GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT WELCOME: A NOTE FROM DAVID WELLS
Vitality
Montreal is a city of vitality in the midst of a population marked by their joie de vivre, and our brothers and sisters in Christ from la belle province invite us to join them there. There is no better place to come as a Pentecostal Fellowship for General Conference 2016 as we seek to hear from the Lord regarding our spiritual, theological and missional vitality. Please plan to join us May 2-5, 2016 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal to be part of this key event.
The program for General Conference 2016 has been intentionally developed to build on our call to “Every Day Faith” as we strategically engage together the objectives of the 2020 Initiative. Our focus will be on ministry that will motivate and equip us to be a vital Fellowship, marked by spirit and truth, fulfilling our mission.”
An opening highlight will be Monday evening’s meet and greet time between the hours of 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. at the Bonsecours Market in the heart of Old Montreal, hosted by the District of Quebec. Follow this up with an opportunity to enjoy dinner out in Old Montreal. As part of our focus on missional vitality, we will participate in a plenary session that focuses on our shared mission in Quebec and a time of prayer for our leaders and people in the province. The missional call across Canada and internationally will also be highlighted with features on church multiplication and revitalization.
Our plenary speakers include Pastor Claudio Freidzon from Argentina. He has been used by the Lord to lead the church in Buenos Aires and elsewhere to hunger for God’s power and presence in a way that leads to transformation, holiness and Spirit empowerment. Pastor Claudio’s ministry will encourage us to thirst for lives and ministry that will know even more spiritual vitality than we know now.
Dr. John Christopher (Chris) Thomas of the Church of God Theological Seminary in Cleveland, Tennessee, is a highly respected Pentecostal theologian who stimulates a desire to know and be transformed by God’s Word. His teaching will model the type of theological vitality so needed in the contexts we serve.
Vitality conversations following the morning plenaries will provide greater opportunity for interaction around the conference themes. Presenters will include the conference keynoters plus others whose lives demonstrate the theme they will share on. Other activities, including Tuesday’s sponsored lunch, will provide additional opportunity for meeting with friends or discussing shared areas of interest.
Each morning and evening, we will welcome the presence of God among us as we worship with groups led by ministry teams from Quebec. Our Conference will culminate with a family session focused on Jesus, the cross, communion and our unity in Christ. We will believe God for a send-off marked by the Spirit’s power and life. I’ll see you in Montreal!
Que le Seigneur vous bénisse,
Dave Wells
WELCOME MESSAGE FROM MICHEL BISAILLON, QUEBEC DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT
Welcome to Montreal in the Belle Province of Quebec!
It is truly a privilege for the Quebec District Leadership Team and all its workers to welcome you for this 2016 General Conference.
Montreal is a choice international destination, a city greatly appreciated by its visitors as well as its inhabitants. The charm of the past reminding us of the old continent and the effervescence of the New World with the amalgam of cultures make up the unique Montreal cachet. Montreal is a city where one feels welcome, as you will experience during our stay among us.
The contemporary Pentecostal movement in Quebec stems from spiritual revivals that broke out in several places in the world at the beginning of the 20th century. It all started in 1906 after Robert McAlister received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Los Angeles. Pentecostalism originated in Canada and Quebec with his ministry. Later on, many got saved, healed and called to the ministry, such as Charles E. Baker, who established the first English Pentecostal church in Montreal in 1916: Evangel Pentecostal Church, which became known for having given birth to many other English and French-speaking congregations.
Pentecost among the French-speaking started with Philippe Charles LeBrocq around 1919; only a few years later the Première Église de Pentecôte Française (First French Pentecostal Church) opened its doors. This time was characterized by new births, a hunger for the baptism in the Spirit and all kinds of healings.
The Institut Biblique Bérée, a French-speaking pastoral training centre, was founded in 1941. Several of its graduates planted new churches across the province. Various other ministries also contributed to this expansion; just to mention a few, the Conférence française, Mission Gaspésie, Croisade de littérature du Québec, various television and radio programs, the Bible college Formation Timothée and FLITE, the EPBC program with graduates planting churches, twenty of which are still in existence.
But with all our gratitude for the successes of the past, there is much work yet to be done.
Born in 2000, the Quebec District was birthed by the Eastern Ontario and Quebec District who merged with the Conférence française. The Quebec District extends to you a most cordial welcome.
May the 2016 General Conference be a memorable time in the Lord’s presence, with the vitality of the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of those participating.
Our heartfelt thanks to our General Superintendent David Wells, as well as to David Hazzard and Murray Cornelius, our executive officers, along with their whole team for all the effort and work they have invested into preparing for this General Conference.
Amicably yours,
Michel Bisaillon
