Assistant to the GS - PAOC

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Assistant to the General Superintendent- PAOC

Rev. George Werner

Mission Canada Report to the District Conferences

Mission Canada’s role is to fuel the development of nationally shared vision for mission in Canada and to work proactively within it. We act as a hub that connects leaders to needs within our nation and the resources necessary to serve them. Our passion is to see Christ’s mission fulfilled in Canada so that Canadian Pentecostals can fulfil it around the globe. Our primary goal is to inspire and equip leaders and churches who LOVE, LIVE and LEAD like Jesus Christ, so increasing the numbers and strength of the global family of disciples. It is rewarding when Districts and local churches embrace Canada as a mission field and act accordingly for impact in mission here.

Like International Missions, the department is about reaching, planting, equipping and caring. We seek to make disciples (reaching and equipping), inspire the creation of new communities of faith (planting) and teach them to live responsibly in this world (caring). Mission Canada applies this action to five missional priorities that focus on particular peoples in our nation:

1. Canada’s next generation—children, youth and post-secondary students
2. The people of Quebec and francophones in other provinces
3. Immigrants to Canada and their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren
4. Canada’s Aboriginal people—First Nations, Métis and Inuit
5. Those who live in Canada’s growing urban contexts

Each of these people groups has unique challenges and issues that need to be considered as we seek to serve them in Christ’s name. Each has its own urgency for the redemption offered through Christ.

Missional engagement with these prioritized groups is led by the visions developed by the groups of leaders that Mission Canada consults with each year. Our guiding groups comprise qualified workers in each field of focus. We are truly grateful for the time and effort each of these leaders voluntarily offers each year.

In 2010, our team included David Wells, General Superintendent, the Executive Officer responsible for Mission Canada, Natalie Rogge, Jaz Ghag, Robb Powell, Gary Connors, Sandra Gill, John Caplin, Greg Foley, Christy Rich, Corinne Storms, and Shoubert David.

The highlights follow both in celebration of achievement and anticipation of future impact.

Next Gen Children

• The development of a PAOC “Children’s Ministries Leadership Certification Course” – a self-study tool to equip children’s ministry leaders and lay workers. (Available for purchase through Wordcom in 2011.)
• Identifying resources to equip parents to be the primary spiritual nurturers of children, in partnership with their local church.
• A new look and updated resources featured online at www.VirtualToolBox.ca, for those seeking the best, PAOC-recommended resources for Children’s Ministries and Leadership.

Missions And Kids

In 2010, children in our Fellowship collectively raised $182,349.15 for missions through Missions And Kids, a quarterly resource that helps focus on the needs of others, whether it be our missionary kids or children who are benefiting from projects like:

• Turning Water Into Lemonade – a clean water project in partnership with the “Life: Just Add Water” campaign
• Loonies For Learning: A Migrant Children’s Project in Asia – literacy program
• Haiti Feeding Project
• The Zimbabwe Village of Hope – providing furniture and shoes for orphans
• Mosquito Nets – providing quality nets in necessary areas where children are at risk
• Senegal Street Kids – supplying shoes for Talibe children and Christmas parties for kids who live on the street
• Reaching Kids in French Canada – assisting with the creation of Children’s Ministries curriculum in French
• Critical Care for Kids – caring for the medical emergencies of the children of ChildCARE Plus (in partnership with ERDO )
• Hope For Iqaluit – funding for community-based programming for children under the direction of a Mission Canada Missionary (in process)

The stories and opportunities to get involved are shared in our quarterly Teaching Resource. We can help this generation influence their world, rather than being influenced by it. With your church’s partnership, the impact can be even greater!

Next Generation: Youth Ministries

• The Youth Leaders Certification Course – a one-year, self-guided study written by PAOC leaders that equips lay workers for youth ministry. (Available now in both English and French through Wordcom.)
• Life Just Add Water –To date over $300,000 has been raised to complete the 26 wells originally targeted and an additional 44 projects by spring 2011. (In partnership with International Missions and ERDO.)

