I accepted the responsibility of leading EHC Canada after serving for several years as pastor and church planter. That was just over thirty years ago.
Not long afterwards, I wrote a letter to our partners across Canada in which I shared my deep concerns for our nation.
Here is an excerpt of what I wrote in the early 90’s: “As I have ministered across Canada these past 20 months as Canadian Director for EHC, I’ve come to realize more than ever the terrible bankruptcy of this nation that can only be described as a spiritual crisis!”
Results from expert research of those early years led me to conclude that Canada was in serious spiritual crisis. Here are some noteworthy points from back then.
- The percentage of Canadians professing a personal relationship with God through Christ was in serious decline.
- Disrespect for spiritual leaders was growing.
- An alarmingly high percentage of Canadian children were totally cut off from exposure to the gospel of Christ.
- A shrinking percentage of Canadians were attending church regularly, and in fact a growing number wanted no association with Christianity.
- Trends and legislation were underway to undermine religious freedom and bible-based values of the past.
- Non-Christian religions were experiencing significant growth.
- There was a shocking increase of crime, addiction, abuse, and more.
What about Canada today?
We are now thirty years later, and the state of affair is much worse. Trends are accelerating in the wrong direction. Personally, I take this as our signal to double down on our God-given mission.
Our Finding the Hope initiatives are the WHAT in “Why We Do What We Do, in Canada”. We present the gospel message of God’s love and salvation to everyone possible everywhere possible and facilitate a connection between people and the local church.
Now, here a some of the reasons WHY we do what we do in Canada.
- God’s love and desire for lost people to experience his great salvation has not diminished toward Canadians and his great love compels us.
- There is a need for lost people to have access to the gospel of Christ. It alone is the good news of what God did in Christ and is the power of God for the salvation of anyone who believes.
- There is a call in Scripture to every believer and to every local church to go, preach, proclaim, and make disciples.
- There is a way to provide the gospel to people. For decades our brothers and sisters around the world have creatively done this, in and out of season, and have demonstrated that the EHC’s approach plants seeds that produce fruit anywhere.
- There is a harvest ready to be gathered. To date, hundreds of millions of people have responded to a gospel message received through EHC. They have received followed up and scores of people have joined one of EHC’s more than 400,000 Christ Group fellowships or a local church where discipleship takes place.
If a great harvest is being gathered overseas, why not here? I have worked with numbers of our teams around the world and have seen how they remain focussed on mission in spite a drastic and dramatic changes in their nations. It is their first preoccupation, and the results are remarkable.
Our Canadian Finding the Hope outreach is specifically developed with strategies and resources to help churches and individuals be focussed on the harvest and engaged with the mission of reaching the lost. As we often say, it’s so simple.
At the very heart of Finding the Hope is the conviction that the gospel must be public truth, communicated frequently to everyone possible, everywhere possible.
God’s power to save has not diminished, neither have his love and grace towards everyone. As Paul wrote to Timothy, God wants everyone to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Our God sees the crisis of our nation and has provided the only response that will make a difference. He sees the state of things, he answers prayer, and he is with his people on mission today, just as he promised before his ascension.
You can help spread the word.
We are praying that God will raise up more ambassadors who can help us connect with church leaders and potential Messengers of Hope and announce the availability of Finding the Hope resources and strategies. We have materials that can be passed along, and our office is able to follow up any contacts. More information is available on our web site, hope.ehc.ca.
If you would like to be part of spreading the word, we would be delighted to hear from you. Call or email us at 519-837-2010 and ehc@ehc.ca.
People need the Lord. Let’s work to make the gospel of Christ public truth in Canada.