A couple finds gospel hope and community in their local congregation.

Can you see it?

Heads turn as the pastor walks to the front of the sanctuary. Surrounding him is a choir of silver steelpan drums, shining as they reflect light from around the room.

Can you hear it?

Hushed anticipation fills the air as the last few people take their seats. Hearts pound as musicians and vocalists anticipate the first note. The pastor greets the audience and opens with a prayer, and then the concert begins.

It’s obvious that something very special is going on at Hope, Toronto, Canada. It’s not necessarily that the congregation is positioned in one of the most diverse cities in the world—though it’s true. Toronto’s population is 50 percent first-generation immigrants, and Hope serves members from 25 different countries.

It’s not that Hope has been saturated with an excess of talented members—though they exist everywhere you look. It’s the fact that when you step into Hope—whether for a regular Sunday service or a special music concert—your first question is, “Where does all this joy and enthusiasm come from?”

Everywhere you look, you see brothers or sisters in the faith who bring what they have to the table and wait for a chance to use it to serve God and his people. Coming to church isn’t a chore or a bother . . . it’s where you go to take care of your family. No matter who walks through the doors of Hope, no matter where they’re from or what their story is, they’ve found a new place to belong.

An authentic church home

Two people who embody this attitude beautifully are Wayne and Andra Owen. Wayne and Andra have been among the ranks of musicians at Hope for as long as anyone. But like so many others, the ways God uses them behind the scenes go far beyond their stylings on the steelpan or in the choir.

Many years ago, the Owens moved to Canada from Guyana, South America. At first, the couple struggled to find a place to worship that matched the vibrant, joyful atmosphere to which they had become accustomed. Choosing a church meant so much more than deciding where to sit for an hour each Sunday . . . it was deciding where to call home. Andra remembers, “We were searching for a church that provided community; great, energetic music; and people who looked like us.”

As Wayne and Andra explored churches in the Toronto area, they encountered a problem. There seemed to be a lack of sincerity—a phenomenon that was in stark contrast to what they had come to know in Guyana. Wayne said, “I was a cynical Christian then. I was especially skeptical of church leaders. We craved authenticity from them. We wanted to see that they believed what they were saying and lived it out.”

God answered the Owens’ prayers for an authentic church home when some friends invited them to attend a new Lutheran church across town, a mission start that would soon adopt a name to communicate exactly what every sermon, song, and Scripture would offer—Hope.

“We were so happy to be with people we knew,” Andra said. “The pastor welcomed us all and made us feel like this church we just stepped into was our home all along. Soon, we met a family from Sri Lanka and others from countries in the Caribbean. Person by person, family by family, our pastor helped us form a community that worshiped together.”

The gospel seeds that God planted through Hope in those early days have grown and produced fruit ever since. Today, Wayne and Andra continue to celebrate the blessings of an unchanging gospel message and Christian friendship with some of the same people they met all those years ago. Some of those who watched while Wayne and Andra’s daughter became Hope’s first baptism are now living with them in their joy of being grandparents.

An open door to serve

It’s clear that God has blessed Wayne and Andra in so many ways through the ministry of Hope, but he hasn’t stopped there. He has opened door after door for them to be blessings to Hope too.

Andra describes Hope as “a home,” and she shares her gifts to help others feel at home too. She was trained by the United Nations and the Canadian government to advocate for immigrants and newcomers. Guess who lives in the neighborhoods surrounding Hope? Exactly the kinds of souls Andra has been equipped to befriend. When new residents of Toronto visit Hope, Andra’s gift is making sure they don’t feel new for too long. Not only can they trust that Hope is a place where they can always come to find community and the gospel in all its glory, but they also can find a friend with information on housing options, job opportunities, and settlement information.

Wayne is a leader. He knows how to hold the line and get a job done, and he’s great at taking others there with him, staying humble all the while. That’s why he was asked to be the first treasurer of WELS–Canada, a position he has recently taken on again. It’s why he leveraged Hope’s musical strengths during one of its long pastoral vacancies to put on the church’s first music camp in 2010.

The list goes on, but Wayne doesn’t want his contributions to be the story but the Spirit of God who led him to and through every one of these opportunities. “I often felt like a Jonah, fleeing in the opposite direction God was sending me,” Wayne said. “Every time one of our pastors asked me to serve in one way or another, I thought to myself, I don’t really do that. . . . I don’t have gifts to bring to the table when it comes to that position or that task. But God provided . . . every time.”

I asked Wayne if he had any words to encourage those who see God laying a path for service before them. What if they’re scared or don’t think they have what it takes? His advice is simple. “Trust and God will provide.” That’s it.

Honestly, Wayne and Andra want me to let you know that they’re not special, at least not in the ways they have been called and equipped to serve God. They don’t have special tools or experience. In fact, they often have not even known where to begin when they have seen God opening a new door in front of them.

But they’ve learned through the years that God will do incredible things when his people step through those doors.

Author: Cameron Schroeder
Volume 112, Number 03
Issue: March 2025

A musical blend

Music plays an important role in the ministry and culture of Hope, Toronto. Not only do two of Hope’s large outreach events—a summer music camp and a community Christmas concert—revolve around music, but also its music every Sunday reflects the cultural variety of the congregation’s membership.

“What you hear depends on which country you are coming from, especially from India, from Nigeria, from any part of Africa, from the West Indies,” says Pauline Soman, worship coordinator at Hope. “People’s hymns are different. They sing differently. Their tunes are much faster and more catchy than some of the tunes that are in our hymnal. It’s really a blend. I always try to ensure that we’re using one or two songs from our hymnbook and then pick something else outside of it so that there’s balance.”

Besides working with the pastor to ensure worshipful music diversity, Soman coordinates musicians to play or sing every week. That can mean the ten-person steelpan drum group, a choir, song leaders for the hymns, or instrumentalists—sometimes all of the above. Hope can have up to 20 people a week praising God through their music in Sunday worship, including Soman, who normally plays the piano or organ. More than 60 participate in the yearly two-hour Christmas concert; this year that included the first-time appearance of an 18-member men’s choir, some whom never sang in a choir before.

“Once I know who has musical skills, I try to pull that person in,” says Soman, who has served as worship coordinator for 35 years. “Yes, it takes a bit of work, but it’s a great thing when you can hear them all together. It’s just a matter of lifting them up and bringing them out.”