Keynote speaker Will Graham shared about the great need for evangelism.
More than 200 pastors, church leaders, students and others have come away from the Canadian Evangelism Congress equipped and encouraged to proclaim “the mystery of Christ” (Colossians 4:3, NKJV).
“I’m really enjoying this Congress,” said Dominique Paquet, a Salvation Army volunteer in Toronto. “It’s inspiring and motivating.”
The Congress was hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada (BGEAC) on September 26 and 27 in Niagara Falls. It focused on the challenging state of Christianity in Canada and how passionate evangelicals can reach out with the Good News to a multicultural, strongly secular culture.
Pastor Mark Hughes of Winnipeg’s Church of the Rock, was one of the keynote speakers at the two-day event.
“We have tracts, books, the Internet, and churches with state-of-the-art sound systems, but not that many people are coming back to Christ,” said David Macfarlane, BGEAC’s director of national initiatives, during his first message at the Congress.
“Evangelism is one beggar being willing to show another beggar where the bread is. (To do that), we need to … pray for God to help us see non-Christians as lost.”
David was among the keynote and guest speakers at the Congress. Others included Will Graham, Dr. Sam Owusu of the multicultural Calvary Worship Centre in Vancouver, BC, Mark Hughes of Winnipeg’s Church of the Rock, and Rick Hiemstra of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
Charmaine Hinds was thankful for the tools she received at the Evangelism Congress.
“When you look and see people around you, does your heart weep for them?” asked Will Graham. “We need to ask God to give us spiritual eyes to see what God sees: a ‘lostness.’”
Charmaine Hinds, who operates a dance training ministry, was thrilled to attend Congress breakout seminars on using creative arts for evangelism. Among the speakers who concentrated on this form of outreach were Ayanna Solomon, who oversees Toronto’s annual Jesus in the City parade, and Mark Hughes.
“To be able to see that creativity is embraced, it gives me hope for the future of evangelism,” Charmaine said.
As we consider where and when to hold future evangelism congresses, please pray for God’s guidance. And please consider how you can financially support this vital effort to equip Christians for the greatest work we can do: sharing our faith in Jesus Christ and inviting people to give their lives to Him.
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