A ribbon was cut to celebrate the new 15,000 square foot building on Roblin Boulevard for Winkler's Gospel Echoes Thrift Store.
The store, supporting prison ministry in Canada, started out in Winkler a decade ago out of a 5,000 square building on Cargill Road. After outgrowing that space after a few short years, they moved to a bigger building next door on Cargill Road before this new exciting venture.
"I never expected that we would have such a big building and actually make it our own instead of always paying rent," said Abe Penner board chair for Winkler Gospel Echoes. Penner said accomplishing this would not have been possible without all the volunteers or the people who have donated items.
"There's so many people that donate, and in turn, volunteers come and sort everything, clean everything, price it, put it out. And then to the customers who come and support us and buy it and take it home, and maybe return it a year later," laughed Penner. "And the volunteers are very impressed in the back because there's so much more room. It's so much more organized, everything just flows so much better than at the old location."
Daryl Bueckert is Board Chair of Gospel Echoes Team Association for Canada West and drove in from Saskatchewan for the occasion. He said it's a huge blessing to see how the ministry is thriving in Winkler. He said ten years ago when they started the thrift store to fund Gospel Echoes, they never would have imagined it would have turned into what it has, and that they would now have this new building. "God has provided, and God has been good...and it's been a huge blessing to the ministry. Obviously the ministry of spreading the gospel to prisons in western Canada, there's a huge need, and it doesn't go without being funding. And the thrift store is a huge part of funding that ministry."
Because of the success of the Winkler Gospel Echoes Thrift Store in Winkler, Bueckert noted the ministry was able to open up two other thrift stores as a result - one in Grunthal, Manitoba and one in Osler, Saskatchewan.
The Winkler Gospel Echoes Thrift Store has a roster of approximately 80 part and full-time volunteers.
