Missions

At Work in the World

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...

International Missions DEEP AND WIDE

Readers of testimony are well aware of the great work that PAOC International Missions is doing in the area of equipping ministries. In partnership with national churches we have established Bible colleges so that church leaders—pastors, evangelists, and more recently, missionaries—can be launched into the work of making disciples everywhere. This world has really been my entire life, starting with a move at age five with my missionary parents to an isolated station outside of Kitwe,...

Mission Canada THIS AIN’T YO GRAMMA’S CHURCH

Until recently, most people did not equate the PAOC with university ministry. That is coming to an end. We now have ministry expressions on over 50 campuses across the country … and we are adding more! In fact, we have a vision to add at least another 20 campuses by 2020 in our efforts to reach every campus in our nation by whatever means. It is both an incredible challenge and opportunity. This June, dozens of those with a stake in this vision converged for our first National Campus Mini...

International Missions WHY EUROPE?

A couple of years ago, my wife and I had some time off in Prague at the end of a church-planting trip in southeastern Czech Republic. We hired a personal tour guide who would take us around the city on foot and tell us the history of Prague. We met up with our tour guide in Old Town Square. There are a couple of churches here that demand attention. The first eye-catching landmark is the Church of Our Lady before Týn, a Gothic-style cathedral that was built in the 14th century. It has two ...

ERDO PLANNING FOR CRISIS

No one knows when a crisis will strike, yet each year ERDO staff review and update our crisis response planning. We plan how we’ll organize our staff and raise the necessary financial resources to respond each year, not knowing whether there will be multiple smaller-scale crises or one massive crisis requiring years of attention. “The typhoon has washed away our homes and crops ...” “An earthquake has struck, and there are so many homeless, sick and injured ...&rdq...

Mission Canada WHERE IS QUEBEC GOING?

The traditional Christian church in Quebec, whether Roman Catholic or Protestant, is in a period of soul searching. How can the church influence the lives of its people in a significant way? “Where is Quebec going?” This question was asked by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Quebec, as he addressed the Synod of Bishops in Rome in October 2008. He spoke about “the profound faith crisis of Quebec society, which by its French culture and Catholic [tradition], ha...

International Missions HEY! YOU REMIND ME OF SOMEONE

A lady stopped me in the street. She was smiling. I smiled back. She started talking to me in French. I looked behind me to see if she was talking to someone else. She wasn’t—she was talking to me. “Have you been back to Rome?” “Umm … uh …” “Remember? We stayed in the same hotel? Your kids played with mine?” “I’m sorry. I have never been to Rome.” “You used to live in Versailles four years ago?” “No...

ERDO SCHOOLS OF HOPE

“I don’t understand why my friends don’t come to school when they have a cold.” This lament came from Gerson, a child in Grade 5 who lives in Honduras and attends school with the help of Schools of Hope, an ERDO-supported program. Gerson’s words were especially poignant because he is recovering from leukemia. There were many days when he felt extremely ill, but he always came to school. He was eager to keep his grades up and work his hardest. When he learned all his...

Mission Canada RAISING A GODLY GENERATION

Are you a person who lives with purpose and a sense of God’s calling on your life? Do you awaken every day and spend time with the Lord, asking Him what He has in store for you for the day? Does your daily calendar allow you to be on mission for God, responding to the opportunities He may bring your way? Is your heart tuned to constantly follow His leading? How would you rate your obedience quotient? 2015 is now upon us, and we’re a few months into the calendar. There is nothin...

ERDO DEFINING IMAGES

I was born smack dab in the middle of the ’50s, television’s golden age. In 1952, three years before I was born, there were only 146,000 televisions in Canada. Four years later there were an estimated 2.3 million. By the time I was 10 years old, 92 per cent of Canadian households owned a television. That’s a greater percentage than those that owned a telephone, an automobile or an installed bath and shower.1 Our household had all of the above. It is no wonder, then, t...