There are moments when you’ve carried a dream for so long that you almost forget what it feels like to see the first tangible step. For me, this is one of those moments. Over the past year, I’ve been making trip after trip to Hay River in the Northwest Territories. Every visit has only deepened a conviction I can’t seem to shake: that God is inviting us to build something here. Not just another program or another ministry, but a physical place. One where artists can come to rest, where creativity can become worship, and where beauty becomes a prophetic declaration of restoration.
This July, I finally get to share the beginning of that story. We’ve acquired a piece of history: the Radium Dew. Part of the NTCL Radium Fleet, the Radium Dew is a diesel twin-screw tugboat built in 1955 to push supply barges across the Slave and Mackenzie Rivers, the Great Slave Lake, and the Western Arctic Coast. It’s served generations before us, carrying history in its walls, stories in its wood, and the marks of years spent faithfully serving the North. And now, our dream and vision is to restore it: not just to preserve its history, but to give it a new purpose.
We’re calling it Project Heritage.
Our dream is to transform this vessel into a multi-use artist hub in the Northwest Territories that will house short- or long-term artist residency programming, a public exhibit and gallery, and a space for ministry and encounters with God. This will be a place where artists from across Canada can come and live for a season: to serve the community and local churches while faithfully stewarding the creative and artistic gifts God has given them. Studio spaces to create, a place for spiritual formation, discipleship, and community. A place where artists are not just encouraged to make beautiful things but are commissioned as missionaries.
I often think about Exodus 31. The first person in Scripture specifically said to be filled with the Spirit wasn’t a prophet or a king, but an artisan. God filled Bezalel with His Spirit, with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and craftsmanship to build something beautiful for His presence. From the very beginning, artists were never an afterthought in God’s Kingdom; they were part of His mission.
Not just restoring a boat, but restoring a God-commissioned calling.
That’s the vision behind Project Heritage. It’s also our prayer that one floor will become a public gallery: a space where locals and visitors alike can experience the work of northern artists and artists who have come to serve this region. Why? Because this project isn’t simply in the North, it’s for the North. We want to celebrate northern stories, invest in northern communities, partner with local churches, and create opportunities that strengthen the creative life already here. Our prayer is that this vessel becomes a place of welcome. Hospitality. Discipleship. A place where beauty points people toward Christ.
There’s something beautiful about taking what has weathered years of storms and giving it new life, and that, my friends, is the Gospel. God has always been in the business of restoration. And perhaps this old boat is another reminder that He isn’t finished writing stories yet.
Thank you to everyone who’s prayed, encouraged, supported, and believed in this vision from the beginning. This is only the first chapter. There’s a lot of restoration ahead, but I can’t wait to bring you along as we watch this dream become reality.
