Mark Kennedy

Being raised in a Christian home, church was a very constant part of my life.  At age 8 I accepted Jesus as my Saviour while visiting my Grandparents church in Calton, Ontario.  As an early teen I rededicated my life to the Lord at a Christian Service Brigade Camporee in the Pinery Provincial Park.   A number of years later a young lady from the youth group, Suzanne Beaumont, our pastor’s daughter, caught my attention.  Jumping forward several years, that young lady became my wife and together we headed for Saskatchewan to attend Briercrest Bible College.   Upon graduation, I accepted a call to pastor a little Fellowship Baptist Church on Vancouver Island, where we got our feet wet, so to speak, in ministry, for 5 years.  From there we moved, with our 4 children, to northern BC, where we ministered in a Baptist church in Smithers for 12 years.  Those were good years for us, in ministry development, in family growth, and adjusting to the northern climate and culture. Doing what I said we would never do, we moved back to Ontario as God led us to a North American Baptist Church in Arnprior, Ontario to serve as an associate pastor.  And as we ministered there for 6.5 years, all our children left home, significantly reducing the chance of ever moving back to the west.  From there we moved to Seaforth, Ontario where I pastored an Associated Gospel Church for 9 years.  During those years, all our children found a mate of God’s choice and married.  What a joy to be personally involved in the wedding of each of our kids. Now as we have moved to Forest Baptist Church (2015), I look forward to a team ministry with Pastor Tyler and the folks here. Our family continues to grow in spiritual development and numbers as we have gone from 2 to 6, to 10 (as all our children marry), to now 13, as we rejoice in the inclusion of 3 grandsons.  God has been so gracious and generous to us, for which we praise Him, and it continues to be our prayer that God will use us as we seek to bless, glorify and serve Him here in Forest.