JOEL AGUSTIN
PAM AGUSTIN
ARIELLE JEYANTHAN
ABOUT US
This house of prayer is not our idea! It was God Himself that gave the call to come together in this place and to put Him at the centre. You see, the prayer room at SHOP is a place of encounter first before it focuses on the task of praying for the city.
The whole idea of worship and prayer becomes an empty religious exercise if we are doing it without connecting with God and coming before Him. We live in a time when we are more than ever in need of objective truth and trusted leadership to get us through turbulent waters. We are “connected” to more people than ever through social media and our web presence, yet have never felt less seen, recognized and understood. This is an hour when real connection with Jesus is desperately needed, as the future gives us no sense of relief from these challenges. Because of this, the prayer room is here so you can come before Jesus as the one who loves and understands you, to encounter him in his thoughts and feelings and to know him so much better. Friendship with God is actually possible! In fact, He wants us to feel his heart and to be moved by the things that are important to Him.
You were made to experience God and to encounter his thoughts and feelings as you engage in worship and prayer.
Spending time with Him in this way leads you to agree with the things He is doing in this hour. The people of our city are like “sheep without a shepherd” and desperately need the benefits of coming near to Jesus, too. He sees them all and is determined to rescue as many as will turn to Him. He is the king and he wants his kingdom rule to be extended to everyone. Spending time in the prayer room causes you to raise your voice in prayer for these ones just because you have felt how important they are to Jesus. And, catching his heart in this way will lead you to go out to those who are living in darkness with the good news of the gospel, the light that sets them free to be His.
Worship is what He deserves. He is that great. Prayer is what comes when you see what He cares about and what He is planning to do in our city. It’s all about Him. And, our prayer room is first, above all things, a place of encounter.
Hi there! My name is Brian Creary and I am the Director of Sanctuary House of Prayer. I’ve been here since the beginning and have carried the vision for this house since I heard the call of God concerning it in May 2002. After serving as a pastor at the Winnipeg Centre Vineyard for 7 years, I launched out in May of 2006 with a small group of young people to begin this prayer ministry.
Together, we were zealous to see Jesus glorified in Winnipeg and did the work of many hours of sustained worship and prayer. We didn’t really know what we had signed up for, but we were passionate to pursue Jesus and not give up. The Lord helped with the rest! He gave us grace to continue when things were sometimes difficult, revelation of his heart when we were reaching for deeper understanding and passion for the things he cares about in our city so we can pray for them with faith and confidence.
In the 16 years since we began, we have prayed thousands of hours, loved Jesus through good and bad times and experienced his love and mercy again and again. Many times, he has spoken prophetically through us to others, sometimes healed the sick amongst us and consistently opened our eye to his greatness. This house of prayer is about him, for him and always engaged in calling for others to see and know him deeply, too.
I have a confidence that our city is marked for a significant move of God one day, and that he really loves his church and wants it to come with him in all that he is going to do in Winnipeg. All of us can see him fresh and new, minister to his heart and bless him with our worship as we cry out for his kingdom to come. He is just waiting to hear your voice!
BRIAN CREARY
