Church of the Rock is mourning the loss of one of their pastors, Keith Eberhard.

The Winnipeg church's lead pastor, Mark Hughes, made the announcement of Eberhard's death on Thursday evening.

Eberhard passed away on Thursday afternoon at the age of 66. He had announced earlier this year that he had cancer, and the church had surrounded him in support and prayer.

"If I do what's right and draw closer to my Lord and let God work in my heart then he gives me strength"

"He will be missed beyond measure and we have suffered a tremendous loss of a gifted pastor, prophet, and man of God," says Hughes. "He, however, has gone onto his reward and is rejoicing in the presence of his Lord and savior Jesus. He is now pain free and cancer free and beginning the journey of discovering the mysteries of God that he has longed to know for so many years."

83953172_5416024292208934912_o.jpg" alt="" width="1080" />Pastor Keith Eberhard (left) and lead pastor Pastor Mark Hughes share a laugh while recognizing Eberhard for his 25 years in September 2019. (Church of the Rock/Facebook)

"Be it on the mission field or at home in Winnipeg, Keith loves to help others process how Christ is with them in the midst of their struggles, and he hungers to see the Holy Spirit impact every person," his biography reads on the Church of the Rock website. "He is active in prophetic ministry and uses his teaching gift to instruct believers in biblical knowledge as well as training for ministry."

"He left this world with utter confidence of where he was going and not an ounce of fear."

"Most of you would not be aware that as 2020 began he started to pray that this year he would learn what it truly meant to ‘know God,'" Hughes says.