Canada is celebrating its 150th year of existence, and we too are joining in the celebration. We know that Canada is not a perfect country and that Canada does not have a spotless past. But Christians can still be thankful for the good things that God has done and is doing in our country.
God is at work in our nation, and I for one am thankful for the many Christian leaders that the Lord has raised up in our nation. I asked a number of these leaders: “What is one unique thing about Canada that you are thankful for,” and here is how they answered.
Brett Landry | Lead Pastor of Christ City Church in Vancouver
Whether you agree with our Prime Minister’s statement or not, immigration and multiculturalism offer Canadian Christians the opportunity to preach the gospel in beautifully diverse, albeit unique and sometimes even difficult circumstances. Canada offers everyone the freedom to possess their own identity, and while there is an obvious dark side to this kind of autonomy, we as the church need to see the inherent opportunity. What if Jesus’ church saw this freedom as an opportunity to point to a different way of being and a different source of identity? Followers of Jesus do not find their identity in their nation of origin or dwelling, we find our identity in who we are in Christ. The Canadian church is free to show people from all over the world what it means to once-and-for-all ground their identity in the person and work of Jesus.
Mark Dana | Ordained Baptist Minister and Part of the North Canada Evangelical Mission in Quebec
Robbie Symons | Senior Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Oakville
Paul Carter | Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church Orillia
Having spent a fair bit of time in other lands and places, I think I would also want to add a word of appreciation for our excellent and affordable health care. Whining about wait times is something of a Canadian obsession, but I think all of us know that we are very fortunate to have the system we have. I have 5 kids. I appreciate the fact that at 4 in the morning I can take any 1 of my 5 kids to the ER and know that someone will be there who knows what needs to be done. And I appreciate that no one will ask to see my credit card.
Thank you Canada and happy 150th birthday! May there be many more!
Yanick Éthier | Pastor of Teaching and Vision at Église de l’Espoir in Longueuil
Mais je suis particulièrement reconnaissant pour l’héritage évangélique unique du Canada avec ses deux langues officielles. Cette particularité nous a donné une histoire de partage possiblement unique. Ainsi, le Québec francophone qui n’avait pour ainsi dire pas entendu parler de l’Évangile dans toute sa simplicité évangélique, en raison d’une omniprésence de l’Église catholique, a reçu des missionnaires venant de partout en occident, mais surtout de ses provinces voisines. L’Évangile est entré au Québec, enfin!
Et, depuis lors, Dieu a produit un réveil spirituel puissant au Québec dans les années 70-80 qui a donné une vivacité à la foi de cette Église naissante. Depuis plus de 30 ans, à présent, les Églises évangéliques québécoises encouragent les autres provinces à vivre la foi avec le zèle du premier amour. Voilà une histoire de partage qui me rend particulièrement fier et reconnaissant d’être canadien.
Without getting into politics, as a Christian, I am deeply grateful to have always lived in a country of great liberties and great security. From their earliest ages, we communicated to our children the incredible privileges we had as a family to live in the West, specifically in North America, and especially in Canada.
But I am particularly grateful for Canada’s unique evangelical heritage with its two official languages. This particularity has given us a possibly unique shared-history. Francophone Quebec, for example, had hardly heard of the Gospel in all its evangelical simplicity, which was largely due to the omnipresence of the Catholic Church. Quebec, however, received missionaries from all over the West, and most of all from its neighboring provinces. The Gospel had finally entered Quebec!
And since then, God has produced a powerful spiritual revival in Quebec in the seventies and eighties, which gave a vivacity to the faith of this nascent Church. For more than 30 years, Quebec’s evangelical churches have encouraged other provinces to live the faith with the zeal of its first love. This is a shared history that makes me particularly proud and grateful to be Canadian.