As I write this, I am still on the road. I have been tracking the fact that the temperature at my home in Surrey, B.C. has been in the 20 degree range, and as I write in Southern Ontario, the temperature is -4 C with a high possibility of snow on the way. I am again reminded of the vast diversity of this land we call Canada, and the enormous distance from coast to coast. For instance, if one flies from Vancouver to London, England, travel time is shorter than from Vancouver to St. John’s, Newfoundland!
I, along with the Back to the Bible Canada team, have been “touring” various places to be interviewed on numerous radio stations.
The first interview was in the “Golden West Studio” in Altona, Manitoba. It was in southern Manitoba that I spoke on four successive days in a church just outside of Winkler. From there, we flew to southern Ontario, and I was interviewed on Faith FM in Kitchener and UCB in Chatham. The next day I was on a two hour call-in show at WDCX in Buffalo New York, where many listeners called in with their biblical questions and to express thanks for the Back to the Bible Canada broadcast. The following days were filled with numerous on-air interviews with the JOY 1250 station in Toronto and Faith FM in London.
Aside from “air time,” we have been meeting with ministry partners, both with Compassion Canada and Promise Keepers. At the moment, I’m preparing to preach in Orillia, Ontario this coming Sunday, and then we are off to the Maritimes for more meetings with radio stations and ministry partners. At the same time, CEO Ben Lowell and COO Steve Biggerstaff have been in contact with a new Christian radio station in Montreal to assess what our role might be there.
All this to say that the overall effect of this trip has opened my eyes to the impact of our daily Bible teaching radio program.
I was constantly amazed at how well known the broadcast is, and the positive reception surrounding it. In one conversation, a man told us that he was attending a church wherein the teaching of the Bible had ceased. Instead, the sermons were based upon everything except a verse by verse, in depth understanding of the Word. This man said, “I thank God for the daily ministry of Back to the Bible. It has sustained me.” During one call-in program, another man said, “I don’t know what you look like, but your teaching has deeply impacted my life. I long to meet you, and give you a hug.” I assured him that I sound better on radio than I look in person!
Others mentioned how a particular series had impacted them personally. This included the series on Ruth, the series on the nature of God and the Trinity, and several others. I was amazed at how many people discussed various broadcasts with a degree of familiarity and what it had meant. I was astounded by how we are reaching Canadians with a very simple approach of teaching the Word.
Of course, the daily teaching ministry of Back to the Bible Canada is larger than the many radio stations we are heard on every day. Podcasts, web, email and other forms of media also play a large part of this ministry’s reach and impact.
But the necessity of a ministry like ours that offers clear, understandable and relevant Bible teaching has never been so great. There is a palatable sense of hunger for God’s Word across this country. Canadians want a clear teaching of Scripture that conveys an absolute certainty that this is God’s inerrant Word. So would you please pray with me that this hunger continues to grow?
By God’s grace, when I write my next blog, I will be safely home and back to my normal life of preparing and teaching – only with a much greater recognition of the congregation of God’s people that I minister to every day.
