Meet our Pastors...
Dave & Cynthia Collins

Dave: I was in love with Christ and was spending a lot of time in small groups, active in my church. Then, one day the pastor made a comment about "even if you're called to be single"... I didn't like the idea of that calling. It startled me into beginning my search. I made a list of qualities I wanted to look for in a wife and shared with friends… Cynthia and I were introduced on a blind date by a mutual friend. Well, to put it bluntly, she was very pretty. She was also in a close relationship with the Lord and I knew that we were to be "at least" friends! We knew that because of our parallel lives, five years apart but our paths had crossed numerous times in the past with unusual coincidences, that we were headed towards something special. We got engaged on Valentine's Day 1997, on a picnic basket church couples night out on the shores of Little Bear Lake. I had driven to Trickel's Jewelers (owned by Cynthia’s grandmother) to purchase the engagement ring AFTER asking Cynthia's mother for permission to marry her (sister Leslie was there too). Against the warnings of them both, I went single handedly to meet the harsh and man-hating grandmother...funny thing was...she took to me quite well and years later I had the honor of her asking me to pray with her just before her death. She is in the arms of Jesus. I was in love...I knew there would be challenges, but I felt God would take care of the details.

Cynthia: I was single with 2 young children, divorced from my husband after he had multiple affairs. I 'hated' men, and was content without another one. Unfortunately, my father died soon after and I was shaken again. However, my relationship with the Lord was amazing and He carried me through it all, to be even stronger on the other side!

I immediately noticed Dave had a real relationship with Jesus. On our blind date, He prayed for our meal in a way that only someone walking closely with God would! We quickly became friends and spent a lot of time praying together. I wasn't looking for a relationship, in fact I had worked out a 'sign' with God that if He thought I should get serious again, He would send me someone who loved God so much that He would want to go on a honeymoon to Israel, and be baptized in the River Jordan as husband a wife. This type of burning bush kept me very safe because what were the odds of it being fulfilled? Lol! I told no one of the sign, but Dave knew there WAS a sign. One night when we were on the phone praying, he got really quiet. I said "hello hello?" thinking he had fallen asleep. He told me that while we were praying he saw a vision of us getting baptized in a river together as husband and wife. "It was the Jordan River" he said. "Click". I hung up on him and started yelling at God that this wasn't funny! Dave drove over and asked me to marry him…Though I did not answer him at that time, he asked me again on Valentine’s day in front of dozens of friends, and we ended up getting married. We went to Israel on our honeymoon, Dave led worship for our tour at the Mount of Olives while I danced to ‘Lord’s Prayer’, we were baptized together as husband and wife in the River Jordan to fulfill the promise/vision!