhood, knock on doors and, if invited in, share the gospel. While we may not have seen any immediate response, seeds were planted and may bear fruit some time in the future, just like the lady who spoke to my daughter. She has no idea what resulted from her one question. Also, the course did give both Marg and I a good grounding in our faith.

Since that time, we were transferred back and forth across Canada but always found a connection with a local NABC church. I have always felt it important to be involved in ministry so have served as deacon, elder, church moderator and chair of the church board. We are so glad we are part of Living Hope and look forward to serving in any way that God directs.