Born in Holland, Richard Oostra came to Canada as a single young man following World War II. Richard's true spiritual journey into a life of serving God began in 1963 during crusade meetings conducted in Red Deer, Alberta, by the evangelist twins Ralph and Lou Sutera. Richard has had a wide variety of very successful experiences in the business world, from life insurance and real estate sales to a number of entrepreneurial ventures such as landscaping and the establishment of import/distribution companies. In 1995 Richard left the business world to become the U.S. West Coast representative of a well-known international missionary ministry. He served with distinction in that capacity for ten years, visiting hundreds of churches. It was during this time he observed shortcomings within many congregations. Richard was inspired to begin writing and sharing his concerns with a desire to see revival and positive change come to the church at large. The Church on the Rocks is primarily a compilation of those writings, authored over an extended period of years.
