Testimony

The middle of a global pandemic is the ideal time to start a new ministry, right? I showed up at Emmanuel Church in West Kelowna, B.C., at the beginning of July 2020. Things were just starting to open up a little bit, groups could meet in gatherings of 50 or less, and my job was to restart the youth group. The last time it had met was in mid-March, shortly before COVID had shut everything down and when their last youth pastor stepped out of his role. Contact info for students or families was ha...

Faith Celebrating the Life of Josiah Henson

One evening in the early 19th century, a young Black man made his way to a church to hear, for the first time, about the Jewish carpenter, Jesus. The young man was astonished. Could it be that the message he was hearing was for him? Did this Man, the Son of God, do all that He did for everyone, including a slave whose father had been beaten and mutilated for defending the honour of his wife, whose mother had prayed over him, whose life would be marked by the emancipation and education of many se...

Lifestyle The Discipline of Spiritual Gardening

As COVID-19 exploded onto the global scene, it seemed like everything that was normal began to fly every which way. It was as if normal life was now shrapnel of the pandemic. This is what chaos does, doesn’t it? It throws all things off-kilter and out of order. Like the rest of the world, I was trying to find structure in the best way possible. In the midst of working from home, attending church online, watching daily news updates, and picking up new gardening skills, I was looking for ord...

Perspective Let There Be Light

They are the opening words of God’s creation song, the very first words spoken by God in Scripture—Let there be light! Remember that. God spoke His Word into the darkness and there was light. The world Jesus was born into was dark. All of first-century Palestine languished beneath the heavy hand of Caesar and the occupying Roman Empire. The census Caesar demanded uprooted families and added even more uncertainty and fear to people’s lives. Judea, the province where Jesus was b...

Spirituality The Measure of My Faith

I’m writing this article in April, in the middle of Holy Week, which is a kind of “time-travelling” opportunity we take with Jesus. We’re invited to journey with Him to the cross before we celebrate Easter and the gift of salvation—a journey made more poignant this year by COVID-19. But any article can allow us to travel backward or forward with the writer, so I’m inviting you to time-travel with me as you read. As I practise isolation strategies in April, I&...

Lifestyle Pandemic Dad Life

The days all start the same: Wake up. Mumble a “startup” prayer. Get coffee. Figure out if “today” is actually today or if it is the weekend or the day before last. Open up my laptop at my kitchen table. Work until I decide “…Yup, the kids have slept long enough …” Wake up the kids, whose sleep schedules no longer exist. Set them up for their Google classroom-led school days and prepare to help with spelling and math equations for the next few ...

Spirituality Search Me O God

“Let me just make it to church, and everything will be fine!” But now we have a problem. We can’t go to church! What on earth are we going to do? How can we be spiritual without being in church? What if this COVID-19 pandemic has other ramifications? There are medical issues. There are economical issues. But what if there are some spiritual issues as well? From time to time, I have gone to see a physiotherapist for a sports injury. I am using the term “sports” loose...

Worldview A Christian View on Euthanasia

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) was legalized in Canada in June 2016. The term euthanasia will be used instead of MAID to differentiate it from palliative care. The conditions under which a health-care provider can legally administer euthanasia in Canada are several: a person must be at least 18 years old and competent at the time of administration. They must be suffering intolerably from a physical condition that is considered grievous (serious) and irremediable (no cure). They must be unwil...

Spirituality The Dark Side of the Supernatural

When Shirley Brown’s son, Robbie, disappeared, she had been a Christian for little more than a year. She was approached at the grocery store by a woman who heard the story on the news. “You’re the one whose son is missing, aren’t you?” she asked. When Shirley confirmed her identity, the woman said, “I’d like you to come to my house. I’m having a séance, and we’ll find out where your son is.” Shirley knew little about the occult, ...

Youth & Spirituality A Seat at the Table

Every few years, the Pentecostal World Fellowship chooses a country to host their event. In 2019, they chose to hold it in Canada. I remember sitting with our PAOC general superintendent, David Wells, over coffee a couple of years ago. He shared his heart with me, and with tears streaming down his face, encouraged me that the younger generation must not give up. He asked me to be one of the speakers for the conference, and in that moment, I knew in my heart God was up to something. When the time...

Youth & Spirituality A God Who Cares

I grew up in a dysfunctional family where my father was not very present. He was unfaithful to my mother and, in spite of his careless attitude, was quite strict with us. He didn’t want us to cry, because for him, it was a sign of weakness. He probably had this mindset as a result of his time in the army. Because of all this, I think, I quickly started getting into trouble as early as elementary school—fighting, robberies, armed assaults and so on. As the years went by, it got worse....

