Rick Bayer

 I’ve been happily married to Sheila for a couple of decades. We have two great kids, Mackenzie who lives on the Island, and Kelsey who lives in her bedroom, occasionally coming out for meals. Both of our lovely daughters are adopted from China.  We also have a 14-year-old Terrier dog, Cheerio.  

 I did not grow up here in the Lower Mainland. Like the wise men, I came from the East, growing up near Toronto in the city of Kitchener. I made the trek out west in the 1980’s first landing in Saskatchewan and then continuing to venture west. Next stop Hawaii!? 

 I did both my undergrad and graduate degrees on the snowy prairies at Briercrest Bible College and Seminary.  

As a young adult, Jesus became very real to me. You could say I found the Lord then. But looking back, God has pursued me throughout my life. Even as a kid I was interested in spiritual things. Which God encounter was the most impactful? Perhaps at the back of a movie theatre on King Street in Kitchener. Ask me about it sometime… 

 I crossed the Rocky Mountains and made the trek here in the spring of 2015 to serve the church and the community. My role here is being the lead pastor at Gracepoint.  

 I am passionate about the gospel, seeing Jesus change and transform people. I daily celebrate how God is at work in our world. I dream about a world that Jesus inaugurated, to see His kingdom come. A world where all that is broken is healed.  You occasionally see me in the news, talking about affordable housing, because the housing crisis in our region fires me up.  

In my spare time, I read, play tennis (4.0), watch tennis, and hang out with my family. We like biking and walking. Weekly I take my wife out on a date and we ask one another 5 questions.