Wow has life been going by! Recently, Janalee and I celebrated 45 years of marriage and Forerunner Ministries 43 years.

Over the next few months, or however long it takes, we want to share with you stories and testimonies from this 43-year journey, remembering what the Lord has done and is continuing to do; giving testimony to the faithfulness and goodness of the Lord.

Janalee and I were married June 1981, in Detroit Lakes, MN, and were involved at Northern Lights Missionary Outreach, Pastor Fred and LuAnne Soyring. In 1983, after much prayer, fasting, and counseling, we accepted the call of God on our lives; to live a life of faith in God for our provision and to minister to His people.

During our time seeking the Lord as to what He had for us and what we felt He was calling us to do, my mom shared a scripture verse, Zechariah 4:10, about not despising the day of small beginnings. Looking back this was a foundational scripture along with Revelation 3:8, “I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it…”

There’s another story behind walking through the open door of ministry opportunity and trying to make things happen, but eventually we were free to launch out.

In June of 1983, we gave up our apartment, put what we had in storage and headed out to what seemed like the unknown.

Our first stop was Baudette, Minnesota, where our friends Pastors Dave & Mary Lee Gens pastored Church of the Living Water. We had known them from our days in Detroit Lakes and our very first recording, “There is a Beauty”, was recorded in their living room. They were Forerunners in answering their call to Northern Minnesota to start a church. So it was very special to make our first stop in Baudette.

The church met in an old barn with no electricity. We don’t recall everything from our first meeting/concert, but do remember there was a sweet spirit there that night and we knew the meeting was over then we were invaded by the local mosquitoes!!