Jim Walls acted as Master of Ceremonies and did a wonderful job of hosting the dinner portion of the event.

Our keynote speaker was Craig Hill, CEO of the Calgary Dream Centre.

Craig Hill is the CEO of the Calgary Dream Centre (CDC), a non-profit organization that helps people overcome homelessness and addiction through professional programming and compassionate outreach in the name of Jesus. Craig’s involvement with the CDC has spanned over 20 years, and he became the CEO after working in various private sector roles. He has a deep passion for the life change that CDC helps to facilitate, the incredible team of volunteers and staff, and witnessing the redemptive work that God is doing in the lives of men. Outside of work, Craig is a devoted family man who loves spending time with his wife and kids, and enjoying their company at the lake.

During the Annual Man-the-Gap tournament, Craig shared the testimony of the work that CDC does in Calgary. He recognized the lifelong impact that one of the attendees had on his life over 20 years ago, stating that “you never know the significance of the impact that you’re having on someone’s story. The time given to serve and contribute is time well-spent,” adding that “it’s beautiful to serve the Lord and watch how He works.”

In the early 2000’s, the CDC, through support and leadership from First Assembly Church, took a dark and broken hotel on Mcleod Trail – a place where lust, drunkenness, loneliness, and hopelessness abounded – and turned it into a site of rejuvenation and revival in the name of Jesus. CDC is a place that serves the homeless and those who suffer addiction.
Now 21 years later, the CDC has grown from an organization with three staff and one property to one with over 80 staff at 48 properties throughout the city of Calgary. And they’re continuing to grow and serve the community.

Craig shared The Dream Centre’s new slogan: ‘BECAUSE NO ONE IS BEYOND HOPE’ …  a wonderful challenge and encouragement.

Joining Craig at the tournament was a graduate of CDC’s recovery program – John Carter.

John shared his powerful testimony. His story was familiar. A young, talented man who caught up with the wrong crowd and made a series of poor choices. This path led him to addiction, brokenness, trouble with the law, and ultimately homelessness. In fact, John tragically lost his sister to addictions.

One day, he overdosed on drugs, which landed him in the hospital. Although the healthcare professionals saved his life, he lost the use of his legs and was paralyzed from the waist down. This baffled the doctors. But God, through the CDC, reached out and saved him. He miraculously regainedthe use of his legs and ceased using drugs and alcohol. 

John not only graduated from the CDC but he now helps others who are struggling through addiction as a recovery support worker there. John’s success is a testament to the work that God is doing through the CDC.

Craig encouraged all the men at ManTheGap: “don’t minimize your contribution of time, treasure, and talent. It’s important for men to ‘stand in the gap’. Lean into the blessings God’s given you, and you can make a difference in someone’s life.”

He challenged the men at ManTheGap to “lean in” and support the Calgary Dream Center with our time, talents, treasure, and connections. We can make a difference in the lives of people in the city of Calgary.

Thank you Craig & John for your encouraging and inspirational message. 

Also – a big thank you to all of our sponsors … we simply can’t put on this event with you!

We met at Eaglequest Golf Course for our October dinner.  Over 40 guys came to enjoy a relaxed meal and a talk by Dale Fedorchuk.  

Dale took us through his life’s journey, starting with his upbringing on a farm in Manitoba, where he remembered being responsible for the pigs on the farm at age 12.  He also recounted a challenging relationship with his father.

As a youngster, Dale had a keen interest in novels and comic books; they were an escape from the all-encompassing world of life on a farm.  He remembers that, even then, he had a vivid imagination.

He was introduced to Christ through missionaries that gave him a comic book (“of course I’d read a comic book!”).

He ended up leaving the farm when he was 17 years old and ultimately began practicing law.

There were still challenges in his life, but Dale dreamed of doing something great for Jesus.

One day he had a life-changing, “mind-blowing” dream that directed him to verses in the Bible, starting at Isaiah 1:16 “Wash and make yourselves clean.  Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong.”  Although Dale did a lot of good things in his legal career, he did not “put away the evil” in the Lord’s eyes.  He was also convicted that a passage in Romans 7 was telling him that holding on to sin was depriving him an opportunity to serve the Lord in a significant way.  God used these passages to help Dale make some necessary changes in his life.

Dale has had interesting experiences in working with counter-terrorism agencies in Canada and the USA.  He has developed and led training exercises for the US military, including the Navy Seals.  He has developed deep relationships with people within these agencies that continue to this day.

In August of 2022, his nieces challenged him to write a novel based on poems that he had written.  His first fictional book, The Ballad of Tul’ran The Sword, was published under a year later!  Dale has continued writing and more fictional works have been published.

