Missions

At Work in the World

Mission Canada TRANSCENDING PERSECUTION

Persecution is more than uncomfortable or inconvenient: it hurts. Emotionally and socially, it’s demoralizing. Physically, it’s painful; damaging, even to the point of death. My friends, “Thomas and Wendy” (yes, those are pseudonyms for their continued protection), experienced great persecution in their homeland. Ultimately, moving from house to house, from apartment to apartment, and even from one city to another wasn’t enough. They had to flee the country. They c...

Mission Canada TRUE WEALTH

Fortune, in our secular world, is rated by the amount of money in one’s bank account and the value of any accumulated worldly possessions. However, Jesus teaches another definition when it comes to wealth. Through His lessons, I have personally come to a new conclusion of how to be truly rich as I follow Jesus: The most valuable things I have are stored in my heart. That is the only treasure that will remain when I die. Humble self-assessments lead me to the realizati...

International Missions LESSONS IN MISSIONS

In the fall of 2004, while my wife, Sandra, and I had been serving as pastors at Kennedy Road Tabernacle in Brampton, Ontario, I began to sense that the Lord was calling us to the mission field. We answered the call, arriving in Thailand in August 2005. Over more than 10 years of serving in missions, we learned innumerable things about ourselves and others. Here’s our top 10 list. 10. Jesus is enough, and now we know what that means. It was so hard at that stage of life to leave a gr...

ERDO THE RIPPLE EFFECT

Being a parent involves tough choices. Sometimes the correct answer isn’t obvious or you’re faced with a daunting and unpopular decision. But what if you had to choose between medicine for your sick child or feeding the rest of your family? What if sending your child to school, their only chance for a better life, meant that the whole family went hungry? What parent could face those kinds of choices? In the area of Kenya where Akililu Hunqe grew up, his family and many in his communi...

International Missions A WONDERFUL WORLD?

In childhood I truly feared … Frankenstein coming up the stairs A werewolf under my bed A tornado flinging our house into the air A house fire in the night War, atomic bombs and nowhere to hide The Rapture, being left behind Armageddon My parents getting divorced, or worse, being killed in an accident Getting head lice In adulthood I truly fear … Getting into a horrible car accident Losing a child Kidnappers Losing my husband Losing my parents or siblings Getting fat...

Mission Canada TRANSITIONS

A testimony interview with Dr. Robb Powell, national co-ordinator for Campus Mission Canada t: You’ve mentioned that it’s important to prepare students in high school for their transition into post-secondary education. Could you elaborate? RP: I often think about transitions. And this one is huge. This is the point where the youth becomes an adult. They head out on their own and learn to negotiate a new, fascinating and powerful world. It’s a drifting cosmos in which there is ...

ERDO HOPE FOR BANGLADESH

“No matter where you are in the world, you want the best for your child.” These are the words of David Adcock, chief executive officer of ERDO, and they carry the ring of truth. Whether you live in Barrie, Ontario, or in Bangkok, or in Bangladesh, wanting the best for our children is universal. But imagine if caring for your children was so difficult, there were days it seemed impossible. What if your only water were tainted with naturally occurring arsenic, which made your child sic...

Mission Canada CONSIDERING FRENCH MINISTRY

Over the last year, our Bible college chapel time has focused on the theme “At the school of Moses (À l’école de Moïse).” The greatest principle that stuck with me from the chapel messages was Moses’ tenacity: in all that he experienced and in everything he did, in spite of the obstacles, he never quit. Moses pursued his calling. Hans Finzel writes, “In my mind, calling is about following a higher purpose in life. It is listening to and obeying Go...

ERDO LEGACIES

One of the joys I have in my work with ERDO is connecting people’s desire to love and serve God with opportunities for sharing their resources. When people really bond with a cause and find a ministry like ERDO’s that aligns with their desire to help meet human need in developing countries, the energy and enthusiasm are tangible. I am thrilled when people get excited about making a ministry gift and helping fulfil ERDO’s biblical call: “Do good. Seek justice. Help the opp...

International Missions IT BEGINS WITH “ONE”

One of the most often quoted yet least obeyed passages in Scripture is found in Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV), where our Lord commanded His followers to “… go [into all the world] and make disciples of all nations.” We are commanded to leave our own place of comfort and move out to reveal Christ in places where He is not known and worshipped—not a single region is exempted. “Nations” refers to peoples and language groups that live anywhere and everywhere. To see a n...

