Matthew Thompson's life is one that is saved by and dedicated to outreach ministry.

As of September 1, Thompson will have been the Senior Pastor at Elim Baptist Church for six months. The church, on the other hand, has been in Beausejour for approximately 100 years.

Thompson, originally from Nova Scotia, had never planned on serving in a church - let alone ever stepping foot into one.

"I had a really, really, really rough childhood and teenage years which culminated in a very drastic attempt at suicide that followed with a very serious accident," says Thompson.

"God put three gentlemen in my life ... those three men were an RCMP officer, probation officer, and a local pastor who saw potential even though I absolutely hated God. They stuck with me. A year later, I gave my life to Christ and three years later I answered the call to go to bible school - but just to go to bible school. I wasn't going to be a pastor and then God worked His way through that and I ended up in ministry." 

Thompson has been in full-time ministry now for 16 years.

"When we look at Church today, it's very much on the decline," says Thompson. As a church leader, Thompson sees a need for sustainable growth in churches. "I'm a very, 'Let's go back to what the Church is supposed to be and take away everything it's not supposed to be - strip it down to its bare bones, that raw gospel kind of feel to it.'"

Thompson says that Elim strives to be unique and offer programs and ministries no other churches are offering in Beausejour. He says, "To reach people no one is reaching, we have to do things no one is doing."

An example of a unique element of Elim is their Thursday coffee groups.

Every Thursday, about 20 people or so - none of which believe in God, attend Elim, or any other church - gather in houses to chat and drink good coffee.

Thompson says that the coffee-drinkers religious affiliation doesn't slow down any conversation: "They're asking questions.

"I live in the philosophy of ministry that your fears are welcome, your doubts, your questions are welcome. We're not going to judge you, we're going to be there because there is no better way to answer them than to answer them through the Word."

Elim's Sunday morning services continue to evolve and adapt in hopes of reaching more people and finding what works for them.

"Do what Jesus did: go out, reach people, disciple them, and turn them into fully devoted followers of Christ and then release them to do the same."

The Breach

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 6 to 9 p.m., Thompson continues his outreach work alongside two other pastors, from two separate churches.

The Breach, Beausejour's only youth drop-in centre, has been two years in the planning and officially launched in May.

Thompson says, "The three of us pastors have become best friends and we combine our outreach so we can maximize what we do."

The Breach rents out a closed church and has filled it with pool tables, air hockey, foosball, and more so the community's teens - aged 12 to 17 - have a safe place to go.

"In our community, they're not even allowed to go into a local restaurant to buy their lunch and sit," says Thompson. "They're not welcome anywhere, so they get in trouble."

Thompson says the huge pandas, t-rex costumes, and fun they have at The Breach, of course, draws the kids in but they also walk alongside the teens during their own struggles. 

"We deal with those issues like suicide, teenage pregnancy ... we have some homeless teenagers in our community that we're working with," says Thompson.

Thompson and The Breach team have big plans for the drop-in centre, as they hope to reach out to more and more youth in the community.

"We often say, 'How are we going to impact the culture around us?' Well, we've got to get out and be in the culture.

"We don't have to look like it, but we have to be engaged with it and share the message of Jesus. It's just that simple."