Pastor Ralph Beamish, Board Member, Hamiota, Manitoba since May 2018. Pastor Ralph is also the director of God is in the House.

I’m not sure Pastor Ray knew what he was asking for when he wanted my detailed biography.

Having lived 76 years in this world my biography contains pages of details.  I will try in as few words as possible to outline my history. 

It all began December 11, 1944. I was born at Shoal Lake (the town) MB to Doug and Veva (Currah) Beamish.  Dad was and honest and moral man, and mother was a nominal church going “Christian” At 3 years of age we moved to Hamiota MB where my dad had bought a blacksmith shop.

At 4 years of age I contracted Polio,  God was gracious to me and while many were confined to iron Lungs for life, my paralysis was limited to my left shoulder.  It was the first time the enemy had tried to take my life or at least take away my voice.

Mother’s insistence that we go to Sunday school probably planted seed that would bear fruit later in my life. Sunday school progressed into youth group where I became leader/president even though I was as much a heathen as the rest of the group.

Unable to excel at sports I grew up reading books and especially the “World Book Encyclopedia”. I was the high school “nerd” and graduated with 3 medals, 2 from the school division and 1 from my High School.

I left home at 17 to go to DeVry Technical School in Toronto. I graduated with honours and went to work for McCurdy Radio Industries.

Three years later I moved home to Manitoba where I got a date with my high school “crush”, Lynne Robinson (In high school she continually refused a date with me).  One date and we were a couple, two years later we were engaged and a year after that we were married, happily for 48 years until she graduated to heaven.

I was proud of my ability to provide for my wife and three sons.  I moved up through better jobs, Hallcraft Electronics, Winnipeg General Hospital, Department of Transport Radio Regulations, and final 26 years at M.T.S. (Manitoba Telephone System) ending up in Network Engineering after being on loan to Training Division where I updated, wrote and taught three courses.

Parallel to my working life at MTS Engineering department was my new birth and spiritual growth.

January 2, 1978 at 2:00 AM I was born again reading “The Holy Spirit and You” by Dennis Bennett.  About 9:00 PM of the same day I was sovereignly baptized in the Holy Spirit reading “Nine O’clock in the Morning” also by Dennis Bennett.  In the midst of a suicidal depression I was suddenly overwhelmed by joy and wound up lying on the floor laughing and giggling as wave after wave of unconditional love washed over me for more than an hour.

How did I get that depressed? Pride got in the way of common sense and I wound up owning two houses, with two mortgages, and two heating bills in mid winter.  I was borrowing money to pay the interest on borrowed money with no hope of being able to pay it back. Paid for Christmas presents on a credit card knowing that I couldn’t pay it back.  

The grace of God intervened years earlier when I crossed paths with a new charismatic Anglican pastor. He had been praying for me all those years. At MTS a charismatic Mennonite was praying for someone at MTS who was suicidal.  I got to meet Jake soon after I was born again and he was speechless when he realized who I was. 

The story continues about how the Lord led me to the places and people He ordained for my training when attending a Bible college wasn’t possible.  He had called me as a pastor from John 21:17 when I had been a Christian only 2 years. 40 years later I was ordained.  I wouldn’t recommend my training to anyone else, but it is what my Father planned for me. Watch as it unfolds:

1)   The Lord led us to a Southern Baptist church to learn an appreciation for The Word of God,  They weren’t sure what to do with The Holy Spirit, but they really loved the Word.  In a short time my adult Sunday school teacher who had been a Christian for years asked “How is it that I have been a Christian for years and you understand the Bible better than I do?”  Credit goes to The Holy Spirit. 

2) We moved on, led by the Holy Spirit, in a couple of years to a small storefront PAOC church where I was soon invited to be a deacon and teach and be in charge of their prison ministry at Stoney Mountain. 

3) Moving on the Lord lead us to an Anglican church because I thought that I was being called into the priesthood.  God had His purpose in that, after a semester at St’ Johns College I was totally humbled by a class of students who were so totally committed to serve with only a tiny revelation of The Lord. By comparison I was doing so little with the revelation I had received.

4) The Lord was training me in His School of The Spirit.  He was continually putting books in my hands from a multitude of authors to give me a rounded education in The Word and The Spirit. 

5) Moving on, the next stop was Waves of Glory Chapel and Pastor Edwin Wiebe. Not long after we arrived Pastor Edwin asked me to share in teaching the adult Sunday School.  Concerned that there was a lack of biblical knowledge in the congregation Pastor started an in church Bible School. After I graduated from the school Pastor asked me to teach.  I did, for two years until the Lord led me on.

6) Winnipeg Christian Centre was by then meeting in a warehouse on Clifton Street in Winnipeg. This was a church birthed from the Charismatic Renewal.  They were learning to walk in The Spirit, and use the gifts of the Spirit to do body ministry and operate with a plural leadership.  They grew, they fell back, they made mistakes and recovered.  Each time developing in their maturity and walk honouring on another for their individual contribution.  They are still growing and maturing. I consider WCC my home when I am in Winnipeg. 

7) In 1998 I accepted a buy-out to early retirement from MTS and moved to Hamiota.  I was only here

a short time before a new pastor came to lead the PAOC Church in Hamiota.  I became his prayer partner and he soon convinced me to become one of the elders.  Some members took exception and offense to Pastor T. and he had to leave.  For a time the other elder and I carried the church.  She led worship from the piano and I taught and preached from the pulpit.  In time I resigned the church as led by the Holy Spirit 

8) For a couple of years we were “loose cannons” not having a home church but visiting around trying to find a home.

9) By now Lynne was having hip replacement surgeries and I stopped going to church to care for her.  Then we got the terminal cancer diagnosis and Lynne passed away September 8, 2015. 

10) I spent the summer of 2016 at Rock lake as a volunteer.  Through a friend I was introduced to Ray and Leslie Johnson’s ministry.  Home, suddenly I am at home! Within a few weeks I asked if they would be my mentors.  “God is in the House”, Resurrection Life Ministries became my church and my family. 

In 2018 Ray began calling me “elder” and later that year Mar/Apr I went with them to Fiji,  In Fiji I got to speak in a few churches and twice in the prison ministry. 

May of 2018 Ray asked me to join the board of Resurrection Life Canada.  

2019 Later in the year Ray and Leslie asked if they could ordain me and that became a fact January 25. 2020. 

2020 Before the Zoom call Annual General Meeting Ray asked me to become the Director of “God is in the House” home group meetings.

That is a lot of detail and brings me up to 43 years of abundant life.

Pastor Ralph