Youth & Spirituality Victory, Layer by Layer

I remember the night I asked God to bring me back to Him. At just 18 years old, I was on tour with an indie rock band, but this night seemed different from any of the others before. Unlike the lively bars, venues, and festivals that had become our normal, my band played the show at a youth drop-in centre. Five teenagers sat on the floor watching us, blinking behind thick mascara, their faces expressionless as they hugged their own legs. I nailed every note, pulled the same moves, and struck ever...

Meditation Not Just a Christmas Lyric

When the furnace dies on Christmas morning in Southern Alberta, you do your best to find extra slippers, blankets and sweaters to outfit all 21 of your visiting relatives. While you’re waiting for the furnace repairman, you hit up the Boxing Day sales for several space heaters, eat ridiculous amounts of Christmas baking to warm up the inside, and reminisce about the lack of central heating in the “good old days.” At least that Christmas I could find the charm in the chaos becau...

Youth & Spirituality @themovementya

I have the best job on earth. I partner with millennials to bring Jesus’ love to our world, and I must say they are my hands-down favourite people. The prevailing narrative is that they are lazy and entitled, but every generation has the potential to be misunderstood. The Holy Spirit is stronger than every brush anyone is painted with, and I refuse to vilify them. Like the generations before them, God says they are set apart, powerful and—with the Holy Spirit—unstoppable. In Oc...

From Our Bible Colleges - Part 2 The Holy Spirit at work in the lives of students

The Holy Spirit at work in students’ lives We invited 22 PAOC-affiliated Bible college students to share what the Holy Spirit is doing in their lives. As part of our centenary celebration, we have been sharing those testimonies with you over the course of two magazine issues and posting some of them over social media. Part 2 is reflected in the current issue and features students from Summit Pacific College in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Vanguard College in Edmonton, Alberta, Institut Bi...

From Our Bible Colleges - Part 1 The Holy Spirit at work in the lives of students

The Holy Spirit at work in students’ lives We invited 22 PAOC-affiliated Bible college students to share what the Holy Spirit is doing in their lives. As part of our centenary celebration, we’ll share those testimonies with you over the course of two magazine issues and post some of them over social media over the next few weeks. Part 1 is reflected in the current issue and features students from Horizon College & Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Master’s College &a...

25th Pentecostal World Conference Join us in Calgary, Alberta, August 27-30, 2019

Registrations are picking up for the much-anticipated conference in C-Town in just over four short months. Here are some details that can help you or the friends you share them with to join the growing sign-up list. Register at 25pwc.org. Can you share a bit of the history surrounding the Pentecostal World Conference? In May 1947, 3,000 delegates convened in Zürich, Switzerland, to participate in an international conference for Pentecostal ministers, theologians and leaders. Key ministers o...

Everyday Thoughts Addicted to the Right Thing

Dramatic life changes can have modest beginnings. Just walking across a room was all it took to start a conversation that changed Brian Chudy’s life. In March 2018, Brian came to North Pointe Church a broken man. His home is a stone’s throw away from North Pointe, so when his wife strongly suggested he seek out help for his drug addiction, the closest church seemed like a good choice. He just had to walk across the parking lot. Brian and his wife showed up 10 minutes early for North ...

Perspective God’s Unexpected Voice

A couple of days after we buried our stillborn baby, God spoke to my wife. It was Krista’s first time returning to the grave after we’d buried Avery. As the van rolled up to the cemetery gate, a song started playing on the radio. Krista sat in the vehicle and listened as the artist declared that God does not abandon us in our sorrow. As she began to cry, the lyrics went on to assure her that God holds our tears.1 She hadn’t been asking God to speak to her. God’s voice cam...

Seven Questions Seven Questions for Rev. Michel Bisaillon

Q1: Your bio on the PAOC website is interesting. You were working at the National Bank before attending Bible college and going into full-time ministry. What led to that major life and career change? My mother left home when I was four years old. My father, however, was filled with love and devotion for his two children and secured full-time custody of us. All of this was not the norm in Quebec at the time. During my teenage years, I lived in a town near the west end of the island of Montre...

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Editorials

From the Editor Cycles and Seasons

From our General Superintendent The “EveryOne” Trajectory – From Vision to Reality

From our General Superintendent Foundations: Who We Are

From the Editor God Uses Everything

At Work in the World

ERDO A SOBER CALL

Mission Canada A PUBLIC FAITH

Mission Global CELEBRATING THE CHURCH