Thank you for telling us your story Dale!

We enjoyed another great evening of golf in spite of overcast skies.  This year we played on the upper ‘Desert’ 9 at Heritage Pointe.  An absolute highlight was Greg Semeniuk’s Hole-in-One!  

Team Edgemark took home the trophy shooting 7-under par. 

Jim Walls acted as Master of Ceremonies for the evening.

Doug Holt was our keynote speaker for the evening.  

His talk was raw, vulnerable, authentic – and courageous.

“Things will go off the rails in life.  People will abandon us.  They will die on us.  They will betray us and hurt us.”  Doug put forward that it was our response to those situations that determines the course of our journey.

Doug acknowledged that a heart filled with resentment and anger didn’t allow room for God, and it wasn’t until he developed a posture of forgiveness that God’s voice began to be heard again … and along with God’s presence – a sense of peace and happiness began to develop.

Doug further expressed that forgiveness is rarely a ‘one & done’ event and it never looks the same twice; we have to work at it every day for the rest of our lives.  “God will not hang out in a heart filled with unforgiveness and hate, but when you let go of it you’ll realize He’s been there the whole time walking with you … just waiting to fill that void with more than we could ever imagine.” 

Thank you for humbly sharing your journey with us Doug!

We had a beautiful evening to gather for a meal & golf.  It was calm and around 20 C – perfect for golf, albeit hazy & smoky due to the wildfires in Northern Alberta.

 The setting at Heritage Pointe is wonderful and their facilities are great. 

Tibi Ribi, Regional Director of Alberta for LeaderImpact (a Power to Change ministry) was our guest speaker.

Although Tibi has been with Power to Change for over 30 years, he recounted his time at Western University, where he was on the Vanier Cup winning football team and was an All-Canadian Tight End in 1989.  Tibi admitted that he was defined by his participation in sports and one of his considerations was going on to play professionally, until some guys from Athletes in Action came to speak to the team and he gave his life over to the leadership of Jesus Christ.  Tibi told us that although you’d expect that his personal highlight from those days was being part of a national championship team and being an all star; instead, his highlight was being introduced to Jesus and having his life changed through a relationship with Him.

Tibi’s challenge to us was to use our influence in our everyday lives to share the Good News of Christ and build relationship with those around us.  That’s what Jesus commanded in Matthew 28 “Go and make disciples … teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always …”.

Thank you Tibi, for your encouragement to us, and for your commitment to develop leaders that serve the Lord.

We enjoyed another great evening with friends!   Hotel Blackfoot continues to impress with a private setting & great value.

Kevin Trick is the Men’s Pastor at Centre Street Church … and he competes in triathlons!  His talk “What Have I Gotten Myself Into?  What God Taught Me Through Ironman Triathlons” was powerful because of the message and the stories of his experiences.

His main points:

– The “Who you are” is more important than the “Why you’re doing it” (We’re God’s children!).

– Control the things you can, ‘cause there’s plenty you can’t.

– If you believe you can’t, you never will.

– Don’t compare yourself to others; instead compare yourself today to yourself yesterday.  Are you growing and improving?

– You are capable of so much more!

– Know your goals (especially your primary goal) and adjust.

Kevin encouraged us to approach life and our walk with God with these messages.  There was a great Q&A time after Kevin’s talk and you could tell by the questions and comments that everybody was impacted in some way. 

Thank-you Kevin!

It was a great night … calm and warm.  We had a full field of players, a wonderful meal and great speakers, including our own Ron Conlin and CTV News icon Darrel Janz.

Team “Newsworthy” took home the trophy shooting 6-under par.

Jim Walls acted as Master of Ceremonies for the evening.

Ron Conlin spoke first; Ron is the Founder and Executive Director of MANtheGAP and recently announced that he is stepping back from MANtheGAP to do some travel.  Ron reminisced about the humble beginnings of MANtheGAP at its initial Steak Night at Nick’s Steakhouse in 2011.  It was evident that the ministry filled a need for men fellowshipping together and doing things that guys like.  He recounted that, in addition to Steak Nights, Golf Nights, Golf Lessons and Polar Dips, MANtheGAP hosted a Pure Desire conference in 2021 that was centred around sexual purity.  Ron left us with a challenge to PURSUE TRUTH in spite of how men have been marginalized in today’s culture.

Ron …  thank you for your words, your commitment, your passion and your leadership.

Darrel Janz was our keynote speaker for the evening.  

We all know Darrel in his role as CTV News Anchor, but there’s far more to Darrel’s story than Radio, TV and the many awards that he’s received; Darrel is a man of faith and a Christ-follower.

