2018
Impact
Report
Be encouraged and inspired!
Given our current culture in Canada, I can relate more to what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 “We are often troubled, but not crushed, sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend, and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed.”
I am constantly encouraged by the stories I hear on a weekly basis from our ministries. Here are a few examples:
I followed the Traditional Religion, which has no clear meaning regarding eternal life assurance. Through the JESUS Film, I realized that He gave His life on the Cross for me. Now, I’m with the Lord Christ! I will share this truth with all of my family and friends to help them return to the way of the Lord.
– Kura, a new believer from Ethiopia
What started as a curiosity to find what was missing in her life led Sidney to a relationship with Jesus. Sidney now attends church… leads a small group… and volunteers at the local homeless shelter. God is doing unreal things within university campuses!
– Caroline, P2C Students
Along with the many testimonies of individuals who have a new relationship with Jesus Christ, we have also heard impactful stories from people who gained confidence in their ability to lead, and events that engaged crowds far exceeding expectations.
The following pages highlight some of those stories, which proclaim what God is doing through our ministries.
Your faithful partnership with the Power to Change family of ministries is making a lasting difference in thousands of lives in Canada and around the world.
May you be encouraged and inspired!
Read Our Ministries and Partners’ Impact Stories
Athletes in Action
Reaching people with the message of Jesus through sport.
Christian Embassy
A bridge to the world, helping political, diplomatic, and business leaders become ambassadors for Christ.
Connecting Streams
Equipping and mobilizing the Church to help society’s marginalized know Jesus and experience His power to change the world.
DRIME
Helping people encounter Jesus through drama and meaningful gospel-centered conversations.
FamilyLife
Teaching and training individuals, couples, and churches to build healthy, God-centred relationships and marriages.
LeaderImpact
Helping marketplace leaders explore the relevance of faith in God in their professional and personal lives.
P2C-Students
Engaging this generation of students with the gospel and equips them to live for Jesus for a lifetime.
The JESUS Film Church Planting Strategy
Bringing the message of God’s love through the JESUS Film showings, discipling new believers, training new leaders and planting churches.
Digital Strategies
The World is online. We help them know Jesus.
WHEN
Connecting women in their heart language to each other, to Jesus Christ, and to the local church.
GAiN
Helping reveal hope and restore life through relief and development projects.
Owning Faith
When Joshua came to camp this summer, God had been working on his heart a long time. He was from a Christian home and had attended previous Christian camps, but had never personally accepted Jesus before.
One of his coaches, Natalia, saw that Joshua had a gentleness that seemed rare with kids his age. He came alongside the younger campers and helped, and when he was teased by the older kids, Joshua would never retaliate.
On Thursday, the coaches told the campers about Jesus’ life, and how He died on the cross for each person. When they asked the kids if anyone wanted to accept Jesus into their hearts, Joshua put up his hand.
He went home that day and told his mom about what he had done during camp, and she was thrilled. Joshua’s mom brought out a Bible she had saved for him, and wrote down the date Joshua asked Jesus into his heart. She and Joshua then called his grandpa to tell him the good news, and his grandpa prayed with Joshua. Joshua’s grandpa shared that God told him that Joshua would be an amazing leader one day.
The next day, he told Coach Natalia everything. “When Joshua told me about what his grandpa had said, it really touched me because I saw just the same leadership qualities,”
Natalia says. “It really blessed me knowing that through God I was able to reach out to Joshua, and show him how much God truly loved him. I learned that I cannot take credit for what happened with Joshua, or any of the other kids at the camp that week, but give the glory to God for His amazing evidence of work in each child’s heart.”
2018 Ministry Impact
|
Gospel Presentations |
16,992 |
|
Decisions for Christ |
355 |
|
Campers in 2018 |
3,366 |
A Light in the House
The Christian Embassy seeks to inspire leaders with the person and values of Jesus. Their vision is to see leaders everywhere living and leading to Jesus. Cathay is one of those leaders.
