Author and pastor shows 'the prayer path'

By Peter Biggs

BRAD JERSAK has seen extraordinary success with his book, Can You Hear Me?

The Canadian version, self published by Jersak through his Fresh Wind Press, sold an initial 20,000 copies. Publishers overseas have picked up the success with a recent release in South Korea and a release in Germany next month. The theme of the book -- "tuning in to the God who speaks" -- draws from a wide Christian tradition of listening prayer.

Jersak is not the typical pastor type. Sporting baseball cap, two earrings and a short stubble, he presents himself as the antithesis of a religious stereotype.

This shy, soft spoken and understated man in his early 40s is the "team leader" of Fresh Wind Christian Fellowship in Abbotsford, BC -- a church started some eight years ago with an unusual set of values -- or "pillars," as Jersak calls them: the disabled, children, prodigals and the poor.

Vivid dream

Jersak grew up in Manitoba, and remembers his conversion at age seven, preceded by what he described as a vivid dream.

"It was a jungle missionary picture with me reaching out to cannibals, as long as I preached they were transformed -- now there may have been some of God and some of Popeye in this! But when I was young I remember wanting to write a book and include this dream in it -- I actually haven't ever written about it yet!"

After leaving school, he attended Briercrest Bible College in Saskatchewan, where he met Eden, his wife. After completing a BA and MA in Biblical Studies he became a youth pastor at Eden's home church, Bethel Mennonite in Aldergrove, where they served prior to planting Fresh Wind.

"From the start of my ministry life, I seemed to attract kids who had been abused in various ways, with associated symptoms such as anorexia, rage issues and various addictions," he says. "It caused us to have to seek out avenues of healing and prayer ministry. The nature of the problems meant that we had to ensure confidentiality, we felt we were in a sense hidden. We learned a lot about healing and deliverance."

Whilst quietly getting on with helping individual kids, in sometimes remarkable ways, through caring and prayer, he described a marked change that happened in 1994.

Renewal

"A wave of renewal hit us," he says. "It came from the youth, who began to spontaneously want to worship God and seek intimacy with him. In turn we saw a passion in them to reach their friends. It was not uncommon to see Christians praying with friends in the hallways of public schools!"

Jersak is emphatic that it was nothing he did that ushered this in, and he describes a doubling of numbers of kids coming out in only a few weeks.

"Everyone was telling their friends, 'Come and join us, God is here!' We'd start a meeting with worship and newcomers would just start weeping and shaking, it was not emotionalism, and we had no explanation but that it was God. They had never been in church before, it was not a learned response."

During this period, Jersak would preach and teach mainly from the Gospels. Community coffee houses were started with up to 400 kids attending. "Although much of this time was very subjective, it has shown long term fruit with some going on into ministries overseas and at home, both full time and volunteer. Overall many of my values and beliefs about ministry were formed over this time," he said.

After this season, through a series of events and 'signs,' Brad and Eden were convinced to plant a church with Brian West, a seasoned youth leader from the Toronto Airport Church. West was the first team leader, but has since moved on.

Fresh Wind

So was birthed Fresh Wind Christian Fellowship in 1998, with a core group of 30. Since that time there has been steady growth in numbers, along with a steady "sending out" of people healed or commissioned to ministry elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Jersak began writing.

From the beginning, he says his church was careful to deal respectfully with the individuals represented by the four 'pillars.'

"It was essential," he says, "that we didn't target these groups, but saw them as mentors of our Christian values."

Asked for an example of this, he cites those who attend Fresh Wind with severe disabilities. "They don't care about my status or achievements; they don't acknowledge my pedestal. [They] simply care about: 'Will he love me, and will he let me love him?' Such people keep our focus on that. The Lord seemed to say that, if these pillars are strong, then his presence will be on us"

No shushing!

At Fresh Wind the children are not dismissed from the service, but rather included. "We have a 'no shush' rule regarding children," he said. "One day I asked the congregation of about 150: 'How many of you have been shushed in your life?' The place went ballistic; it felt like chains were breaking. Some described their 'voice' having been stolen, and now they were getting it back."

Asked if this doesn't cause mayhem in the service, he responds, "We have taught kids that there is a difference between a 'law no' and a 'love no.' They are growing to understand [such] values . . . We won't drown out or push out God -- or people."

He described a man sitting in church with a baby, who began to cry very loudly.

"Normally, it would be okay for him to step out; but I asked the church to pray for the child's peace. The man burst into tears. He later told me that he had been hurt by the church before, when his child became noisy."

Fresh Wind has an emphasis on prayer. Up to half of the 100 or so adults are trained in praying for others. Jersak describes several purposes for prayer: interceding for others; contemplation, which leads to inner healing; and cultivating a sense of the prophetic, in relation to social justice issues.

Limping 'in the Spirit'

Asked about his own inner journey, Jersak is remarkably open. "Oh, I walk with a limp in the Spirit," he says.

"I have some real struggles. I am doing better now; but I have suffered with long-term anxiety issues -- and have had to work through major rejection issues originating from early childhood memories and being bullied at school. In my 30s, I was shocked to discover a deep-seated self-hatred.

"I've made some real progress in my own process of healing -- as I receive both prayer and counselling from others."

Asked to name a scripture which was formative for his church, he cites Isaiah 58: 6 - 12: "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice . . . and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter, [and] when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer."

September 28/2006