Darrel talked on the subject “Who Anchored the Anchor?”  He told us of his upbringing in small-town Saskatchewan (where his roots in Christianity were formed), and his path to fame through radio and television that took him to places like Montreal and then to Calgary.  Darrel recounted a number of stories that he covered (including one where he was in a helicopter crash!) and many of the famous people that he’s met and interviewed. Darrel was transparent as he likened his story to the Bible story about the Prodigal Son, about his struggles with fame, his challenges with family and his ultimate submission to Jesus (and subsequent growth as a believer in Jesus Christ).

Darrel emphatically answered his own question of “Who Anchored the Anchor?” … GOD HIMSELF!

Darrel left us with this passage from the Bible:  ‘Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent”‘.  John 6:28-29 NIV

Thank you Darrel!

We had so much rain in the days prior to the event we weren’t sure the course would even be open, but the skies cleared and we enjoyed a wonderful evening at Bearspaw Golf Course.

Bill Demaer was our guest speaker.

Bill talked about “Who’s Your Caddie?“; he talked about the caddie’s role and a bit of history.  Caddies aren’t servants … but they serve.  Caddies aren’t owned by the golfer, and they aren’t servants of the golfer either.  Often life-long relationships develop, but they don’t belong to each other.  Our relationship with God is very different – belonging is a foundational part of that relationship!  Bill referenced the Heidelberg catechism (a method of Bible teaching) that talks about who we, as Christ-followers, belong to: Our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Bill recounted a story from the Bible (2 Kings 5) where King Aram’s army commander, Naaman, suffered from leprosy.  God used a young servant girl to encourage Naaman to go to Elisha to be healed!  Her word of faith set in motion events that brought God’s blessing involving an army general, two kings and a prophet.  She spoke out because she knew whom she belonged to.
Bill left us with this challenge:  Do you know who belongs to you and who you belong to?  God belongs to us, and we belong to him if Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.  God wants to lead and guide us.  Like a caddie, he wants to help us recover from the shanks, slices and hooks of life to get us back on the fairway!

Thank you Bill for your inspiring words!

Another wonderful meal and good (?) golf.

Wayne Amero was our guest speaker.

Wayne has been in the janitorial business for over 30 years.  He shared that he was doing his best to live a life serving the Lord, looking forward to the day when he will hear the words “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”. 

One of the key points was that men are good at keeping secrets; we hide our limitations so people won’t notice.  Sometimes we use our limitations as excuses.
Wayne encouraged us with a verse from the Bible – John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  God can use us through our limitations!

He finished with an emphasis on having Christian brothers in your life … “Find someone to tell what’s going on in your life.”  Wise words.

Thank you Wayne!

It was another well-attended gathering with 40 men enjoying a steak … and with no COVID restrictions!

Troy Scarrow was the evening’s speaker and he entertained us with numerous tales of his international travels.  He provided stories of how God travels with him to both protect him and keep his sense of humour alive!

Thank you Troy, for telling us about your journey.

We had tasty meal at the Blackfoot Inn.  It was well-attended; about 32 men came (in spite of the cold weather!).

We enjoyed a steak dinner & then Myles Hamilton had an inspirational message for us. 

Myles talked about three things:  his own journey, finishing well and reflecting on his father’s story.

Myles grew up in Airdrie in the 60’s.  Myles, his parents and 6 siblings would walk to the United Church in town.  He went to Sunday School when he was younger, but the Prairie Bible Camp had a greater influence on his life.  After many adventures in his teen years, he rededicated his life to Christ at a Billy Graham crusade in 1981.

While attending SAIT he met his lovely wife Corrine who invited him to Centre Street Church where they were married by Henry Schorr.

Now at the age of 60, Myles talked about finishing well (and what better incentive can we have than to please God?) as we all must stand before the Seat of Judgement at the end of our life.
Myles talked about the three things that are important to finishing well:
Are you right with the Lord?
Are you right with your family?
Do you still have the ability to have impact?

In closing, he talked about the lessons he learned from observing his own father’s journey through life. Hugh Hamilton moved to Airdrie and bought a small golf course.He also purchased property around the outskirts of Airdrie in addition to opening the Airdrie Registry.After the financial crash, when interest rates went to unprecedented levels which may parallel our current situation (coincidentally also under a Trudeau government), Hugh had to start over again at the age of 60.Hugh Hamilton was deeply humbled by this and Myles recalled him often saying “You will always have trouble, it’s how you deal with it that is the most important thing to remember”.

Hugh was right with the Lord, he was right with his family, and he made an impact on those around him until the end of his life. Hugh was a good example of finishing well.