Being an MP had to be a call from God, and it certainly has been for Cathay. She has been MP for Yorkton-Melville Saskatchewan since 2015, and is a strong believer who desires to take every opportunity to serve God in her work and to inspire her colleagues to know God.
Cathay was chosen early in her mandate to present a private member’s bill. She felt led to focus on protection of the unborn, despite knowing she would face much resistance and pressure. “The Christian Embassy supported me so much in prayer, and also by reaching out and sitting together with me to pray and listen,” Cathay says. “That is a real blessing, a real source of assurance and comfort.”
“Another thing that has really helped me personally is looking up when I’m in the House of Commons doing House duty or during question period and seeing Darlene or other Christian Embassy people in the balcony,” Cathay says. “We know that they are praying for wisdom and guidance. It helps me want to do a good job every day in the House, and gives me a real sense of affirmation.”
As she’s spent more time in Parliament, Cathay has attended many of the meetings hosted by the Christian Embassy, and even participated in international delegations to Hungary and Serbia. “I can sometimes feel isolated here,” Cathay says. “Sometimes it feels like being a prophet where what you say goes into the wind. It helps to remember that God is in control, and there are people in many places who are impacting culture and governments and lives. I saw that especially in my opportunity to go to Hungary and Serbia with the Christian Embassy. There was very ‘hands on’ evangelism during that trip with everyone we met, from guides to drivers to general assistants. It was a really powerful experience.”
“I really appreciate how compassionate and inviting Darlene and the Christian Embassy are, and feel very comfortable attending their events,” Cathay says. “One thing that benefits me is the opportunity to meet ambassadors from other countries, the business people she can bring in, and other people who have a Christian focus in their lives, which influences the decisions they make. It is powerful and encouraging to me as a member of Parliament.”
Whether serving as a host of the Christian Embassy Christmas Dinner or as the visionary Chair of the National Prayer Breakfast, Cathay’s light continues to shine bright in the House.
2018 Ministry Impact
|
Gospel Presentations |
503 |
| Gospel resources received
Countries influenced Times leaders publically shared Christ |
3,295 143 135 |
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Growing in Leadership
Ronda has been a Christian for over twelve years, but her journey truly began just over two years ago when she started to feel like God was calling her into something.
She prayed about it and read in Matthew the portion where Jesus talks about being fed when hungry and given water when thirsty. She thought, “I’ll take that literally and I’ll just start by feeding people.” Her church was running a soup kitchen at the time, which was a perfect place for her to start. She volunteered in the afternoons and helped prepare the meals, but never really interacted with the people that were coming in.
As time passed, Ronda realized that she was lacking the passion she’d expected in the work that God called her to, and began to wonder if she was doing the right thing. She finally prayed and told God that “I wanna do something to serve You. I don’t know if I’m supposed to be passionate about it, or if I’m just supposed to go and do it. It’s ok that it feels hard and not like something I want to do.”
One evening, while talking to a friend, Ronda discussed the idea of volunteering in a prison. She wanted to go and visit people who might feel like they are forgotten, and she felt called to work with men. She had a difficult time facing this initially, as it seemed strange. She felt that she ought to minister to women, but somehow that wasn’t what God was leading her to.
When she went home, she searched up ‘prison ministry’ and Connecting Streams came up right away. After a few emails and meetings, Ronda quickly got involved, and went to her first orientation. At the meeting, the Connecting Streams leader said “My vision is that each one of you will one day lead your own team.”
That scared Ronda. It wasn’t what she had expected, as she saw herself much more as a follower than a leader. She said to him, “I don’t want there to be any false expectations of what I’m here to do. I’m not a leader and I don’t really have any interest in doing that, but I just really want to volunteer and see what this is all about.”
After going into the prisons a few times, one of the other volunteers asked her if she was ready to lead the Bible study next time. Ronda didn’t understand why people kept asking her this, as she didn’t feel like a leader at all, but figured that it might be a nudge from God, so she finally decided to give it a shot.
