Who are we?

My name is Aaron Murray. I am married to Melissa, and we have three young children, Sawyer, Weston, and Lucie.

Jesus saved me in my third year of college through a friend who faithfully shared the gospel with me and led me to brothers who taught me. I was a youth pastor in Sioux Lookout, Ontario. Melissa is a speech-language pathologist.

My name is Zach Laustsen. I am married to Olive, and we have two little girls, Sage and Noelle

My wife and I are originally from Nova Scotia but more recently from Sioux Lookout, Ontario. The Lord saved me when I was in high school. My heart was touched by the revelation that Jesus knew me completely and still loved me to the point of dying on the cross for my sins. My wife and I consider ourselves "normal" people who have answered God's call to obey and honour him with what he has given us.

Call and Training

[Aaron] Towards the end of 2017, Melissa and I casually discussed the possibility of church planting. In October 2018, we took a course on marriage at our local church. In the last session, our pastor challenged us to read the Bible with another couple. Zach, Olive, Melissa, and I decided to read the Bible together.

We read the Bible in under two months, meeting together every Sunday afternoon to pray, discuss, and apply the Word to our lives. It became apparent that the Lord was calling out to us and touching each of our hearts in similar ways. We have seen the beauty and value of God in Jesus, the reality of eternal judgment, and the absolute urgency of the gospel. Our conversations about church planting started again, and we prayed to know where God might send us. We were committed to serving Him in a place in Canada with a great need for the gospel and new churches.

God answered our prayers and showed us Quebec as a needy mission field, parched for the gospel. The great need for leaders and workers for church planting and for the existing Churches of Quebec challenged us. We all moved to Quebec in October 2020, and we believe that the Spirit has brought us where he wants us by opening the right doors at the right time. We pray and hope that God will use our families for his glory and to build his church in Quebec.

Goals and Current Projects

Our goal is to plant churches. Our goal was to develop pastoral and ministry skills while perfecting our French.

Coached by our pastor, Josué Praça, at the church Verdun, we have recently completed the integration phase, which includes spiritual formation, learning French, and gaining a better understanding of Québécois culture. Integration in times of pandemic was challenging, but God has led and carried us in all circumstances. In September 2022, our two families moved to the Saguenay to work towards re-planting the Église Baptiste Évangélique de Chicoutimi, where we joined the pastoral team.