King Street Baptist Church

In February of 1999, while serving as Pastor of Agincourt Baptist Church in Scarborough, Ontario, I received a letter from the Chairman of the Pastoral Search Committee at King Street Baptist Church in Cambridge, Ontario. The letter informed me that my name had been submitted as a pastoral candidate and asked if I would be interested in being interviewed for the position of Pastor at that church. After discussing that request with my wife, Sally, I sent a reply letter on March 4, stating that I felt very honoured to be considered and to officially apply for the position. On May 10, I had my first interview with the Search Committee. The following day the Chairman phoned to invite me to preach for a call, and he graciously gave me two weeks to respond.

After much prayer and discussion with my wife, and although the interview went very well, I phoned the Chairman on May 25 and declined the invitation to preach for a call. Nevertheless, the Search Committee met again and, sensing God’s leading, sent me a second letter, dated June 1, asking me to reconsider my decision. In all my years of ministry, I had never before received a second letter from a Search Committee; this was a first for me. So, again after much prayer and discussion with my wife, I phoned the Chairman to accept the invitation to a second interview and for my wife to come and meet the Search Committee members and see the church.
The second interview was held on June 21, after which I was invited to come and preach for a call to become their next Pastor. On July 21, at the Committee’s request, I led the mid-week Bible Study at King Street Baptist Church. Then, on Saturday, July 24, Sally and I were invited to Port Dover, Ontario, where a good number of the congregation had gathered at a church family’s cottage. During the afternoon, while we were enjoying a time of fellowship, a huge thunderstorm arose. After the rain stopped, there appeared in the sky not one but two brilliantly coloured rainbows. The last time Sally and I had seen a bright, double rainbow was while we were driving home following my second pastoral interview with another Search Committee five years earlier—a clear confirmation to us then that God wanted us to move to that city and begin a new ministry at that church. Now, five yearslater, it felt like déjà vu all over again! God truly wanted us to move once more.

The following day, Sunday, July 25, I preached for a call during the morning worship service. Immediately following that service, a special business meeting was held, whereupon the Search Committee recommended me to be the church’s next Pastor. The vote was unanimous in favour of extending me a call, and before returning home that day I stood before the congregation and joyfully accepted the call to become their new Pastor beginning October 1. On July 31, Sally and I spent the day in Cambridge, house hunting with a real estate agent. The last house he showed us was the one we decided to purchase. On August 2, we put our house in Scarborough on the market, and on August 5 it was sold. We moved into our new house in Cambridge on October 1, and on Sunday, October 3, I preached my first sermon as Pastor of King Street Baptist Church. As I reflect on God’s leading in all of these events, I can truly echo the words of the hymn writer: “To God be the glory; great things He has done!”