Dreaming big dreams

Saturday night, I attended the 20th anniversary of Doug and Meredith Ward's coming to Kanata Baptist Church. When they arrived in Kanata in 1984, the city had only 25,000 inhabitants. The church had an old house on Hazeldean road dubbed "the mouse house" because of an infestation of mice. There was no church building, only meetings in a garage or a school gym.

Over the course of the evening, we watched slides of the various changes in the life of Kanata Baptist. The building of a church, the building of a whole complex of non-profit, geared to income housing, the expansion of the church building, more than doubling the amount of space, the establishment of a home for abused teenagers, and the establishment of Sylvia House, a hospice for the dying. Though the teen home no longer exists, it was one of many ministeries that began with a vision, and became reality.

Doug was repeatedly described as a visionary during the evening, but more than that, Doug has also been someone who allowed other people to bring their visions forward and test them, and, if their vision caught, allow the church body to take hold and bring that vision to life.

Now, Kanata Baptist Church is deemed one of the most successful churches in Canada. Doug mentors other pastors throughout the country. Kanata has more than 100,000 people and is now part of the city of Ottawa.

What if the vision had stayed small? What if it never expanded beyond the rickety mouse house on Hazeldean Road? My life was changed forever after I walked inside the door 14 years ago. The changes came in increments, but I can attribute those changes to the good pouring out of grand visions of a small group of people who dared to believe in something beyond a garage and a school gym. Hundreds of others have been impacted in the same way.

How big is your vision? Do you dare to dream? Are your dreams only about your own success and that of your immediate family? How about expanding your dreams? Why not include service to others and see how that makes you feel? Are you afraid to dream big? Why? Are you afraid that you might not be able to carry it off? The little group in Kanata Baptist didn't believe in elbow grease and self-reliance. They relied on God to help them, though they supplied no shortage of sweat equity and labors of love.

Let yourself dream. Expand your vision. See yourself serving others and loving every minute. What do you see?