Meet Dan Rigler; Rising Above Board member since 2014. Dan is an outside of the box thinker and one who would do almost anything to share the hope he has found in Jesus Christ and is passionate about delivering the beautiful Gospel message to wherever and whoever God leads him to.
Dan is a stunt man. And when we say "stunt man", we mean he is willing to do incredible and attention grabbing stunts for the Lord! Before Dan knew anything about Rising Above, he was sitting in church listening to the heartfelt message of hope from a pastor and philanthropist he had never met before. That person was Mel Siggelkow; Executive Director of Rising Above Ministry. During that time, Mel was on a mission to see the doors of Rising Above remain open as provincial funding of $600,000 was just cut-off. This would be the early stages of Rising Above becoming a non-profit organization - a rocky path that the Lord intended to lead us on. The Lord spoke to Dan's heart that day as he watched Mel speaking from the podium. "I knew the Lord was moving in my heart to help this unfamiliar organization, but I wasn't sure in what capacity. At the time, I was working with cranes and I knew the Lord wanted to combine my work with this ministry to help raise funds for them." After meeting with Mel and brainstorming a few ideas, the stunt was set. Dan would spend 3 days at 195ft in the air to promote the work of Rising Above. Little did Dan and Mel know that Grande Prairie would be put on the map as the coldest place on earth with temperatures plummeting to -48 and Stuntman Dan and his crane would be deemed the tallest structure in Grande Prairie - even taller than 214 Place! This only further peeked the community's attention as everyone was wondering who the crazy guy in the basket was! Through this seemingly simple act, God moved and provided $90,000.00 to the ministry. Calls streamed in from every corner of the city and people rallied together to see that our ministry continues to live on!
During that time, Rising Above was praying for the Lord to bring them a new Board member. Little did they know it would be Stuntman Dan. Shortly after the crane stunt, Dan wanted to get involved with Rising Above on an ongoing basis. When Dan approached Rising Above and asked what it took to become a member of the Board, they said "we've been praying for a board member, and we believe it is you." 6+ years later, Dan remains an actively involved member of the Rising Above Board of Directors.
When asked what he loves about being a member of the board, he says "I get a front row seat to this Walk On Water Ministry. We take a step in obedience and God will provide. I get a front row seat to that." Dan also adds how much enjoyment he's experienced in watching staff and participants grow and flourish. "God has been growing me everyday and is using this ministry to grow me."
Rising Above is incredibly blessed and honored to have Dan part of our Board of Directors. He isn't afraid to do the tough and sometimes crazy work and is never shy to share the Gospel with those who need to hear the message of Hope.