Faith is often most visible not in perfect circumstances, but in the way a person continues to trust God through uncertainty, pain, responsibility, and everyday life. In this feature from Living My Faith with James Fenimore, Faustin Fernando, Senior Leader at Catch the Fire Church Mississauga, shares a deeply personal look at what it means to live with surrender, perseverance, and hope.
His story reflects a life shaped by prayer, Scripture, mission, community, and the steady faithfulness of God. It also offers practical encouragement for anyone seeking to grow spiritually, return to faith, or remain anchored during difficult seasons.
About Catch the Fire Church Mississauga
Catch the Fire Church Mississauga was planted in 2009 as a campus of Catch the Fire Church, Toronto. The church’s ministry has focused on serving the Mississauga community, with a particular heart for a predominantly South Asian community.
The church has emphasized reaching young families with children as well as senior citizens, creating an intergenerational environment where different generations can grow together. This intentional integration reflects an important cultural value within the South Asian community and contributes to both spiritual growth and emotional health.
Living Faith Through Daily Surrender
For Faustin Fernando, living out faith begins with a daily posture of surrender. Each morning, he yields himself to the Lord and asks for God’s mercy, especially as he faces challenges at home, financial pressures, and the responsibilities of leading a local church and its leaders.
He draws strength from the reminder in Lamentations that God’s mercies are new every morning. In moments of weakness, when answers are not clear, he turns to prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.
Remembering God’s Faithfulness
One of the keys to sustaining faith, Faustin explains, is remembering how God has been faithful in the past. Looking back over his life, he can see God’s hand at work, shaping his story into a testimony.
That memory fuels fresh faith for the present. Even when the journey is challenging, trust rises again as he leans on the promises of God.
Faith That Moves Beyond Church Walls
Faustin’s faith is not limited to Sunday gatherings or ministry settings. He intentionally looks for opportunities to represent Jesus in everyday interactions, including conversations with strangers in the community.
His desire is to bring hope to people, pray with them, and encourage them through the testimony of God’s faithfulness in his own life. This kind of practical faith shows how spiritual conviction can become visible through compassion, courage, and simple obedience.
A Scripture That Anchors the Mission
Acts 18:9–10 has become an anchoring Scripture for Faustin’s daily mission work. Since 2005, he has traveled on short-term missions, primarily to Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
In unfamiliar environments, he has often encountered unexpected adversity and moments where there was no one to rely on but the Lord. In those moments, the passage has strengthened him to remain steadfast and unafraid.
Again and again, he has witnessed God’s faithfulness through people who arrived at just the right time to support, guide, and at times even rescue him. These experiences have deepened his trust in God’s presence and calling.
Faith Shaped Through Deep Suffering
One of the most formative moments in Faustin’s faith journey came in 2023, when his first grandson was stillborn. The loss was devastating for his oldest son and daughter-in-law, and for the entire family.
As a preacher of the gospel, Faustin cried out to God for a miracle. When that miracle did not come, he walked through anger and silence. For three days, he stopped praying and stopped reading the Bible.
Watching his children suffer, while feeling powerless to help them, became almost unbearable. Yet in a quiet moment, he sensed the Father asking his heart, “Are you still angry with Me?”
Encountering the Father’s Heart
What followed was a deep and honest wrestling with God. Faustin describes it as similar to Jacob wrestling with the Lord. He cried out for an answer and asked why God had not come through in the way he had hoped.
In that moment, he encountered the Father’s heart in a new way. He came to understand that pain is part of the human journey, but it can also become a doorway into the heart of God.
Through suffering, he began to glimpse God’s love for humanity and His enduring patience as He calls people to Himself.
Hope After Loss
Faustin was also deeply humbled by the faith of his son and daughter-in-law. In their grief, their trust in God remained strong. In many ways, they ministered to him, encouraging him to continue trusting God in the pain.
Today, God has blessed them with two sons, now five and three years old. The joy they bring has not erased the memory of loss, but it has filled the family’s hearts with renewed hope and gratitude.
This journey through suffering now shapes how Faustin walks with others. He is able to strengthen and encourage people in their own seasons of pain—not with easy answers, but with compassion rooted in experience.
Practical Encouragement for Growing Spiritually
For those who are struggling to live out their faith or return to spiritual growth, Faustin offers a clear and compassionate message: the gospel truth that Jesus is the answer to life must not be taken lightly.
He has observed that some who were once passionate in their walk with the Lord have gradually drifted away. Some stop attending church, and over time, may also neglect reading the Word of God.
Faustin believes the calling of believers is not only to share the gospel with those who have never known Jesus, but also to reach those who, like the prodigal son, have lost their way and need to return to the Father.
1. Follow the Leading of the Holy Spirit
Faustin emphasizes the importance of responding quickly and obediently when the Holy Spirit prompts the heart—especially when it comes to forgiveness.
Hurt is often at the root of spiritual drifting. Unresolved pain can lead to unforgiveness, and unforgiveness can grow into bitterness if left unchecked.
2. Stay Connected to Christian Community
Another essential practice is not neglecting the gathering of believers. Faith is strengthened and sustained in community.
For Catch the Fire Church Mississauga, this value is reflected in an intergenerational church environment where families, children, and seniors can grow together in faith.
3. Remain Rooted in the Word of God
Daily Scripture reading is a vital part of spiritual growth. Faustin encourages believers to remain rooted in the Word of God because the soul needs nourishment through Scripture, fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and connection with the body of Christ.
These practices help guard the heart from stumbling. And when believers do stumble, they can trust that the Lord is gracious and faithful to lift them up again.
What Readers Can Take Away
Faustin Fernando’s story offers several meaningful reminders for anyone seeking to live a sincere and steady Christian faith:
- Begin with surrender. A faithful life is built one day at a time through yielding to God.
- Remember God’s faithfulness. Looking back can strengthen trust for what lies ahead.
- Do not isolate in pain. Community is part of how God strengthens His people.
- Forgive quickly when prompted. Obedience to the Holy Spirit protects the heart from bitterness.
- Stay rooted in Scripture. The Word of God nourishes faith and keeps believers grounded.
- Trust God even in suffering. Pain does not mean God is absent; sometimes it becomes the place where His heart is revealed most clearly.
Conclusion: Faith That Endures and Encourages
Living faith is not about avoiding hardship. It is about continuing to trust God through hardship, surrendering each day to His will, and allowing His faithfulness to shape the way we love and serve others.
Through his leadership at Catch the Fire Church Mississauga, mission work, personal testimony, and commitment to prayer and Scripture, Faustin Fernando offers a powerful reminder that God is present in both ordinary days and the darkest moments.
For those who feel weary, wounded, or spiritually distant, his message is one of hope: return to the Father, remain rooted in His Word, stay connected to His people, and trust that His mercy is new every morning.
Learn more about Living My Faith with James Fenimore at livingmyfaith.com, and discover more about Catch the Fire Church Mississauga at ctfmississauga.com.
