His Perfect Timing

How God Prepared One Hope Canada for a Pandemic

BY BILL McCASKELL

GOD PLANTS A SEED

Between 2014–2017 One Hope Canada underwent significant changes to sustainably direct, equip, and encourage our 45 ministry points to present the Gospel to children and youth of their communities. We were repeatedly amazed at how God prepared the way for difficult decisions, often making seemingly insurmountable challenges far easier than expected.

I share this because it was only with these changes that the mission no longer needed to rely on gifts from donor estates to fund day-to-day operations.

Streamlining how we supported frontline missionaries allowed us to provide more support and resources to ministry points, and also to save funds, enabling us to set aside estate gifts for future ministry initiatives.

Over the next three months, God answered clearly and dramatically by providing the largest-ever response to a pre-summer appeal letter, leading to an unexpected A 10-YEAR VISION In the fall of 2017, with the changes fully implemented, over 200 One Hope Canada missionaries gathered in “ ” God answered clearly and dramatically by providing the largest-ever response to a pre-summer appeal letter, leading to an unexpected operating surplus. Victoria, BC, for our national conference, an event held operating surplus. As an exclamation point, God every five years. During the conference, our missionaries provided more than half a million dollars over the next carefully discussed the mission’s focus for the next twelve months through estate gifts. This compares to the ten years. previous year of less than $50,000!

Their feedback led to discussions in early 2018 between We now had the funds to move ahead the vision mission leadership and the national board, resulting in God had placed on our hearts: intentionally equipping a new vision statement: to intentionally equip current leaders to be Gospel-centered and pursuing new and next generation leaders to be Gospel-centered, and ministry strategies. to aggressively pursue new ministry strategies that recognize cultural and geographical realities.

Springing from this new vision, the national board identified camper follow-up as the mission’s next priority; however, due to a lack of funds there was uncertainty about how to proceed. The uncertainty came to a head during our annual leadership meeting in May 2018 where we spent an afternoon trying to determine what our next steps should be. We only managed to talk ourselves in circles and agreed to pray for the next 30 days.

For that month, we committed to focus our prayer efforts on the following:

"Dear God, we honor you as the source of all we need. We ask you to search our hearts and reveal how centered we are on the Gospel. We look to You to give us the wisdom to know how best to engage donors. We ask You to provide generous donors to meet our need for a balanced general fund by September 30 without transfers from savings. We ask You to protect and bless Your Word this summer."

THE SEED SPROUTS

We began to explore how we could relaunch what had been previously an effective camper follow-up tool—the Best Book Club.

We researched the possibility of using 2020 technology to achieve what the Best Book Club accomplished so well for 49 years. After exploratory discussions with app developers, we were most intrigued by Dubit, a company in Leeds, England, that focuses on children’s software.

On the day we contacted Dubit, a company founder and their CEO just happened to be in New York and they agreed to meet us in Winnipeg, even though it was December! We were pleased to discover that both men were believers and resonated with our desire for the project—a tool to help children with no church connection grow in their understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done for them. An echo of the Best Book Club!

As recently as January 2020, Dubit was busy determining from our camp directors what they wanted in an app. By early February, Dubit began building MyCamp, an app designed for camper follow-up. It was a tight timeline; we wanted it ready for testing by mid-summer, preparatory to a fall 2020 launch.

GOD’S TIMING

When the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything, it became apparent our camps might not be permitted to run on-site camp ministries. Working with Dubit so the app would be ready early, we excluded features of a typical summer camp experience (a photo gallery of the campers’ week at camp) and included features to enhance a virtual ministry (online chapel sessions).

After many weeks of hard work, the MyCamp app was available to camps in early July, allowing leaders to safely connect with campers through online events, activities, quizzes, Scripture memory, chats, and more. More than 1,600 campers were involved in virtual ministry this summer.

Campers from across the country took part in the MyCamp experience from home!

Close to 800 are enrolled in MyCamp for follow up events, which includes a weekly chapel hosted by Kendra Thiessen (pictured middle right), who serves part-time at Madge Lake Bible Camp’s program director. Kendra is a gifted Bible teacher and children’s communicator; she also hosted Camp Canada (via the MyCamp app) over three weeks in July.

Kendra Thiessen, MyCamp app host.

All of this would have been impossible without God’s perfect timing and provision. His fingerprints are everywhere on this project and we are humbled because of it.

LOOKING AHEAD

The leadership team and national board continue to seek God’s direction. With other ministries interested in using the app during and after the pandemic, we are eager to share our blessings. God has provided development funds that will make this possible. New to the One Hope Canada team is Erica Mair, from Pickering, Ontario, who will head up the initiative.

Erica Mair

Less than a year ago when we met the Dubit men in chilly Winnipeg, who would have guessed the impact of a little-known virus on Canada and the re-shaping of our ministry? We don’t know what the next twelve months hold, but I am so grateful our God knows exactly what is ahead and that we can trust Him completely!

Bill McCaskell is the National Director for One Hope Canada.