OUR STORY
In 2019, while driving past a beautiful quarter section just outside Drayton Valley, Steve Holmstrom heard the Lord say: “Buy Me that, and I’ll meet you there.”
The property wasn’t for sale—but it became The Altar. Steve and Cara Holmstrom dedicated the land to the Lord, cleared a space in the forest, built a rustic stage, and called a gathering. They had no idea who would come.
Over 300 people showed up that first weekend. They came hungry for God. And God showed up. His presence was thick in the trees, and people camped on the land for days. The next gathering drew over 700, the third nearly 2,000—each marked by deep encounters with the Holy Spirit. God was meeting people at The Altar.
Then came the fire.
On May 5, 2023—just two months before the fourth scheduled gathering—an Alberta wildfire tore through the region. It swept across The Altar property… and yet, miraculously avoided some the The Altar’s most important features.
The flames burned every blade of grass and ignited a single tree just six feet from Steve’s prayer cabin, but the tree never burned up. It stopped just two feet from the worship stage. It stopped two feet from the baptismal tank (as seen in picture). The blaze weaved through the trees—taking one here or there—but leaving most untouched.
And the back 60 acres? That part did burn—thick with peat moss and brush, it was the least beautiful part of the land… and now, it’s the perfect spot for a future pond.
Across the road, however, it was a different story. Another quarter section owned by the Holmstroms was completely devastated. Thousands of mature spruce trees were lost. Yet even that has been redeemed: the trees were salvaged and milled into more than 700 massive timbers—8x8s, twenty feet long—ready to build the cabins and barn that will one day host thousands more.
Baptismal tank and the line of fire
What we envision for the future…
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A timber-frame barn overlooking the water.
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Prayer cabins tucked in the woods.
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Dorms for youth camps.
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A dining hall.
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Walking trails.
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A Spirit-filled retreat center where people will be saved, healed, filled with the Holy Spirit, and forever changed.
What began with a whisper from God is becoming a national gathering place. A place of presence. A place of fire. A place of encounter.
If your heart is stirred by this vision, we welcome your prayers—and your partnership. This is a $10 million dream, and every seed sown helps build The Altar into a sanctuary for generations to come.