NATIVE-BORN MINISTER credits much of his faith to close family relationships among Western Canada’s Churches of Christ. The region’s small churches face big challenges reaching the lost, he says.

Jason Bandura is Canadian through and through — right down to his love of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, one of the eight teams that comprise the Canadian Football League.

Born and raised among Churches of Christ in the central province of Saskatchewan, he earned a bachelor’s in theology from Western Christian College and a Master of Divinity from Canadian Theological Seminary. For two years he served the Saskatoon church. Now 32, he ministers for the 170-member Glen Elm church in Saskatchewan’s capital, Regina.

In Canada, “our culture is obsessed with freedom, leisure and comfort,” Bandura said. Winning souls is difficult.

Churches of Christ in Canada also face an “identity crisis” of sorts, he said.

“At times, we wonder about our place within the larger evangelical community. For some, the matter of distinctness within this larger Christian community is crucial. For others, unity is the headline concern.”

Though small and scattered, churches in Western Canada have close family relationships. Such connections were essential to Bandura’s development as a Christian, he said.

“Perhaps our greatest challenge is tied to our greatest opportunity — to be authentic in our faith and to seriously seek our Father, our Lord and our comforter,“ he added.

Bandura is married to his high school sweetheart, Shannon. The couple has a 1-year-old daughter, Emmanuelle.