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Contact: Drew Snider, Media
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A NEW “AROMA” FOR THE DOWNTOWN EAST SIDE
Former “black sheep” to guide Gospel
Mission Society
People living on Vancouver’s Downtown East Side –
newly-arrived condo-dwellers and “street people” alike – can expect a new
reason to be attracted to the area around Hastings and Carrall Streets.
The newly-hired General Director of Gospel Mission
envisions a spirit of welcome and love to draw people into the building and
into a new relationship with God. Wesley
Chadwick has been chosen to take over Western Canada’s oldest
continuously-operating Mission, filling the position left vacant by the
unexpected death last year of Rev. Barry Babcook. Rev. Babcook had been in
charge of the Mission for 17 years.
A native of South Africa, the 38-year-old Chadwick was,
for a time, the black sheep of a family dedicated to serving God. His father
and mother planted churches in Rhodesia (as it then was – now Zimbabwe), Zaire
(now Democratic Republic of Congo) and the United Kingdom. But in his late
teens, Wesley fell into drug addiction. He used crack cocaine, among other
substances, before he and the woman who is now his wife were miraculously set
free.
“It happened overnight,” he says. “We said to each
other, ‘we’ve got to stop this.’ God decided it was time for me to get out of
that and serve Him better.” This testimony of hope, mercy and grace will
encourage people on the Downtown East Side and show how it is God’s will for
people to be set free from the things that oppress them.
At the same time, Chadwick sees a new role for the
Mission, expanding its reach and its scope, likening it baking bread, with
different ingredients coming together that tastes and smells delicious to all.
“You know how, when you walk past a bakery, the smell
of baking bread just draws you in?” says Chadwick. “That’s how our Mission –
our church – should be: where people are drawn in by the goodness of God. If
that means newcomers are sitting beside ‘street people’, so be it.”
Founded in 1929, Gospel Mission offers hope to people
on the Downtown East Side in a variety of ways, all through the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. There is a Sunday Believers’ service, church-style services throughout
the week, Bible study, prayer night and even a movie night. Meals are offered
at some of these services. Since 2008, it has operated The Lord’s Rain, a
facility that provides showers five mornings a week. It receives no government
funding, and is supported by volunteer help, in-kind donations and finances
from churches, individuals and foundations.
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