Park and Pray
God has placed Grace Baptist Church here at Bathurst and Weldrick for a specific reason—to help the people of our community BELIEVE, CONNECT, and SHARE the grace of God in Jesus Christ. As we contemplate God’s next step for our church, we want to pray that God will:
- Transform us as individuals and as a church to best serve Him and our community,
- Steward the growth God has given us, and
- Align our plans for Grace with His will.
This is not merely about God giving us a bigger building, but to use Grace Baptist Church to make more disciples, reach more people with the gospel, strengthen families, and extend the ministry of Christ throughout Richmond Hill and beyond.
Whether you drive it or walk it, start your prayer journey at the church. The guide will tell you where to drive, park, and which landmarks to walk to. Each location has some info about its significance, along with some prompts to pray through. Have 1-3 people from your group pray for each prompt. The prayer walk is complete when you reach your last location (Sunrise Senior Living).
Stand at main entrance
God has given us growth so that we no longer fit in our current auditorium on a Sunday morning. In our new building project, our Sunday services will move from the current auditorium, and the current building will become the Generations Wing, where other ministries will continue to run.
Pray
- Pray that God would continue to use this property for His purposes: for the ministries that will inhabit this area of the building (ESL, LAFF, Grace Kids and Youth) togrow in capacity and use these facilities to the fullest of its capacities.
- Pray for wisdom and faithfulness as our leaders steward this building, our resources, along with the opportunities God has given (and will continue to give) us.
Walk to the grass between the church building and the church house
We are standing on the future site of our new auditorium. This is the physical centre of the building project, but the building itself is not the goal. We’re asking God to use increased capacity to facilitate spiritual growth and gospel ministry.
Pray
- Pray that God would provide everything necessary to complete the building project—finances, unity, contractors, municipal approvals, and leadership.
- Pray for the people God intends to bring through these doors: that hundreds of people who do not yet know Christ would hear the gospel, believe, belong, and grow here.
- Pray that we would never confuse a bigger building with a healthier church. Ask God to make Grace spiritually healthy, prayerful, generous, united, and dependent on Him as we grow.
Walk to the southwestern corner of the Bathurst and Lebovic intersection, stand on the lawn of the Jewish Community Centre
Our church is across the street from the largest Jewish Community Centre outside of Israel. Grace is especially poised to reach the Jewish community in the GTA. God loves the Jewish people and longs to see them return to Him.
Pray
- Pray that Jewish people in our community would encounter Jesus as their Messiah and Saviour.
- Pray for opportunities for genuine friendship and respectful gospel conversations between Christians at Grace and our Jewish neighbours.
- Pray that God would raise up people at Grace with a particular burden and gift for Jewish evangelism, and that doors would open for meaningful community relationships.
Drive to the school and park either in the lot, or on the street just east of the school
This school represents the thousands of children and families living right around us in the Richvale area. Stewarding the growth God has given us isn’t simply about making room for today’s church—it is about investing in people who will follow Christ for generations to come.
Pray
- Pray for the children and families living here in Richmond Hill: for their protection, flourishing, and especially that they would come to know Jesus.
- Pray that God would give Grace meaningful opportunities to serve and make room in our church family for the families in our local community.
- Pray for the next generation at Grace: Pray for Peter, our Family Ministries Director, and his team of volunteers; that God would raise up our children and youth to genuinely love Christ, know His Word, and live faithfully for Him.
Drive north on Yonge and park in the plaza. Stand over by the Super Arzon Supermarket
Look at the cultural and ethnic diversity around us! The nations are truly present in our city.
Fact: Persian residents make up one of Richmond Hill’s largest and fastest growing populations. This area is a particularly tangible reminder of the people groups God has placed around Grace. Ministries like our ESL are reaching newcomers to Canada with more than just an English program—but serves as a bridge to friendship, community, and as a light for the gospel.
Pray
- First, pray for Persian people in Richmond Hill: many are coming from troubling and turbulent circumstances back in Iran. Pray for (i) peace in the region, and (ii) that God would open hearts to the gospel and bring many to faith in Jesus Christ.
- Pray for our ESL ministry and volunteers: that this ministry would continue to offer more than just language instruction, but foster genuine friendships and opportunities to share Christ.
- Pray that Grace would become increasingly effective at welcoming and discipling immigrants and newcomers, helping people come in contact with the gospel and to find a spiritual home here.
Walk north to the condo development at the northeastern corner of Yonge and Harding
These buildings represent the people God is bringing into Richmond Hill—whether commuters through the Yonge North Subway Extension, or new residents who will inhabit the 40,000 new condo units scheduled to be built in Richmond Hill. As the city grows, we want to ask: “How does God want Grace Baptist ministry to grow with it?”
Pray
- Pray for the people who will move into these condos: for their families, marriages, work, health, and spiritual lives—to find the answer to the brokenness in this world in Jesus.
- Pray that Grace would recognize and respond to the changing demographics of Richmond Hill, asking, “How does God want us to reach these people in new and different ways?”
- Pray for numerical growth that leads to genuine conversion and discipleship: as God will fill these condos, that God would also fill our pews. Pray that we would remain faithful and effective in our outreach and preaching.
Walk across the street to the southwestern corner of the intersection, standing near the grass of the residence
LAFF (Life After Fifty-Five), our seniors outreach, reaches people in their golden years with the hope of the gospel through monthly services where they gather to sing hymns, hear biblical preaching, and enjoy a hot meal together. Sunrise sends a bus full of senior every month to LAFF. This ministry gives Grace an opportunity to bring friendship, dignity, and the hope of Christ to people who may otherwise experience isolation.
Pray
- Pray for the seniors at Sunrise: that they would experience genuine friendship, care, dignity, and hope in their golden years.
- Pray for LAFF and those who serve through it: that God would use these relationships to open hearts and create opportunities for gospel conversations.
- Pray that our seniors at Grace would increasingly grow to view old age not as retirement, but as a “recommissioning”; that they would bless the next generation through their faithfulness, wisdom, and testimony.
You have reached the end of our Park & Pray. Have one person in your group finish your time together by reading this prayer:
Pray
“Father in heaven, this is the neighbourhood you have entrusted to us. These are the people you have placed around us. Give us eyes to see them, hearts to love them, courage to reach them, and wisdom to serve them. We ask that Vision 2030 would never simply be about buildings, numbers, or programs, but about people being brought from death to life, families strengthened, disciples multiplied, and your name made known throughout Richmond Hill. Unless you build the house, we labour in vain. So build your church, and make us faithful servants of what you are doing. In Jesus’ name, amen.”