Missions

At Work in the World

What would happen if you could create a bridge between people who need water in Zimbabwe and children who need to know Scripture? We can all agree that it would be a transformative moment. That is the vision of Anne McCaffrey—the kind of vision that impacts lives. Providing water and Scripture are two of Anne McCaffrey’s passions, and she found a way to champion both. McCaffrey, a hospital chaplain, put out a challenge to the 29 children in her extended family. For each set of verses...

Mission Canada SERVING THE NATIONS

We have greatly enjoyed the smiling faces of international students in our home for over three decades of campus ministry. They are friendly, gracious and inquisitive. I fondly remember David, who stayed with us during Christmas. David was from Africa and was fascinated by our family tradition of building puzzles over the holidays. He stayed up until 3:30 a.m. to fit the last puzzle piece in! We also discovered that David’s dream after graduation was going back to Africa to help develop su...

International Missions DEEP AND WIDE

On the riverbanks of the dry and desert-like Sabi River of Southern Zimbabwe, you can find some incredible trees. When green, the Musasa tree can provide enough shade for an entire school assembly looking for relief from the blazing sun. At first, you wonder how the tree can be so fruitful in such a dry wasteland. Then you remember that its roots go deep into the soil and find the water that flows beneath the surface of the dry riverbed. The height and width of the tree’s lush green leaves...

Mission Canada REACHING OUT TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

“Churchy” was the name I was given in high school by my drama teacher, Mrs. Small. Later on she said to me, “Churchy, we need someone like you in our high school. We need someone who can sit and listen to students who are going through things. Someone who can be there for them. I’m going to talk to our principal, and we are going to set something up.” She started a conversation about having me in to speak to her high school, a public high school in Quebec, as a moti...

ERDO THE ULTIMATE GIFT AT CHRISTMAS

We sat down and spoke through a translator. I asked her what her name was. She said, “My name is Jessica, I am 20 years old, and I have two children. I have a six-year-old and a two-year-old.” I spent time with five young women that day and listened to their stories. I was heartbroken hearing so many stories similar to Jessica’s. Stories of women who dropped out of school so their other siblings could get an education. Stories of young women who were forced by their families t...

International Missions EQUIPPING FOR MISSION IN PAKISTAN

“We had a great weekend of ministry. People threw stones at us, but God protected us and we were able to complete the service. We really saw God move. Keep praying for us.” Each week since my recent visit to Pakistan, I receive exciting ministry updates from a very special group of young Pakistani believers. Queser, Mahmoud, Haroun, Naitan, Sadiq and others are Bible college students who represent the leading edge of a movement of evangelists and disciple makers. They are redefining ...

ERDO PRAYERS FOR REFUGEES LIVING IN UGANDA

When Ugandan Reverend Simon Peter Emiau came to The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada’s national office in November 2017, I had the opportunity to interview him about the South Sudanese refugee crisis in Uganda. After the interview, I chatted with him for a bit, and our conversation ended with the Reverend telling me that I need to visit Uganda. I remember thinking, I would love to go to Uganda, but let’s be honest: working for a non-profit organization, there’s not a lot of ex...

Mission Canada WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE “URBAN”?

If we are to understand and appreciate city life, we need a good working definition for the word “urban.” Once we see the city for what it is, we can find our place in it and live out God’s mission. Isn’t it amazing how you can drive 120 kilometres per hour on a multi-lane highway until, at rush hour, you reach the city? Suddenly, you are parked and inching forward, wrestling with feelings of dismay at being delayed. While everyone talks about the fast pace of city life...

International Missions DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: A VISION MULTIPLIED

Adrian and Sharon were first invited to a fact-finding trip in the Dominican Republic (DR) in July 2000, along with missionaries in Haiti with whom they were partnered at the time. The trip changed their lives, and God has been multiplying His vision for its people since that time through their influence there. Q: Tell us about your first trip to the DR. On the Monday night debrief during that first trip, the host mentioned that an opportunity to speak to pastors was available that week. I raise...

International Missions A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS

Over the years, three photographs, all of children, have haunted the public imagination. First, the picture of the African child known as “Struggling Girl,”1 clearly near death, starving and emaciated, with a vulture hovering nearby waiting for this victim (who was actually a boy) of famine and war. Second, the picture of a nine-year-old Vietnamese girl, “The Terror of War”2 (also known as “Napalm Girl”) running naked on a bridge, trying to escape the flames...

