LIFT Launch..

Do you see what I see? That is kind of the idea. I have the privilege of connecting with some of the best people and coolest ministries in the country as part of my job portfolio. What I want to do is capture some of the stories of what God is up to in our campus ministries, starting in my own backyard. That for me would be Hamilton, and more specifically, it would be McMaster University which is about a fifteen minute drive from my home.


God is at work on campus. For example, the largest Campus For Christ group in the country is at MAC. Robin Wallar, the student leader of Lift on campus, told me that God has brought all of the Christian groups together on campus and has caused them to work together. He did this primarily through the efforts of the Anglican chaplain, who brought them together and made them talk to each other to forge out a genuine unity. The groups have found that they actually complement each other. God bless her for it…. That is what chaplaincy should be all about.

Anyway, I took in the September launch of Lift Church’s Sunday night gathering in the Student Services bar. It has had a facelift and it is looking good. My friend and former student intern Jonathon Balt was leading worship, fronting a great sounding band. There was a good crowd and good energy in the service. Given that there are so many things to announce at the beginning of the year, they did a masterful job of weaving in student testimony, the presentation of Simple Church ( topical small groups) which were introduced by their leaders and some general information.

And there was food. Bless those guys. Robin told me that there is really nothing they do where they do not service food in some capacity or another. How can they go wrong? There was a brief break for food etc, and then we were back at it with Dave Slater leading out on the first of the Seven Deadly Sins. He talked about pride and humility, and did a great job of keeping the message on target and accessible for both the newcomer and the established Christian.

One of the students at Lift, whom I knew from another church, told me that he was not even looking for a church at the time but when he experienced the sense of community at LIFT he was hooked. This was now his community.

I brought a couple of my sons along for the ride. Dave (21) told me that he really enjoyed the service, but suggested that they may want to make an intentional announcement regarding where people were going to hang out after. He is a sociable guy but had to work hard in order to find out. Luke (16) told me, “ I didn’t realize Jon Balt was such a good worship leader”. In short, it was a success.

What is too bad is that I didn’t get my camera until the next day, so I don’t have pictures to show you. However, take in the website at http://www.liftchurch.ca/. There are some really creative people at Lift, and their hearts are in just the right place. Further, Dave Slater, has stepped out in faith to make this all happen and it is clear that God is honoring him for it. Freshmen who came to his first meeting three years ago are now leaders and evidencing solid maturity in Christ. It is gratifying to see it.