Engaging Canada

With Canada’s vastness and diversity—snow-tipped mountains, widesky horizons, exciting cities, and fascinating coastlines—it comes as no surprise that various regions of the country are just as diverse in addressing the COVID-19 landscape.

As a national mission, One Hope Canada has long been aware of Canada’s unique ministry environments. This is why our mission strategy of working with local believers and churches is vital to create strong grassroot support for each camp. This support, or moral ownership, is key to effectively sharing the Gospel.

Because of this approach, One Hope Canada cannot be (nor do we desire to be) the McDonald’s of camp ministry. Each ministry point expresses its unique personality as it reaches its community with the Gospel.

This has never been more evident than this summer as each camp wrestled with how to fulfill its mandate during a season of shifting health restrictions. And with governmental response to the virus varying from province to province, this summer’s ministry had to be just as wide-ranging.

Day Camps—More than 50 percent of our ministry points ran day-only camps. For many camps, this was a first; some of their stories are in this edition.

Discipleship Focus—The majority of our camps took the opportunity, with reduced camper numbers and less demanding schedules, to increase their efforts in training and discipling their summer mission teams. In remote camps where day camp ministry was not practical, young people who normally serve as cabin leaders became part of a summer work crew, weaving together learning and serving.

Family Camps—In Quebec, a province with some of the strictest regulations, camps modified their family camp ministry, with families staying in pods, working on camp projects, and attending chapels outside. Ministry points in other parts of the country made similar modifications to help families be together.

Virtual Ministry—Many camps leveraged technology to stay connected with former campers. Camp-in-a-Box, videos on Facebook and YouTube, and the MyCamp app were just some of the ways virtual ministry took place. It will never replace face-to-face ministry, but God’s Spirit still worked!

Regardless of the approach to ministry this summer, the source of lasting fruit remains as it has always been: the Spirit of God awakening hearts to surrender to a Savior who loves them and gave His life for them. This summer has been such a powerful reminder of that truth. May we never put confidence in methods, but always in the incredible message we are privileged to present. I look forward to testimonies in years to come that recount how God saved during the pandemic summer.

Bill McCaskell, National Director

NOTABLE NUMBERS

Parents concerned for their child’s general mental health, due to COVID-19

17% Extremely

28% Very

55% Somewhat/ Not at all

Parents concerned for their family feeling lonely in their home, due to COVID-19

11% Extremely

19% Very

70% Somewhat/ Not at all

Parents concerned about balancing child care, schooling, and work, due to COVID-19

44% Extremely

30% Very 2

7% Somewhat/ Not at all

SOURCE: Statistics Canada survey of more than 32,000 parents of children aged 0 to 14 from June 9 to 22, 2020.