“We have global workers from Canada helping share the Good News, Canadians doing ministry leadership training, and we are sending resources to national partners, who are seeing many come to know Jesus whenever the gospel is shared.”
There has been a simmering question in Canadian Christian circles recently: Should we still be involved in international missions?
The short answer? Yes! Jesus’s final command for His church was to be involved in God’s ongoing mission for all humanity.
Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV) says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
There are some keywords in this passage: the first is “GO.” And in our going, we ought to make disciples. We have received a gift that is not to be hoarded but rather to be shared freely. This push to go and make disciples is followed by the keywords “ALL NATIONS.” While we are to be a faithful witness of the gospel in Canada, we are not to neglect the rest of the world. How we go about the Great Commission in 2025 may look different than in days past, with needed creativity in a changing world landscape, but the imperative from Jesus remains the same. His message of salvation and hope is to go everywhere.
In Acts 1:8 (ESV), Jesus gives great hope to His followers when He says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The Holy Spirit empowers us as we go to all nations. Jesus doesn’t say you might or possibly could be His witnesses. He uses the word “WILL.” He is also not saying, “You will be my witnesses in your local church or Quebec or Thailand.” He says, “AND.” We are called to be involved locally, regionally and globally. There is no escaping cross-cultural global work.
But what does this look like? In my experience as a pastor, district leader, Mission Global director and global worker, I have seen the blessing of strategically engaging locally, regionally and internationally. There is a fear that getting involved internationally will take away from our local efforts, but the opposite happens: our local churches and ministries grow. Nurturing a missional heart within Canada unlocks new perspectives and energy for serving local communities.
Let me give you an example. As a local church pastor, I organized short-term missions opportunities for students locally, regionally and internationally. While our students blessed others, their own hearts transformed as they embraced God’s mission. I remember returning to Terrace, B.C., after a regional missions trip with 20 students and leaders. We booked the community bandshell and put on the same kids’ program from our missions trip. Our original team was joined by 30 more local students, and the week was filled with stories, crafts, games and music. The amazing part was how our students, emboldened by their mission work, brought their friends, many of whom accepted Christ. The entire church celebrated: giving increased, attendance grew, and engagement deepened as we stepped into God’s mission.
We hear similar stories internationally. Recently, leaders in a large city in Asia shared the impact of our Canadian workers. It started with PAOC workers bringing the gospel to desperate refugees and blossomed into youth ministries, English clubs, schools and churches. The Canadian Pentecostals weren’t working independently; they partnered with the local church, building lasting, fruitful ministries.
For example, one of our mission founders, “Auntie Sadie McLeod,” not only started schools but also baked banana bread, serving it as part of meals with friends. Those humble connections led to partnerships in education. We are only now finding out how fruitful these conversations were and how thousands of young lives are being impacted today in multiple nations because she decided to go.
In 2024, the need remains great. According to the Joshua Project (www.joshuaproject.net), there are 3.42 billion unreached people who have little or no access to the gospel. 1 For example, there are over 134 million Bengali Muslims, and only 0.06 per cent of them have now converted to Christianity. 2 That 0.06 per cent represents a spark that needs help to grow into a flame. If Christ’s command is to go, Canadians are not exempt from this call. We have global workers from Canada helping share the Good News, Canadians doing ministry leadership training, and we are sending resources to national partners, who are seeing many come to know Jesus whenever the gospel is shared.
Here are some ways you can discover your part in God’s mission:
- Take a course! Our own ZOE Network has the IDENTITY course (www.zoenetwork.ca), which helps people discover their part in God’s mission. We also work with Kairos and encourage people to take The Unfinished Story (contact Valerie.Penney@paoc.org). This course will help form a biblical worldview on our part in God’s mission.
- Join a short-term missions team or take a missions exposure trip (https://give.paoc.org/blogs/short-term-missions) to experience serving cross-culturally firsthand. The investment will yield lifelong dividends.
- Have coffee with a global worker and ask them to pray with you!
- Give to missions through your local church or at www.erdo.ca or www.paoc.org/donate.
- Pray. Ask God how you can fulfil His commands. Ask Him for His heart for lost people. God still speaks, and He will encourage you in how to go.
If God is calling you to serve overseas, then don’t keep that call to yourself. There is joy and abundant life on the other side of your obedience. Reach out to our team through Jesh Beadle at Jeshuran.Beadle@paoc.org and ask how you can fulfil God’s call to go.
Darcy McAlister is the director of development and communications for Mission Global.
This article appeared in the January/February/March 2025 issue of testimony/Enrich, a quarterly publication of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. © 2025 The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Photo of Sadie McLeod © PAOC Archives. Photo of a scene from Bangladesh – courtesy a Mission Global worker.
- “Global Dashboard,” Joshua Project, accessed January 17, 2025, https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/dashboard.
- “Unreached: 100 Largest,” Joshua Project, accessed January 17, 2025, https://joshuaproject.net/unreached/1