Mission Canada UNASHAMED

Recently, Scott McConnell, vice-president of LifeWay Research, shared the findings of a major study on Christian spirituality. The “Transformational Discipleship” study from LifeWay examined the spiritual habits and attitudes of 1,000 pastors and 4,000 Protestant churchgoers in North America. They included 1,086 Canadian lay people who go to church at least once a month. Researchers looked at eight attributes that are common to spiritually mature Christians. Among them is “unas...

International Missions JESUS IS BUILDING HIS CHURCH!

God’s Spirit is moving mightily in Ethiopia. Since the fall of communism in 1991, the church has grown significantly. Emerging from persecution and the restrictions on ministry activities, they have embraced their freedom to proclaim Christ. This zeal and passion continues as the church engages to fulfil the Great Commission. This is happening in many areas of the nation where the church has not yet been planted. I want to share a few stories about how God’s Spirit is working and enc...

ERDO ERDO AT WORK

Public recognition for a ministry like ERDO’s comes with mixed emotions. We are grateful for acknowledgement of the work we do because it inspires new donors to support us. But we’re reminded that the work we do centres on alleviating human suffering and the effects of poverty. Gaining recognition in the public eye increases our ability to serve people in the name of Jesus and in doing so introduces more women, men and children to the God of justice and love. We are humbled by the di...

International Missions GREATER MILESTONES

My first memories of Andrew bring a smile. He loves to dance and worship God. When he does, it’s as if no one else is in the room. To watch him, one can’t help but laugh with joy at the uniqueness of this blissful young man who loves God with all that he has. I had the privilege of being a part of Andrew’s formative years in ministry. I have watched him grow from a young man who loved to be the centre of attention to one who serves God with confidence and boldness. The doors th...

ERDO FOLLOWING JESUS, THE REFUGEE

Through media coverage, Canadians have witnessed the struggle of Syrian families fleeing danger and desperation, and seeking refuge. The real story, however, is actually much larger than a 30-second news bite, or even a half-hour special report. The UNHCR (United Nations High Commission of Refugees) reports that by mid-2014, there were over three million Syrian refugees, a small part of the then 18.1 million refugees worldwide who were registered with the UNHCR. This number doesn’t i...

Mission Canada SHIFTING FAITH

In May 2014 a Canadian study was released that painted a very real and clear picture—a change in our nation. A shift. In many ways, a decline. The results of this study cannot just be read and commented on, but must be followed up by action—on the part of individuals of all generations, local churches, parents, curriculum and resource companies, Christian educators, and all who would identify themselves as followers of Christ. The Canadian Bible Engagement Study (www.bibleenga...

ERDO CHRISTMAS FEVER

The Christmas retail machine is now unleashed and, despite our best intentions, will take many of us to places we don’t want to go, including excessive spending and the sobering moment of January bill payments. Statistics Canada rounded up December 2013’s retail extravaganza and reported that Christmas toys, games and hobby supplies, including electronic games, accounted for $401.4 million in sales; $528.6 million was spent on televisions and audio and video equipment; and $176.9 mil...

Mission Canada BEING THE MAGI AMONG NEW IMMIGRANTS

Rashid and A’isha have always known about Christmas, but only at arm’s length. As Muslims in their home country, they were never allowed to participate in or even come near Christians’ celebrations of this religious holiday. But now that they live in Canada, Christmas is unavoidable. It seems infused into everything, everywhere. The music at the mall and decorations in all the shops and on many homes visually and auditorily blare the holiday. For Rashid and A’isha, it&rsq...

Mission Canada SUNRISE ON THE SIDEWALK SKYLINE

Jazz legend Hoagy Carmichael had a song “Big Town Blues.” A phrase he sang paints a vivid picture. “I’m in a bargain basement with a sidewalk skyline.” Children growing up in the core of urban centres may look out the window of a basement apartment and see the sidewalk. I want to invite you to be part of the sunrise on the sidewalk skyline. Over 80 per cent of Canadians live in urban centres in major population hubs. The gap between the haves and have-nots is a...

ERDO AFTER THE SHOCK

There’s something about coming home at the end of the day. It’s not all about the building, of course, but as I get closer I long for my comfortable couch, the smell of dinner cooking and my garden. Home is cosy and safe. But what if it isn’t? On April 25, 2015, Nepal was devastated by an intense earthquake measuring 7.8. Whole villages were destroyed, and in the cities many houses were damaged and centuries-old buildings obliterated. In the following days and weeks, landslides...