About me and Beautiful Gate Ministries...
I have been walking with God all of my adult life and have discovered that there is more to the love, goodness, depth and power of God than I will every comprehend in this life. Jesus' invitation to follow him fills our lives with significance and following Jesus is my passion.
I have been married to my wife Mary since 1984. We have two daughters now after losing our eldest daughter in 2013. I spent 27 years as a pastor of two congregations where I preached, taught, administered and led, offered pastoral care and provided spiritual direction, counseling and inner healing ministry.
In 2012 I sensed a shift in God's direction for my life. The vision God gave me was training under-served pastors in developing nations as well as offering spiritual direction and inner healing ministry. In 2014 I began a focused retooling in order to prepare for the work I discerned God was leading me too. I began a course of training at The People's Seminary, (Certification in Transformational Ministry on the Margins), which would give me valuable tools for training pastors and I also entered formal training as a spiritual director at Soul Formation in Portland, OR. In January 2017 my brother Bob invited me to help train pastors in Zimbabwe and then to lead a team to train pastors in Bungoma, Kenya. First Presbyterian Church, Fairbanks funded and sent me on that first trip.
In June of 2018 I felt released in my role as a pastor and began formalizing a ministry. While reading the book The Beautiful Gate, an exposition of Acts 3-4 written by my brother Bob Ekblad, I decided to call my non-profit, Beautiful Gate Ministries. Bob's exposition captures well the vision God had placed on my heart for this new work. This ministry was subsequently formed under that name.
I am so grateful for my brother and his influence and encouragement into this work among the poor.
Bob helped me fit together many pieces to make this ministry possible, not the least of which is providing the three-module curriculum, Certification in Transformational Ministry on the Margins, which we use in our trainings. His vision is to see those who complete his CTMM training offering the training to those on the margins. This is what Beautiful Gate Ministries is doing. To-date we have trained over 1,000 pastors and leaders.
I have a Masters of Divinity from Regent College and a Masters of Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary. Along with 27 years of pastoral experience, I have received training in inner healing and deliverance and have completed extensive training in spiritual formation and direction. I myself participate in ongoing spiritual direction and receive regular supervision in my work by a seasoned spiritual director.
Though I often fail, I seek to give myself fully to God and live a life of faithful devotion in loving response to God’s grace. I have a deep commitment to Jesus and his heart for the lost and broken. I carry a passion to see lives changed and disciples raised up by the transforming power of God’s Word and Spirit. I love God, my family, and the outdoors. In my spare time I am an avid hiker, bee-keeper, skier, mountain-biker, hunter, fisherman, and racquetball player. My wife Mary and I find great joy in our marriage, our children, friendships, and in being together in the beauty of God’s creation.
I have been married to my wife Mary since 1984. We have two daughters now after losing our eldest daughter in 2013. I spent 27 years as a pastor of two congregations where I preached, taught, administered and led, offered pastoral care and provided spiritual direction, counseling and inner healing ministry.
In 2012 I sensed a shift in God's direction for my life. The vision God gave me was training under-served pastors in developing nations as well as offering spiritual direction and inner healing ministry. In 2014 I began a focused retooling in order to prepare for the work I discerned God was leading me too. I began a course of training at The People's Seminary, (Certification in Transformational Ministry on the Margins), which would give me valuable tools for training pastors and I also entered formal training as a spiritual director at Soul Formation in Portland, OR. In January 2017 my brother Bob invited me to help train pastors in Zimbabwe and then to lead a team to train pastors in Bungoma, Kenya. First Presbyterian Church, Fairbanks funded and sent me on that first trip.
In June of 2018 I felt released in my role as a pastor and began formalizing a ministry. While reading the book The Beautiful Gate, an exposition of Acts 3-4 written by my brother Bob Ekblad, I decided to call my non-profit, Beautiful Gate Ministries. Bob's exposition captures well the vision God had placed on my heart for this new work. This ministry was subsequently formed under that name.
I am so grateful for my brother and his influence and encouragement into this work among the poor.
Bob helped me fit together many pieces to make this ministry possible, not the least of which is providing the three-module curriculum, Certification in Transformational Ministry on the Margins, which we use in our trainings. His vision is to see those who complete his CTMM training offering the training to those on the margins. This is what Beautiful Gate Ministries is doing. To-date we have trained over 1,000 pastors and leaders.
I have a Masters of Divinity from Regent College and a Masters of Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary. Along with 27 years of pastoral experience, I have received training in inner healing and deliverance and have completed extensive training in spiritual formation and direction. I myself participate in ongoing spiritual direction and receive regular supervision in my work by a seasoned spiritual director.
Though I often fail, I seek to give myself fully to God and live a life of faithful devotion in loving response to God’s grace. I have a deep commitment to Jesus and his heart for the lost and broken. I carry a passion to see lives changed and disciples raised up by the transforming power of God’s Word and Spirit. I love God, my family, and the outdoors. In my spare time I am an avid hiker, bee-keeper, skier, mountain-biker, hunter, fisherman, and racquetball player. My wife Mary and I find great joy in our marriage, our children, friendships, and in being together in the beauty of God’s creation.