Mission Canada ONWARD WITH PASSION

As the PAOC celebrates its centennial as a movement, we need to be reminded that we did not always appreciate shared strategy, form or even structure. In early 1909, there was an initial attempt to create a simple organization, but Ellen and James Hebden were opposed to any formal structure as it meant the potential of quenching the Holy Spirit’s new work among them. Others were more pragmatic in their approach to ministry in Canada and understood that for the sake of long-term sustainabil...

ERDO THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK

“Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.”—Dr. John Trainer You might be surprised to hear me use the word “bittersweet” to describe ERDO’s work with children. On one hand, there is profound joy in seeing a child on a path to their greatest potential involving spiritual formation, health, education, and better choices for their future. The sadness comes when I see injustice in the lives of children—...

ERDO EVERY CHILD DESERVES HOPE

Recently, there was an article in one of the national newspapers in Honduras, with this title: “Violence in Honduras has left more than 22,000 children orphaned.” As a global worker whose ministry focuses mainly on children, you can imagine why this caught my attention. Living and working in Honduras, I see the impact of violence on the lives of the children we work with, and on their families. Many children live with one parent or with grandparents because they have ...

Mission Canada CANADA REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT

In 2003, The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada became part of Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program and signed on with the Canadian government as a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH). Countless stories have emerged over the last 15 years since that decision—heartbreaking accounts recorded on government application documents. There’s a story behind every name. For those considered refugees, calling a new country “home” comes with challenges. It&...

Mission Canada NEXT GENERATION MINISTRY

“Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Matthew 13:8-9). A harvest. This is the goal of planting, investing, and being strategic in areas of our churches where the outcomes far outweigh the investment. In business, they call the outcome a “growth engine.” Growth engines are strategic outcomes (or a measurable number of up to 30 per cent or more) that exc...

International Missions A CALL TO PRAYER FOR CHINA

The pastor must have known, when he hung the cross on the church building, that he was taking a risk. In China, to have a church that is not registered with the police is illegal. And the police proved this when they stormed into the meeting one Sunday. “Remove the cross,” an officer demanded. No one moved. “If you don’t, I will,” the officer shouted, turning toward the door. Several members of the congregation followed him and his fellow officers outside to the fro...

ERDO GENEROSITY AT CHRISTMAS

Everyone remembers their favourite Christmas gift—I sure do. I was 11 years old, and leading up to Christmas, my brother and I were constantly asking my parents for one thing and one thing only—a guitar. I played piano as I grew up, but as soon as I saw some of my friends learning how to play the guitar, I knew that I also wanted to learn. My family always has a Christmas breakfast before we open presents. I remember sitting through breakfast that particular year, anxious to finish a...

Mission Canada PICTURE THIS: THE EMBASSY TURNS 10!

Picture Humber College: a huge, sprawling campus on the northwest edge of Toronto. Every year it attracts thousands of students from all corners of our nation (and the world) to come and study within its walls. They arrive eager to learn, grow and experience all that college life has to offer. I remember the first time I paid a visit to this campus. It was one of the first times I had ever stepped foot inside a secular college or university, and it felt vastly different than the comparatively sm...

ERDO ROHINGYA RESPONSE

Over the years, I have participated in projects responding to humanitarian needs in some of the world’s largest refugee camps. Last year I visited two new refugee camps that are now in this group. In 2016, Bidi Bidi, a refugee camp in northwestern Uganda, became the world’s newest and fastest-growing refugee camp as it provided safety for South Sudanese families escaping conflict. However, in a few short months, the Kutupalong-Balukhali camp, located near Cox’s Bazaar in Bangla...

International Missions VILLAGE OF HOPE – MWANZA, TANZANIA

Interview with Jade and Julius Kenyamanyara Last summer I had the pleasure of visiting the Village of Hope in Mwanza, Tanzania, along with several other short-term missions (STM) team members from PORTICO Community Church in Mississauga, Ontario. God’s presence was tangible, reflected in the infectious joy of the children, housemothers, teachers and administrators, and evident in the obvious priority placed on teaching and honouring His Word. I invited Jade Kenyamanyara to share how she an...