Senior Native Ministry Leaders Meet in Calgary
NANE President Ryan O’Leary was recently invited to participate in a gathering of senior Native ministry leaders in Canada hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse in Calgary. These meetings took place on October 5th and 6th, 2025. Although NANE is primarily for the church in the United States, Ryan also leads the First Peoples’ Initiative, a ministry serving all tribal people in North America.
Ryan was able to visit with leaders whom he hadn’t seen in some time and connected with some leaders he had never met before. Each leader was able to share about their ministry, and there was also some great discussion about how we could collaborate more in ministry. Two staff leaders in Billy Graham and Samaritan’s Purse also led and were involved in these meetings. Ryan shared about what the First Peoples Initiative does as well as about NANE and its mission, which is to equip, encourage, and unite the church in the United States related to Indigenous peoples and ministry for the glory of God.
The Lord opened a few new opportunities for Ryan and ultimately NANE as an organization to engage in ministry through attending these meetings. We’re excited to collaborate in fulfilling God’s will on earth.
On one evening, Ryan attended a Calgary Flames game with others from the group. We enjoyed spending time together and watching the Flames win a game!