Next Generation: Campus Mission Canada

• The articulation of the PAOC’s diverse means of impacting colleges and universities with the gospel, the C5 Approach comprehensively includes:
  
  1. Campus Student Groups
  2. Chaplaincy
  3. Campus Churches
  4. Church based ministries
  5. Commercial enterprises
• The establishment of Carleton Christian Ministries in September 2010 under the leadership of Jonathan Hutchison is a collaborative effort by local Ottawa churches and the Eastern Ontario District.
• In September 2010, Tammy Junghans was deployed as a Mission Canada missionary to the University of Manitoba, where she has launched Segue, a unique, creative ministry to the student population.
• Mission Canada worker Psegga Jones was approved to be deployed to the urban campuses of Montreal, McGill and Concordia Universities, in partnership with Evangel Church and the District of Quebec (beginning ministry in 2011).
• BC Campus Ministries has begun two new initiatives at University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford and at North Island College’s campus in Comox.
• There was a recent launch of an equipping and networking website, www.campusmission.ca

Quebec and Francophone Canada

• Mission Canada missionary Daniel Perrée was approved to serve the youth cultures of Drummondville, Victoriaville and surrounding areas.
• The number of church-to-church partnerships with Quebec churches has reached 30 active, functioning partnerships. The program is actively being promoted for French congregations in the Maritimes and Northern Ontario.
• A website has been developed to communicate vision, progress and pertinent news about our collective concern for and efforts in Quebec and other parts of Canada – viewable at www.qfc.paoc.org.

Aboriginal People

• A partnership agreement with SCA International (formerly known as Shantymen) has been signed that will facilitate the deployment of new workers for ministry to aboriginal peoples across Canada at SCA’s ministry centres.

Urban Centers

• Karen Reed, Mission Canada missionary to urban Vancouver, is building a model of incarnational ministry that addresses social, physical and spiritual needs in city cores.

Mission Canada Women

• You Matter, a magazine-style resource for local church use with mission to women, has been created. It is full of stories and challenging articles that have action steps accompanying them so that women can be built up in the faith and released in ministry. (Available through Wordcom at $2 per copy.)
• In January 2011, the Enroute to the Future Conference hosted almost 200 women for inspiration and equipping for kingdom impact at home and abroad.

Church Multiplication

• In March 2011, Mission Canada facilitated a national conversation (led by John Caplin) to determine how our PAOC family might work together to multiply Pentecostal congregations across our land.
  

Mission Canada Missionaries

• In May 2008, Mission Canada commissioned Trevor Gingerich as the first Mission Canada worker. He was sent to Humber College in Toronto to create a student church there. He was the first of a new breed of pioneers who, with District endorsement, create new ministries in the areas of need in our nation. To date there are six fully approved Mission Canada workers who are working in shared-funded partnerships. Our Mission Canada missionaries are:
  • Karen Reed, urban worker in Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Tammy Junghans, campus missionary, University of Manitoba
  • Trevor (and Rebecca) Gingerich, campus missionaries at Humber College, Toronto
  • Daniel Perrée, regional youth worker, Drummondville, Quebec
  • Psegga Jones, campus missionary in Montreal (McGill, Concordia and Dawson College)
  • David Sawler, regional mission catalyst, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Wordcom

• Wordcom Christian Resources is now housed in Mission Canada, and continues to supply churches in our Fellowship and beyond with the resrouces necessary for effective ministry. A full range of curriculums, teaching resources and leadership materials that are fully Pentecostal in content and worldview are available, as well as a broader range of leadership resources to equip ministry. Proceeds from Wordcom sales go towards funding missional work in Canada. Contact Wordcom Resource Specialist Corinne Storms by phone or go online at www.wordcom.ca.

Concluding Thoughts

About Finances: Mission Canada depends on the faithful generosity of the church for its budget. The major portion of our income is supplied by District tithes, administrative service fees, and Wordcom sales. However, a significant portion of our budget must be raised each year by special appeals to the Fellowship and to specific local churches. Mission Canada is sincerely grateful for the support received that meets this need. Without those generous offerings, Mission Canada could not function. We continue to seek the support of concerned churches and individuals who resonate with our vision and mission. Please consider how your congregation might partner with us for the future of our nation.

About Leadership

It has been a privilege to serve this Pentecostal family as the leader of Mission Canada in its various incarnations since 2001. Equally, it has been rewarding to represent our Fellowship at various collaborative tables, where the PAOC is esteemed and respected. I am confident that our Pentecostal family will continue to make great strides in reaching Canada with the Good News, transforming lives and communities through God’s power. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to contribute to our Fellowship in this office, and to work with such high quality leaders across the nation. As Eileen and I transition to a new role overseas, our hearts are filled with joy for the journey we’ve been on, thanksgiving for what we have received from our growing network of friends, and anticipation for what God will do in the future in Canada through Mission Canada. Thank you for offering as much support and encouragement to the next leader as you have to us.

May God be glorified in all that we do, individually and corporately.

Humbly, with gratitude,

George O. Werner
Assistant to the General Superintendent for Mission Canada