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Quebec Outreaches
Quebec II Highlights
For two summer weeks, Johnson Outreach
Ministries returned to the Canadian province of Quebec.
We thank God because we feel it was very successful.
Fifteen people accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Praise God! But to truly
understand everything that God did, you’ll have to read on.
(For information about accepting Jesus as your Lord and
Savior, click here.)
(Click here
to read about prior Quebec outreach.)
The first week of our outreach was spent with the youth of
Pastor Alain Caron’s Eglise Le Chemin in Hull, Quebec.
The youth of this church are passionate about God, and they had been
laying the spiritual foundations for a summer of evangelism.
Our week with the youth was the culmination of this preparation and the
launching of their outreach.
Training the Youth in Evangelism
We spent the first three days in teaching and worship.
Marla led hours of worship in French and English, including some of her original
compositions in French. Kurt taught
for several hours a day on evangelism and other subjects critical to success in
ministry, such as prayer, love, and waiting on God.
We were very impressed with how eager the youth were to receive God’s
Word. Youth Pastor Cory Gumienny
has molded a special group of young men and women.
Outreach with the Youth
Thursday was St. Jean Baptiste Day (John the Baptist Day),
a day set aside to celebrate Quebec and its French heritage.
What an appropriate day to begin our evangelistic outreach to these
precious French Canadians! Together
with the 18-20 youth, we went out to a public park where people had gathered to
celebrate. For many of the youth,
this was  their
first attempt at evangelism. They
did a wonderful job. Despite the
cold, heavy rain, the youth shared the Good News of Jesus Christ with boldness,
love, and perseverance.
The results? Twelve
people accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
One other rededicated his life to Christ.
Many more heard the Gospel and engaged in deep personal conversations
about God. And almost twenty youth overcame fear, persecution, and a
cold, driving rain and learned that they can be effective soul-winners for Jesus
Christ! A lifetime of fruitful
ministry is ahead of them.
On Friday the youth put on a neighborhood outreach at their
base, featuring worship, drama, games, and, of course, a presentation of the
Gospel. Many of us had the honor of
praying with friends and neighbors who do not yet know the love of God.
 On
Sunday, we able to celebrate with the entire church body at Eglise Le Chemin.
We shared a bit about our perspectives for the week, and were greatly
blessed by the warm kindness of Pastor Caron and Pastor Emeritus Jean-Claude
Joyal, who now heads a ministry called Ponts D'Amour Aux Nations (Bridges of
Love to the Nations).
“The love of Christ compels us.”
We were so thrilled to see the work that God had done in
many of the youth. For example, one
that had been somewhat reserved seemed to experience a major breakthrough.
On Friday night we invited him to join us in a difficult conversation
with a resistant individual. At first he hesitated, but then he said, “No.
Wait. I am ready to do this.”
And he did an excellent job. He
overcame his own fear by focusing on the need of the person God had brought
before him. On another occasion
that night, two youth joined us in praying privately for a couple to whom we
were about to resume witnessing. The
love of God for these people poured out of their hearts, and they prayed with a
passion that touched the heart of God as well as ours.
A heart like that for the lost, and the ability to express it in prayer,
will make a great impact for the Gospel.
On to the Montreal area
For the remaining few days we went to the city of Laval,
a suburb of Montreal. Laval itself
is the second-largest city in Quebec, at over 350,000 people.
It also is one of the most unreached cities in North America.
We felt that one of God’s primary purposes for us in
Laval was to pray for the city. We
spent many hours in intercession. We
also did some personal evangelism, and three more souls were brought into the
Kingdom of God. Praise God!
God’s Personal Touch
Some of our favorite memories from the outreach include
personal encounters that did not result in an immediate salvation, but clearly
demonstrate God’s hand. For
example:
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A Buddhist Vietnamese woman received a Vietnamese Gospel and
Christian booklet with joy and gratitude. Moments
later she was crying as she related how a close relative was dying of cancer.
The Holy Spirit touched her deeply as we prayed with her, and she was
greatly moved by God’s love.
n
A man related his struggles with alcoholism and his belief that
God could not accept him. He left
with the Good News of a Savior who not only can forgive any sin, but also
provides the power to set us free from bondage.
This man experienced the love of God and is very close to making a
commitment to Christ. He was
excited about studying his French New Testament that JOM provided.
n
A man who had lived a life of sin, and who likely has a relatively
short time to live because of cancer, was presented with the Gospel for the
first time in clear, direct, and loving terms.
The man remains resistant, but it is obvious that the Gospel made a
strong impression on him. We know
that the Holy Spirit will continue to draw and convict him in the coming months.
Please pray for these and many other individuals whom God
touched but have yet to make a commitment to Christ. And pray for those who did make decisions for Christ, that
they would be discipled in a good church. Finally,
please continue to pray for the precious people of Quebec.
So many of them need to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Last, but not least, we wish to offer special thanks to
Margaret Moore, who volunteered her time to accompany us on this trip to help
care for our son. Without
her help, only one of us would have been able to devote our time to the
ministry. We know that God will
reward her as an equal partner in this ministry outreach. And our sincere thanks to those of you who prayed for this
outreach or contributed financially. Your
sacrifice has produced good fruit for God’s glory, with even more to come.
To read about prior Quebec outreach, click
here.
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