That was where she came alive.
God ended up taking Ronda from something where she was willing to serve Him but wasn’t passionate about it, to leading her to step out and find a passion in leadership that she hadn’t recognized in herself.
“I am so grateful to be blessed to be doing this, to step out into something that God has called me to,” Ronda says. “He’s equipped me. Now I don’t say that I’m not a leader because, honestly I’m really not, but I know that God is. And when He calls us to do something, He equips us to do it whether we understand that or not.”
2018 Ministry Impact
|
Exposed to the Gospel |
2,876 |
|
Decisions for Christ |
438 |
|
Volunteers |
194 |
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Better Together
In February and March 2018, 63 DRIME leaders gathered from around the world in Vancouver, Paraguay, and Togo for the first ever DRIME regional summits.
Claude was one of 35 new leaders attending for the first time.
“It was phenomenal, being able to meet leaders from other countries, share ideas, and learn about each other,” Claude says. “We shared how the ministry operates in other countries, learned about their challenges and talent, and it was a great exchange of ideas. It really gave a sense of belonging to a large family, and this was our chance to meet all the other members.”
Claude, who is located in Montreal, discovered DRIME in 2014. Montreal is currently the only DRIME base in Quebec, but Claude is hoping to change that. “My personal goal is to have DRIME Quebec up by the end of 2019,” he says. He was encouraged by the stories and growth of teams around the world and everyone’s desire and motivation to expand.
“Everyone sharing their stories about how DRIME came to be in their areas was quite motivating, and it was obvious to me that God’s hand was in those situations at that time,” he says. “DRIME is an international ministry, so connecting with the rest of the family is important. It’s phenomenal to witness what the rest of the family is doing around the world.”
Beyond just connecting with other DRIME teams, Claude has the opportunity to connect with other P2C ministries in the upcoming months. “We can pool resources as different ministries in the same family for our one goal: to reach the lost. It’s phenomenal to come together as the P2C family, and I’m definitely looking forward to what 2019 has in store.”
2018 Ministry Impact
|
Gospel Presentations |
44,430 |
|
Decisions for Christ |
2,387 |
|
Individuals engaged in spiritual conversations |
8,802 |
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Last Resort
Last November in Jasper was not the first time Joe and Sharon* had been to a FamilyLife Canada Weekend Getaway Marriage Conference.
They were on the verge of divorce five years ago when they first made this investment in their relationship. Now in their tenth year of marriage, Weekend Getaways are part of their plan to keep their relationship healthy and on track.
“This is our second conference in 5 years. The first one was a ‘make it or break it’ last resort for us. If it didn’t help us at that point, we were going to go our separate ways. But it was so good for us, so much so that we are now here 5 years later. We are on better terms, using this conference as a continuing work project and gauge for our relationship. We now plan to come every 5 years.” – Sharon
FamilyLife Canada is celebrating its 30th anniversary year of bringing help and hope to Canadian marriages and families. Because of your prayers and partnership, couples like Joe and Sharon are able to use these weekends to keep their marriage heading toward oneness. No longer divided, thousands of couples are nurturing homes where Jesus is known and celebrated.
Thank you for being part of this legacy. The impact will be felt for generations because more Canadian homes are becoming safe places in which children grow to know Jesus personally.
*Names changed to protect privacy.
2018 Ministry Impact
|
Gospel Presentations |
2,597 |
|
Decisions for Christ |
34 |
|
Event attendees |
10,754 |
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Lives Changed
The JESUS Film Church Planting Strategy impacts thousands of lives by bringing the message of God’s love through the JESUS Film showings, discipling new believers, training new leaders and planting churches. Here are just a few testimonies of people who have had their lives transformed.
“I received Jesus Christ as my personal saviour after I watched the JESUS Film. Before that, I was addicted to different drugs and alcohol, just like all my friends, but today I have seen in the film how Jesus delivers people from their bondage, and the things He did touched my heart. I want to share this good news to all my friends. Thank you for bringing this wonderful film to my village.”
