(Continued from Part II) A Future for Christian Higher Education, Part III Problem #3: Christian higher education is facing a crisis in Canada. Leaders in Canadian Christian higher education collectively express difficulty in recruiting students, often citing Christian parents as a primary obstacle. Increasingly, Canadian Christian parents want their children to go directly into a career track at public institutions, not to waste time and money developing faith. Recruitment is further hampered by a growing trend among churches to hire clergy who have little or no Christian education, or for churches just to do their [...]

(Continued from Part I) A Future for Christian Higher Education, Part II Problem #2: We have a Christian leadership crisis in Canada. Currently, most Canadian Christian leaders are in their late 50s, with 41% in senior positions aged 60 or older14 and two-thirds of senior pastors serving as their church's only leader.15 Statistics Canada predicts that 25% of all Canadians will be seniors by 2031 with Millennials holding 50% of Canadian jobs in 2020 and 75% by 2028.16 For the church, however, there has been a sharp decline in the numbers of young adults pursuing vocational Christian leadership.17 [...]

A Future for Christian Higher Education, Part I Problem #1: The Church is experiencing a crisis in Canada. Canada is experiencing rapid changes in its social, spiritual, and moral climate that increasingly conflict with traditional Christian beliefs and values. In slightly over a year, Canada passed Bill C-7, expanding euthanasia law1, Bill C-4, criminalizing conversion therapy without clearly defining what "conversion therapy" means,2 and increased spending on abortion in response to the US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.3 Canada's 2018 Supreme Court decision to rule against Trinity Western University's appeal to have a law school [...]

I've spent a considerable amount of time this past fall visiting with pastors and ministry leaders throughout our constituencies. My friends, there's trouble. When Barna released stats earlier this year that 30% of clergy are likely to leave ministry before this pandemic is over, I confess, I was skeptical. I thought it was an alarmist overstatement. "Maybe in America," I said. "Not here." After engaging with ministry leaders in my limited circles in the past few weeks, I not only became a believer in those stats but I began to say that I fear they might be about 10% low. [...]

Two years ago, who'd have imagined we'd be in our situation today? It's been a tough road, an uphill battle. As ministers, we've taken some hits. We've seen casualties as congregations have divided and as colleagues have stepped out of ministry. We're weary and we're increasingly wary of every supposed signal that this season might be ending. I get it. I'm tired and I'd be lying to say this season hasn't taken its toll on me. But despite my weariness, I'm optimistic about the future of the church. And I'm convinced more than ever that YOU matter. Why am I so [...]

DID YOU KNOW... A majority of Canadian clergy are quickly approaching retirement and up to 30% are projected to leave ministry before the COVID crisis is done? WE NEED YOUR HELP Will you help us raise $494,000.00 to expand our reach for leadership training through technology? Will you become a regular supporter to subsidize a new generation of leaders? Let me ask you – would you relocate your young family 2,271 KM across Canada from your home city of almost 403,000 people to serve at a small, prairie church in a town of [...]

We all know that COVID has had an effect on the body of believers and our churches, but certainly there are other challenges that existed well beforehand.One such being the growing group of people in our world who are 'none and done' with the faith. Increasingly we see those who never have or no longer profess faith in God.How can the church reach out to this post-Christian generation?As we take inventory and consider what is essential to our faith, it really is a beautiful invitation to go back to our basics, back to our first love, back to our calling - [...]