A family and their church in Morris, Manitoba is calling for prayer after a young man's diving accident.

Corey Mazinke is now in the Health Science Centre, in Winnipeg, after damaging his C5 vertebrae at his brother's bachelor party.

The young men, celebrating the upcoming wedding, were boating at Buffalo Point near Lake of the Woods. The boat was in the middle of the lake and Mazinke dove in. Unknown by the men in the boat, there was a sand bar there and Mazinke had dove into waist-deep water.

Jason Klassen, Lead Pastor at Mazinke's church says, "I found out about it on Saturday ... after Corey was in an eight or nine-hour surgery.

"My understanding is, there is some initial positive signs, but he is dealing with a lung infection from some of the lake water in his lungs. So that is fairly serious now and one of the major concerns that they're facing immediately."

After hearing the news on Saturday, Klassen says church on Sunday morning was highly focused on the Mazinke family and their son's recovery: "We have to come together as a church family and as the larger family of God.

"We just spent, probably, half the morning off-and-on between worship and prayer just contending for Corey, for the family the shock that the other young men will be going through that were around him and just really calling on God to move in this situation - both in healing for Corey, and peace and support for the family."

Currently, Mazinke is not able to move his arms or legs, but the infection in his lungs needs to clear up before he can fully heal. 

Klassen says others can pray for this situation and "press into prayer for complete healing. He is a young man ... with a lot of life ahead of him. ... Obviously, this is super traumatic for the family, so they need prayer and any support that they can have.

"This is a big deal, it changes the fabric of a family."