– Daniel, new believer
“I have received Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord today after I watched this wonderful film. Before, my life was mess. My life and home had no peace because of my bad character. I have rejected the gospel message many times, but today through this film I learned a lot about God’s love for me and all humanity. I met my Lord personally tonight. I will share God’s love with my friends.”
– Denebe, new believer
“This training opened my eyes to the ways of God and prepared me to serve Him with more zeal than ever. I am impressed by all the topics we went through in this training. I learned many spiritual truths that I did not know before even though I have been a Christian for some time now. Your training materials are well prepared for our level of understanding because they clearly explained the salvation message. Thank you for everything.”
– Abu, action group member
“I want to thank God for this training because I have gained more knowledge in the things of God. I wish the entire church could have this training because it is the fundamental teaching of the Christian faith, and should be known by every Christian. I also want to thank the people that are sponsoring this organization.”
– Adama, action group member
“This very church was planted by the JESUS Film Church Planting Strategy a few years ago, so we know your worth. This strategy has helped us reach many souls in hard-to-reach communities of this district, and as long as you people are here, we are not going to stop reaching more souls through church planting in communities where Christ is not known. This strategy has actually created a very big impact in this district. I just want to thank you and encourage you and the people sponsoring this work to do more. I want to thank you very much and I pray that may the good Lord continue to bless you in Jesus’ name.”
– Pastor Joseph
2018 Ministry Impact
|
Gospel Presentations |
57,663 |
|
Decisions for Christ |
5,846 |
|
New believers in follow-up |
3,511 |
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Unlikely Places
The village of Kpetakpa in Benin, West Africa, was deeply entrenched in the practice of voodoo. Shrines and voodoo idols littered the streets.
A large voodoo palace squatted in the middle of the dry village, drawing in people from surrounding villages to worship. What they lacked, however, was a clean and reliable water source.
Since village leaders were desperate for safe water, they opened the doors of the community to Global Aid Network (GAiN). In January 2018, the deep-capped water well was installed right in front of the voodoo palace. Eleven villagers formed a borehole committee and were trained in well maintenance, ensuring that the well and its surrounding area is kept clean, that the pump is in working order, and that villagers are trained to use it properly.
“We used to suffer here a lot,” one villager said. “In dry seasons, life becomes impossible. It was a big joy and relief when this water well came here.”
GAiN, in partnership with the JESUS Film Church Planting Strategy, was able to show the JESUS Film right in front of the well, which was right outside of the voodoo palace. After the showing, 80 people made a decision to follow Christ and were then connected to an existing local church nearby. When thanking Global Aid Network for providing the water well for their community, they said “The Lord Jesus, the almighty God and provider will bless you.”
Patrice Lavingon, the country manager for Global Aid Network Benin, expressed his amazement that they were able to come to this particular village, where the darkness of voodoo was so present. “As a result of introducing this water well,” he said, “we were able to come here with the good news of Jesus. People heard about God’s love in this voodoo center. The water well opened the door for us to come in and show the film so people could see what Jesus has done for them.”
Hope was revealed and their lives were restored through the provision for both their physical and spiritual needs.
2018 Ministry Impact
|
Gospel Presentations |
119,693 |
|
Decisions for Christ |
9,383 |
|
New believers in follow-up |
5,824 |
Speaking Boldly
Health professional Arlene Jorgenson applies her expertise locally through her company, HealthServ, but also internationally through involvement with LeaderImpact.
The ministry aims to help marketplace leaders explore the relevance of faith in Jesus Christ in their professional and personal lives through three avenues of impact, one of which is the Global Exchange program.
Jorgenson has been on five global exchanges, including three to Medellin, Colombia. In Colombia, LeaderImpact works with CENFOL, a Christian church group which organizes the logistics. They use the leader’s bios, resumes, photographs, and presentation topics to open doors in the Colombian business world they couldn’t otherwise open. “People in other countries see Canadian business people as smart, successful and rich,” Jorgenson says. “It’s very humbling because we’re just ordinary people doing our best.”
