Bethany Baptist Church in Toronto is her home congregation where she serves as a Deacon, and she finds her roles many and varied and most challenging when the pastor is away. The major responsibility is of caring and visiting congregation members and those linked to the church in times of family crisis.
However, when the Minister is away, the Deacons pull together to serve the congregation in leading the worship, ministering the Communion and even arranging for visiting preachers.
Bethany Baptist Church has a congregation of 100 official members and many more adherents. The church has a huge focus on Missions with particular interest in a Girl's School in India and an African ministry where the congregation provides the funding for villages to purchase goats so as to develop a small business.
The congregation's members collect "toonies" to raise money for the school in India. Jennifer Ryan-Bailey explained that in Toronto the dollar coin is generally known as a loonie whereas the two dollar coin is known as a toonie (two loonies).
Since the congregation's members collect these coins throughout the year, the school is known as the 'Toonie School'. This strategy has proven to be a very effective project fund raiser.
The purchasing of goats for African villagers is another favourite for the Bethany Baptist Church, as a goat not only provides milk, but it can produce more goats for the future, and those goats can be sold or bartered or even provide meals for the community.
Jennifer Ryan-Bailey is empowered firstly by the way in which Baptists throughout Toronto, and secondly Baptists in the whole of Canada, pull together. There are many evangelism programs in which this occurs.
Jennifer Ryan-Bailey enjoys her two children, another two step children and seven grandchildren.
This Jennifer Ryan-Bailey interview on the Australian Missionary News IPTV can be viewed at either tv.bushorchestra.com/BWC/videopages/ryan_bailey.html or www.safeworlds.net
