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Hundreds of Manitobans will be taking to the streets for the Walk for Jesus this weekend.
Beginning in Steinbach in 2023, Walk for Jesus organizer Todd Sperber recalls the excitement before the event. "I loaded up a carload of people. I was excited to do it and when we got there, there were around 10 people walking for Jesus."
Sperber was shocked by the turnout, thinking that more people would have shown up. "I guess that was God's way of putting this Holy Spirit fire inside of me. It burns so deeply into me that it's like I'm bringing this back to Winnipeg."
In 2024, Sperber would host the Walk for Jesus for the first time solo in Winnipeg. "I prepared for about four or five months spiritually and continued to surrender each day of preparation to be able to understand what I'm taking on from God and to allow this vision to come to life for the City of Winnipeg."
While he admits he was nervous the first time, he said the Holy Spirit filled him with the needed strength. "I grabbed the microphone at the Human Rights Museum and I was shaking, but the words kept coming out of me. Everyone said they couldn't tell that I was shaking, but I felt like I was going to pass out because I had never touched the microphone before in front of people. And that's just how God works, sometimes He's our inner strength. We can't do it on our own strength."
Since being in Steinbach, Sperber said the event continues to grow and he is excited to see what God is going to do this time. "I'm a man not of numbers. I'm a man that's just there to have a personal relationship with God. So whoever God sends during the season, that's who I get to experience that encounter with. In September [2024], there were 250. And then we did the first Walk for Jesus in winter in December, which brought 48 people."
A special moment when the Walk for Jesus happened in April. "At the Legislative Building, when we were doing a closing prayer in a circle, holding hands, these jets flew over. There were five jets that flew over us and it was super powerful of Him showing Himself and revealing Himself."
For this walk, Sperber is excited to see the unity that is formed. "I'm looking forward to celebrating the unity, the love and the feeling of life with other believers, non-believers, people from all walks of life. We embrace everybody. Jesus sat with sinners and tax collectors. I'll sit with them too."
The walk will begin at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights at 1 p.m. on Sept. 13.
The route will take participants down Waterfront Drive, then down Higgins Avenue, and will stop at the Center of Hope to sing and worship, then will head over the Disraeli Bridge into the Exchange District. "There's going to be all these skyscrapers around us with booming music and we're going to praise and worship. And there's a secret part of this route that I'm not going to be announcing yet," Sperber said.