PRAYER POWER
Church rescued by minister
Adrian Ninaber has never shied away from the heavy lifting that’s sometimes required in life.
So it wasn’t a huge leap of faith when the man known as the Powerlifting Pastor left a comfortable ministry in Windsor to take over what some referred to as the “dead church” in Amherstburg. Ninaber arrived last spring to a leaking roof and dwindling congregation as the new pastor at the historic Lighthouse Church on King Street.
“Needless to say I had a lot of praying to do before I made a decision,” he said. “Some people thought I had rocks in my head.” In less than a year, however, attendance at Sunday service has quadrupled to an average of 60 and there’s a sturdy metal roof overhead.
“There was concern that the church was going to close down,” Ninaber admitted. “Was it a big risk, yeah it was.”
The building had actually been offered for sale when the previous pastor’s attempts to raise enough money for a new roof fell short. “I think people had grown discouraged,” said Ninaber who came to Amherstburg from a large congregation at Harvest Bible Chapel in Windsor. “Now, we’ve got people coming back to the church and new people coming in.”
In the ultimate sign of birth and renewal, he’ll oversee his first baptism at Lighthouse this Sunday. Ninaber has ministered at several churches in Essex County since arriving in the area in 2004, and a number of families followed him to Lighthouse Church.
“I think it resonated with some people to get involved with a small church and see it grow and turn around again,” he said. Donations for the roof started coming in, including a $5,000 gift left anonymously in the church mailbox. A Leamington church donated $1,000 and the Fellowship of Baptist Builders offered a $6,100 grant and a matching amount in a five-year loan.
People from the neighbourhood walked over with money and by last October, a new $50,000 roof was being installed.
“You can’t have a church without a decent roof but the roof wasn’t the biggest problem,” Ninaber said. “The church needs to get turned around so it can grow again.” Ninaber uses his other passion – weightlifting — to make a connection.
“I use weightlifting to connect with men a lot,” said the four-time world champion.
“Young guys connect with me even though I’m 62 and have 10 grandchildren.”
He started lifting as a scrawny Grade 9 student as a means to ward off bullying.
“I never liked to fight and once I started lifting I didn’t get picked on any more,” he said.
Now, he’ll invite someone to a lifting session in his LaSalle basement and if the opportunity presents itself for a chat afterwards, he’ll listen as well as lift. “You don’t push Christianity on anybody. You ask questions and you listen,” he said. “I’m a people person. It’s all about building relationships.”
He’ll walk to the coffee shop or nearby Navy Yard Park just for the chance to interact with folks along the way.
The main sanctuary of Lighthouse Church dates back to the 1850s.
“This church has a long history and it’s gone through some struggles,” Ninaber said. “There are other evangelical churches around, but I get the sense people in this community want to see this church survive. I think they see the church is moving ahead.” Thanks to the generosity of a local businessman, the community room will have new flooring installed in a few weeks time. Drywall and fresh paint have already replaced dated panelling. Ninaber, who holds two masters degrees and a doctorate, offers grief and divorce counselling alongside his wife Rose.
“I’m very much about outreach,” he said. “I do a lot of counselling with families that are broken.” Since his arrival, the church has launched a Facebook page and a website at lighthouseamherstburg.com.
He knows there’s still lots of work to be done in terms of building membership and community outreach.
“There’s challenges with weightlifting, there’s challenges with churches,” he said. “I like challenges.
Ninaber said all are welcome to the 10:30 a.m. Sunday service.