Thank you, Myles, for sharing.

We had another wonderful evening gathering as a group of men.

We enjoyed our steaks and then our speaker, Ron Buschman, spoke to the group about “Successful Mentoring – Made Easy”.

Many of us feel like we don’t have the time nor the skills to be mentors; Ron shared reflections from his mentoring journey … 

God will often intersect our life with another man who is experiencing a life situation that we have already been through.  Take the initiative to want to hear more of their story.  You’ll be amazed at how God directs and supports you both!   Be encouraged that you “have what it takes” to influence and inspire change in other men through “Life-to-Life” relationships.

Thank-you Ron!

We had a fantastic night, both on the course and during the fellowship afterwards.
Heritage Pointe was in great shape and the weather was great!
“The Hucksters” took home the trophy with a 5-under par score.

We enjoyed a roast beef dinner & then Morris Lukowich gave a great talk on his faith walk as a professional hockey player.

His childhood prayer was to play hockey with his heroes: Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull.

God honoured his prayer as he ended up playing with each one while at the Houston Aeros and the Winnipeg Jets.

Morris shared stories about his interactions with the many greats he was fortunate enough to play with during his career, including how Gordie Howe was not the cleanest of players on the ice, especially when his sons were the recipients of some unjust play.  One of his fondest memories was when Gordie Howe wiped his sweaty forehead on Morris’ shoulder pad while sitting on the bench … he felt that he had “made the big times.”
Morris believes he had his Christian conversion experience at the Saddledome, not playing hockey, but at the 1999 Franklin Graham Festival. He was baptized shortly thereafter in the Kananaskis River in the Rocky Mountains.

Morris answered a few questions from the group and was quite honest about his shortcomings regarding the temptations of being in the professional hockey world.

We wrapped up the evening with the guys having the chance to get a signed photo and have their photo taken with Morris while wearing one of his jerseys!

Once again, congratulations Team Hucksters and thank-you Morris!

The weather was perfect as over 60 men got together at Heritage Pointe for an evening of great roast beef, lots of conversation and a very inspiring message from Dr. Phil Nordin.  Phil talked about the importance of using the correct words in how we express ourselves: Maybe, Might, Should, Could, Would and Must. These words can often lead us to a sense of defeat and demoralization when we use them in the language of failure.  Phil went on to say that he came to realize that the power source of unworthiness is past failures, “if only’s” and “should haves”.

This leads us to the question:  How do we get beyond the self-deprecation that comes from past failures?

There are two changes you can make:

1) Accept that your failure can be progress, and that your failures will often lead you to good decisions.  In other words:  Fail Forward.

2) Learn to redirect your focus:

• • • Focus on who you are, rather than who you are not
    • Focus on what you have, rather than what you do not have
    • Focus on what you know, rather than what you do not know
    • Focus on health rather than pain
    • Focus on your abilities rather than your limitations
    • Focus on where you are going rather than where you have been

A great message to leave with the men.

Thank you Dr. Phil.

Despite the drenching rain, four groups managed to finish the course without a dry piece of clothing.  ( “Soaked to the bone “! was one comment ) But that didn’t dampen the evening as over 60 men shared an excellent roast beef dinner and listened to an insightful talk by Pastor Warren Wiebe.

Warren talked about how life is like golf. 

The early period in life is like being on the tee box;  the fairway is long and wide.  There are lots of choices.  The consequences of a bad drive or poor decision are usually not too bad. 

Your second shot / approach shot is similar to middle age.  You must be more accurate and the consequences of a poor decision (in life) can have more severe consequences.   You could end up in the water, a sand trap or thick rough around the green.   In mid-life, a poor decision could bring you financial ruin, a divorce or poor health.

When you’re on the green and putting is like your finishing/golden years on earth.   You need to be very focused on the goal (for a believer in Christ — eternal life).  You must be accurate, in direction and effort, to sink your putt and you must keep your eyes and mind focused on Heaven and Jesus as we draw close to the finish of our lives.

Thank you Pastor Warren!

Congratulations to the three time champions! In the final moments, the Sub-Pars (Ron Bushman, Greg Kist, Rodd Sawatsky and Reggie Bengleton) were leading the field at -8 when on the last hole the Ryder Cupsters pulled off a 40 ft eagle putt (Myles Hamilton) to force a putt-off.  Donn Poffenroth sank a putt on his first attempt to give the Ryder Cupsters their third championship in a row!  The Ryder Cupsters each received an 18 hole round of golf (compliments of Silver Wing) and have their name on the coveted MANtheGAP trophy!