Hi everyone, my name is Benjamin Gagne a 20 yearold French Canadian from the small Southern Ontario town of Cottam, but you can
just call me Ben. I’m currently working away at a 3 year ministerial diploma
through Master’s College and Seminary in Toronto, Ontario training in ministry
and preparing myself for a life dedicated to missions! I was born and raised in
a Christian home with wonderful God honouring parents and siblings that I would
never trade for anything in this world. My second family can be found at my
home church (FGT Family Church) in Leamington, Ontario. I am truly blessed to
be a part of that wonderful congregation, I am who I am today because of the
mentors I’ve had there! I’ve been serving there as Junior High, Youth, and
Small Group leader (I will miss you all so much!) within our PIT (Pastors in
Training) program created for Bible college students, as well as being an
active member of our church’s missions committee.
I absolutely adore sports (I love
Hockey, I’m Canadian!!!) and the outdoors. When I find a new hobby I give it
all I got, always taking it to a new level. The one hobby I’ve always enjoyed
and plan on never abandoning is skateboarding, it always has a way of making
any bad day into a good one. I adore traveling, surrounding myself by
adventure, and the challenge of adapting to new cultures. My biggest passion
lies in Missions…
Hockey, I’m Canadian!!!) and the outdoors. When I find a new hobby I give it
all I got, always taking it to a new level. The one hobby I’ve always enjoyed
and plan on never abandoning is skateboarding, it always has a way of making
any bad day into a good one. I adore traveling, surrounding myself by
adventure, and the challenge of adapting to new cultures. My biggest passion
lies in Missions…
When I was seventeen years old on
exactly the date of May 17th, 2007 God spoke to me after watching a video on
world poverty at a youth convention. I was speechless after I saw it, but I
know God developed right there in that moment a Holy Discontent within me. I
couldn’t stand there any longer living a dead faith, for the first time in my
life it became clear to me how much God’s heart aches for His people and how
much He loves them. I started seeing things through His eyes… I started to
see the faces of the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed, the victims, the
slaves, the orphans, the abused, the neglected and the lost, “the least of
these.” Action needed to be taken and I knew that in the summer of
2008 a team from our church was going to Guatemala. I was planning on going,
but God told me that not only was I going, but I was going to stay there. I
honestly had no idea how long I was going to be there. I came with the team and
ended up staying there for 3 and a half months. I had the incredible
opportunity to be an 18 year old teaching ten English classes a week to over 60
Guatemalan impoverished teenagers. Those students became my life and I can
never explain how much of blessing it was to work as a volunteer at the William
Cornelius Vocational Training Centre (Child Care Plus) in Mixco, Guatemala. I
spent my time in Guatemala, on top of teaching, helping with school maintenance
and building projects. I was also very fortunate to have been able to
participate in a food distribution project there because of recent destruction
by hurricanes. I’m looking forward to returning with another ministry team that
I will be helping the youth Pastor at my church lead in July of 2010!
exactly the date of May 17th, 2007 God spoke to me after watching a video on
world poverty at a youth convention. I was speechless after I saw it, but I
know God developed right there in that moment a Holy Discontent within me. I
couldn’t stand there any longer living a dead faith, for the first time in my
life it became clear to me how much God’s heart aches for His people and how
much He loves them. I started seeing things through His eyes… I started to
see the faces of the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed, the victims, the
slaves, the orphans, the abused, the neglected and the lost, “the least of
these.” Action needed to be taken and I knew that in the summer of
2008 a team from our church was going to Guatemala. I was planning on going,
but God told me that not only was I going, but I was going to stay there. I
honestly had no idea how long I was going to be there. I came with the team and
ended up staying there for 3 and a half months. I had the incredible
opportunity to be an 18 year old teaching ten English classes a week to over 60
Guatemalan impoverished teenagers. Those students became my life and I can
never explain how much of blessing it was to work as a volunteer at the William
Cornelius Vocational Training Centre (Child Care Plus) in Mixco, Guatemala. I
spent my time in Guatemala, on top of teaching, helping with school maintenance
and building projects. I was also very fortunate to have been able to
participate in a food distribution project there because of recent destruction
by hurricanes. I’m looking forward to returning with another ministry team that
I will be helping the youth Pastor at my church lead in July of 2010!
In
April of 2009, I went to Cuba with a team from my church, where we came to
check up on all our partnerships with Cuba. Our role was to build new
relationships and invest in new projects of God’s church in Cuba. We were able
to see God’s work in just the past few years in Holguin, Cuba and continue to
bring them support. I served as a translator. I was pushed out my comfort zone,
but I have no doubt in my mind that God wanted me there.
April of 2009, I went to Cuba with a team from my church, where we came to
check up on all our partnerships with Cuba. Our role was to build new
relationships and invest in new projects of God’s church in Cuba. We were able
to see God’s work in just the past few years in Holguin, Cuba and continue to
bring them support. I served as a translator. I was pushed out my comfort zone,
but I have no doubt in my mind that God wanted me there.
On top of this I’ve been able to
participate in various missions trips around my own country in Waterdown,
Toronto, Ontario and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. These works involved helping new
church plants by completing projects for them, engaging in active evangelism in
the community, preparing VBS’s, working with the homeless (Toronto), and other
forms of ministry. A much as I love traveling, I’ve never forgotten that as a
Christian the life of a missionary is lived out daily, wherever you are is your
missions field.
participate in various missions trips around my own country in Waterdown,
Toronto, Ontario and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. These works involved helping new
church plants by completing projects for them, engaging in active evangelism in
the community, preparing VBS’s, working with the homeless (Toronto), and other
forms of ministry. A much as I love traveling, I’ve never forgotten that as a
Christian the life of a missionary is lived out daily, wherever you are is your
missions field.
This transformation has left me
passionate about reaching the less fortunate and the overlooked in the world we
live in. It is through this that God gave me passion for language. I am
currently trilingual in (English, French and Spanish) and I desire to learn at
least three more languages for the benefit of serving God with a greater
influence.
passionate about reaching the less fortunate and the overlooked in the world we
live in. It is through this that God gave me passion for language. I am
currently trilingual in (English, French and Spanish) and I desire to learn at
least three more languages for the benefit of serving God with a greater
influence.
This is “Ben Gagne” in a nutshell;
you see there’s a lot more to me than just this. All kinds of little details
and other strange things, but those aren’t important in the end. What I want
you to see is the transformation in me. I wanted you to see what God has done
through me, He has made me into a person that sees the world through His eyes
and that desires to live for a purpose greater than myself. I’m not perfect and
I have a lot of growing to do, one of the many reasons I’m going on this
trip… God wants more of me than ever before! Even more incredible is how much
He wants to work in and through you too! God loves you more than you could ever
imagine and has a life designed for you that goes far beyond anything you could
ever dream up or fathom. Allow Him to sculpt you into the person you were
intended to be!
you see there’s a lot more to me than just this. All kinds of little details
and other strange things, but those aren’t important in the end. What I want
you to see is the transformation in me. I wanted you to see what God has done
through me, He has made me into a person that sees the world through His eyes
and that desires to live for a purpose greater than myself. I’m not perfect and
I have a lot of growing to do, one of the many reasons I’m going on this
trip… God wants more of me than ever before! Even more incredible is how much
He wants to work in and through you too! God loves you more than you could ever
imagine and has a life designed for you that goes far beyond anything you could
ever dream up or fathom. Allow Him to sculpt you into the person you were
intended to be!
God Bless
you all and I’m so glad you are embarking with me on this adventure!
you all and I’m so glad you are embarking with me on this adventure!
