A “divine itch” to study grew when my pastor, Kevin Rogers, suggested I attend Bible college. It was a great idea. I love studying the Word of God and reading the thoughts of scholars. However, cold logic told me that that season had passed. Surely, I was too old to consider going back to school. But the itch would not go away.
Years prior, I had attended seminary and walked away after one semester feeling defeated because I could not make it work. There were too many obstacles: I was working full time, newly married, commuting to classes, and could not even afford a car. Along the way, I convinced myself that seminary was just too hard for me anyway.
When the itch to study returned, all the old objections returned, too. However, the obstacles had lost their power because my circumstances had changed. Today, I have completed my M.Div studies and am now enrolled in a PhD program in Christian Theology.
Along the way, I encountered others with a shared dream of studying the Word of God and training to minister more effectively. With the support of pastor Kevin Rogers and New Song Church, Urban Cry School of Mission was relaunched in 2023 to help people fulfil this dream.
Students pursuing their callings need to be equipped with a strong Pentecostal theology, as they will face diverse spiritual needs. Urban Cry School of Mission is a two-year post-secondary apprenticeship program that offers accredited Bible college coursework and fosters practical learning through immersion in urban ministry. Some of our students work with urban youth and children, while others lead Alpha courses in community housing projects. One student is developing her own nursing home ministry, and others are helping to address food insecurity by working with Feeding Windsor-Essex. It is incredible to assist students in advancing their urban ministry callings. As I witness the students moving forward in ministry, I see the Word of God being lived out.
In my role as academic advisor, I support the students in excelling academically and professionally. As an active student myself, I am bringing a high level of scholarship and expertise to our program to encourage and challenge their thinking and practice. To help prepare and mentor our students for practical ministry, I have introduced focused discussions on publishing as a ministering person and on working as a professional minister. In these meetings, students are challenged to stretch their ministry practice through concrete mentoring about how to move forward in their calling.
In addition to the academic training received through Bible college courses and mentoring discussions, our students learn from frontline Mission Canada workers in other cities. Every year, we take a small group of interns on a road trip to gain knowledge about urban ministry outside of our own context. One of the most moving events of a recent trip was the connection a student made with brothers and sisters in Christ of the same cultural heritage. She received tremendous affirmation of her calling and work, and made valuable connections that will foster her continued growth in faith and practice.
This year, we are celebrating the graduation of our first cohort of students since Urban Cry’s relaunch. It is exciting to see individuals ready to step into their calling. As these students move out, the need for more workers remains. As we rejoice, we are aware of the great need for the good news of Jesus in our hurting and broken cities. We have had some challenges over these first couple of years, and it is wonderful to see where God is leading our interns. I am now searching for new interns for the coming trimester who love Jesus and desire to go into all the world proclaiming His resurrection.
Reflecting on my time as a young woman who dropped out of seminary, I realize that God gave me a heart for students who are facing barriers. My testimony is that it is not too late and the obstacles are not too big for our Jesus. Together, we are strengthening our faith community to study the Word of God accurately and to minister effectively on the streets of Windsor and beyond.
For more information about Urban Cry, please contact me and check out the website at https://urbancry.ca.
Elizabeth Anderson attends New Song Church in Windsor, Ont., with her husband, Dale. She works as an associate pastor and is studying for a PhD in Christian Theology at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ont. This article appeared in the April/May/June 2026 issue of testimony/Enrich, a quarterly publication of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. © 2026 The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Photos courtesy Elizabeth Anderson.