Jorgenson returned recently from the latest Global Exchange trip to Colombia. The 16-member team addressed over 700 people at 47 speaking events. Jorgenson’s presentation addressed customer service excellence. “We talk about principles we have learned in business, and weave in elements of our faith,” Jorgenson says. At the end of the presentations, comment cards were distributed. They included a statement like, ‘I would like to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ’. Of the 700 responses returned, 535 indicated they would.
“This is amazing to us Canadians who aren’t allowed to speak about spiritual things in schools or professional venues at home,” Jorgenson says. “It’s even more incredible to hear people saying to us over and over: ‘I want that. I need that.’”
On the team with Jorgenson was a retired three-star general from Ottawa. The Colombian hosts had arranged for him to speak to a group of military cadets and officers. Despite his beliefs that there wouldn’t be much interest in his talk, the room was full and extra chairs had to be brought in. “Seeing all these military people sitting with their arms folded crossed over their chests, he figured they would be a pretty tough crowd,” Jorgenson says. “But then three-quarters of them indicated on the comment card they would like to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.”
There was also a 22-year old team member, a former football player who now owns a fitness equipment company. A fairly new Christian, he was scared to stand before an audience and speak. He stuttered through his three training days practicing his speech on making good choices, but when he spoke at the wind-up event, he didn’t stutter once.
“My reason for going on these trips is partly selfish,” Jorgenson admits. “I’m hanging out with positive people and travelling with a purpose. It’s like Bible Camp for grown-ups. Seeing how God works makes my faith ten times stronger. There is a deep need in men and women to have peace in their lives, and only Jesus Christ can give that.”
2018 Ministry Impact
|
Gospel Presentations |
3,582 |
|
Decisions for Christ |
1,048 |
|
Groups meeting regularly across Canada |
137 |
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It Takes a Village
For over fifteen years, Paul and Najat, the directors of our Arabic ministry, themselves former Muslims, have been slowly developing a large network of church volunteers in the 10/40 Window that help turn online conversations into local church connections in persecuted lands.
One of those countries is Egypt. Christians there are not allowed to let Muslims attend their churches, and they are forbidden to baptize them. And yet, God continues to add former Muslims to the church despite the danger — people like Aisha* and her daughter.
As an adult, Aisha studied the Muslim faith enough to come to a conclusion: she couldn’t follow Islam anymore because she no longer believed in it. She decided to keep this decision a secret from her husband because it could lead to arguments and, very possibly, divorce. However, she did share her thoughts with her daughter, Saadiya*, a teenager, who had also begun to question her adherence to Islam.
Together, both mother and daughter decided to investigate Christianity because of Aisha’s childhood friendship with a Christian, Marta. They went on Facebook, and there, Aisha and Saadiya met up with Arab Christians who gave them our Arabic ministry’s WhatsApp number. (WhatsApp is a free online service that offers secure, encrypted text, audio, and video communication.) Paul, Najat, and their team always carry their phones with them, ready and willing to respond immediately to anyone who writes to them or calls in on this app. For weeks, Najat and Paul answered Aisha and Saadiya’s questions and prayed for their requests. They also invited them to join their site’s online chat room to meet with Arabic believers from a Muslim background. After about one year of ongoing participation in this online fellowship, Aisha became a Christian. Her daughter followed her in this decision about four months later.
It was only then that Paul and Najat asked a nearby volunteer to meet up with them in person to slowly and safely introduce them to a Christian community in their city.
Recently they were baptized, together declaring their faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord. A few days later, Aisha told Paul and Najat: “I’m not young anymore, but I sense I am born again!”
