One of the great blessings of being a Reformed Presbyterian has been the pleasure of knowing Rich Ganz. He’s probably best known in our circles as a pastor and church planter in Ottawa, Ont.

The Lord has blessed that ministry over the past 25 years, using Rich in personal evangelism and discipleship. In turn, those initiatives have led to the establishment of the Ottawa Theological Hall, which provides training for pastors and others.

When he’s not out witnessing to friends or strangers, or preaching, or teaching at the hall, or taking a potential pastor along with him to call on families, Rich finds time to write books—quite a few.

A blessing for us in Indianapolis, Ind., is to have Rich come as a guest teacher and preacher from time to time. The Lord has blessed him with versatility. He can teach theology and preach. He has a doctorate in psychology and can review the history of the field of psychology and teach principles of biblical counseling.

But, like the Apostle Paul, he keeps coming back to the priority of sharing our faith. On his recent visit to Indianapolis, he was teaching on counseling for our seminary-level program. The Lord opened doors in other ways to answer some prayers we have offered about more open doors for evangelism. He spoke at an apologetics forum, Veritas, which was started by Butler University students, including several from Second Reformed Presbyterian Church.

The timing of his visit had to be of the Lord. One person, the subject of some of our prayers, grew up in New York City and seems open to the gospel but not quite ready to come to church. The Veritas forum seemed to be the right neutral ground for him to hear Rich’s testimony.

A state representative has also been a focus of some of our prayers. Like Rich, he comes from a Jewish background and is very well trained, teaching law and medicine and serving in the state general assembly. He also was willing to listen to Rich’s testimony and review of psychology at the Butler forum.

James Faris, Second RP associate pastor, has helped organize the Veritas meetings. “Rich spoke about the field of psychology comprehensively and compassionately, from personal experience, but also decisively as he concluded with the message of real psychotherapy—soul healing in Jesus Christ,” he said. “Many unbelievers were visibly impacted as they listened and came privately with questions.”

The Lord does not just use Rich as an evangelist. Rich shares the burden and joy of evangelism with others and stirs us up to our own responsibilities for sharing our faith. When he comes to town, he has a way of getting us to think about who could respond to his story about who might listen to a New York Jew talk about Christ. The Lord has given the man a fresh approach to the gospel, and his East Coast, New York background makes him a breath of fresh air in the Midwest.

He seems to come to evangelism naturally. “Don’t use jargon,” he says. “Just be honest.” While he is kickboxing, he’ll ask a partner, “What’s happening in your life?” The door opens. People want to share what’s happening in their lives. “It’s a matter of being concerned for people,” he says. It is a way of life with Rich, not a program or a format, and that helps give new encouragement to those of us who also have benefited from training such as that provided through Evangelism Explosion.

His books and his teaching also reflect his background in what is sometimes called nouthetic counseling, or confronting ourselves with the commands of Scripture. He urges us to take responsibility for our actions; and lately he also has been emphasizing our responsibility for what we are thinking, in accordance with such passages as 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. A theme of his teaching is that we can reject wrong thoughts. We can renounce them and replace them with the truth. Thoughts that come to our minds do not need to be entertained and nurtured, just because they came to our minds. They can be renounced and rejected as falsehoods.

So, thank the Lord for creating Rich Ganz. Each of us is sui generis—one of a kind. But Rich is really sui generis. We thank the Lord also for bringing him into the Reformed Presbyterian Church, through then-pastor Ed Robson in Syracuse a number of years ago. If you need a boost on the evangelism front, invite him in for a few days. Coincidences seem to occur when he comes around. But the Lord God in heaven goes with him and uses Rich to help answer our prayers.