Quebec: The Mission Field in Our Own Backyard
Did you know that North America is the ONLY continent where Christianity is not growing? More people attend church on a Sunday morning in China than in all of Europe. Twenty percent of Cubans now associate themselves with a Christian church. In Canada, however, only 7-12% of English-speaking Canadians consider themselves evangelical Christians, and 1% of French-speaking Canadians (in Quebec). It’s humbling to think of Canada as one of the world’s most challenging mission fields. We’ve had an exciting time of ministry in Quebec highlighted by the special 2012 Caravan of Hope summer campaign. In partnership with Aujourd’hui l’Espoir (our primary Quebec partner), other ministries, and local churches, the special Caravan of Hope evangelization campaign included: - 18 days of events on the theme Rendezvous with Faith. Distribution of over 30,000 copies of the Gospel of John (in partnership with The Gideons International in Canada). - Eight days of presentations with theatrical Gospel groups. - A live presentation available on www.toutchretien.com and also broadcast on TeleMag television. Looking ahead, we are already excited by new opportunities to impact Quebec. We have an opportunity to be on the third largest radio station in Quebec (CKBN 90.5 FM) with a daily 30 minute broadcast. This station reaches 200,000 people in the Trois Rivieres region, stretching from the suburbs of Quebec City to the outskirts of Montreal. Charles Price’s 30-minute "Living Truth" or “La Parole Vivante” program is translated in a way that respects French language structure and thought patterns, and the results are exciting. Our television ministry in Quebec now has a weekly audience of 92,900, the highest it’s ever been. Negotiations for the television broadcast to be seen in the Montreal area for the first time are under way. In 2011, 10,839 La Parole Vivante programs were downloaded or streamed. So far in 2012, over 11,000 programs have already been downloaded or streamed and the highest activity season is still to come at the very end of the year. Our Thru The Bible French language broadcasts were downloaded or streamed 40,115 times in 2011, and over 50,000 times in 2012. The ministry is growing, and the Quebec people are hungry for the Gospel! Doors keep opening for the spread of the Gospel, but the challenge to change hearts remains huge. God is definitely using this ministry to bring unity among Quebec churches and believers. I want to challenge you to give a special one-time gift for our Quebec ministry so that we can be sure to meet our ministry needs for 2013. We want to keep our existing Quebec ministry going strong and also accomplish some important new projects. You can give online today at www.twrcanada.org, or by calling 888-672-6510. Thank you for understanding what a challenge and opportunity we have in our own backyard in Quebec. Thank you for standing with TWR Canada, as we remain committed to bring the light of the Gospel to our neighbours. For the Cause of Christ, Ray Alary President TWR Canada