*Names changed to protect privacy
2018 Ministry Impact
|
Gospel Presentations |
88,368 |
|
Decisions for Christ |
1,553 |
|
Ministry mentoring partnerships |
14 |
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Growing in Peace
Meredith felt a multitude of emotions when she stepped onto campus for her first year of post-secondary studies. She was scared of the unknown, but excited for new opportunities to grow personally and professionally and to create new relationships.
But one of her greatest worries was not knowing how her peers and classmates would react when they inevitably found out that she was a Christian.
Before she came to Conestoga College, a friend of Meredith’s had told her about Power to Change – Students. That friend had been involved with the ministry during her student years, and inspired Meredith to get involved. She made the connection on her campus through Power to Change – Students’ NEXT Initiative for graduating Grade 12’s. Meredith wanted to continue to grow in her faith during her college years, but knew there was no way she could do that in isolation.
Renegotiating Faith, a Canadian study co-sponsored by Power to Change – Students and published in summer 2018 (renegotiatingfaith.com), showed that 75% of students who successfully connect with a campus ministry do so in their first 4 weeks on campus. For Meredith’s first few weeks, she was nervous meeting new people and being in a new environment. There was a part of her that felt apprehensive and scared, and another part of her felt excitement and anticipation.
But as the months passed, Meredith began to feel that God was telling her to be a light for Him on campus and to her fellow classmates. He was strengthening her faith and her walk with Him through her involvement in Christian community. More than that, despite the swirling mixture of emotions, she began walking onto campus with peace knowing that God had placed her here for a reason.
Meredith’s hope now is to continually seek Jesus and to be a light and an example for Him on her campus and in her future workplace. Her passion now is to touch lives and help others experience how knowing Jesus changes everything, just like she has.
“God has also opened my eyes to the brokenness, darkness, and hurt that this world experiences daily,” Meredith says. “Because of that, I have learned to see the world through the eyes of God Himself.
To be honest, I am unsure of where God will lead me in future, but I do know that right now my campus is my mission field and that is where God wants me to be for this season.”
2018 Ministry Impact
|
Students grew in their faith through P2C campus communities |
2,600+ |
|
Unique people interacted with online resources |
154,000+ |
|
Canadian students took steps of faith to embark on mission trips |
155 |
|
Students in Canada began following Jesus and are now integrated with Christian community |
121 |
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More Than Filling Seats
When Malou joined the WHEN team and attended her first event, she quickly began praying that the Lord would raise up a team within her own church to host events.
Over the next three years, her core team took shape. When the Lord brought it all together, there was a huge impact. Core teams normally have between 8-10 women, but Malou’s team had 17!
Malou’s first hosted event was in September 2018 at Eaglequest, which has a minimum seat requirement of 50. Her first thought was, “Are we able to fill 50 seats?” In the ladies fellowship at her church, the maximum number of attendees was usually between 20 – 25 ladies, only half of what she needed. Though there were 17 in her core group, she still needed another 33 women to commit.
Malou began praying each night about the event. She prayed for the women that she could invite, and for the core members and the women they could invite as well. She finally asked God simply, “Lord, how about You give us 8 tables of 8. Give us 64 ladies.” When she did her first confirmation on how many confirmed guests there were, it was 64!
When the event finally took place, the final number of guests turned out to be 88. “God gave this from my original prayer literally, as in 8 and 8,” Malou says. “I am in awe how God answers my prayers. To God be all the honour and glory!”
Of these 88 attendees, close to half were not yet believers and 8 that indicated that they wanted to give their lives to Jesus. All of the follow-up is being done through the church, which is exactly what the WHEN leadership had been praying for. The church is adopting the WHEN model of reaching women in their specific languages through events held outside the church, but serving as a bridge to connect to the church. The teams are being trained to walk with the women who attended the event, allowing the WHEN staff to step out and help other new teams.
Malou’s life verse, Proverbs 3:5-6, has been particularly fitting in this situation: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
2018 Ministry Impact
|
Gospel Presentations |
946 |
|
Decisions for Christ |
71 |
|
Renewed their commitment to Christ |
98 |
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