The Canadian Experience:

1
The Canadian Experience

• Who is Unreached?

2
Towards the Goal of Discipling Our Nation Some
Key Definitions
3
An Evangelized People Group
A people in which the majority of its members
have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ with such
cultural and personal relevance that it results
in sufficient understanding to accept Christ by
faith as a believer or to reject Him.
4
A Discipled People Group
A people group in which the majority of its
members are fully devoted followers of Jesus
Christ.
5
Some Canadian People Groups
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A Church for Every People

• Goal to see a gathering of Bible-believing
  Christians, in a 1-church-to-every 500 to 1000
  persons ratio, within practical and relational
  distance for every class, kind and culture of
  people in Canada, so penetrating and transforming
  every block, housing complex and neighbourhood
  with the saving love, care, truth and power of
  Jesus Christ.

7
How Have We Been Progressing?

• In the Long View..

8
Canadian Religious Affiliation
Transforming Our Nation, p. 90
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Canadian Mainline Affiliation
Transforming Our Nation p. 92
10
Change in Religious Affiliation
Affiliation 1981 1991
Change -------------
----------- ----- -------------
----- ------------- Catholic 11,402,605
47.3 12,335,255 45.7 -1.6 East.
Orthodox 361,565 1.5
387,395 1.4 -0.1 Protestant 9,914 575
41.2 9,780 715 36.2 -5 United
Church 3,758,015 15.6 3,093,120
11.5 -4.1 Anglican 2,436,375 10.1
2,188,110 8.1 -2 Presbyterian 812,105
3.4 636,295
2.4 -1 Lutheran 702,900 2.9
636,205 2.4 -0.5 Evangelicals 1,928,925
8.0 2,910,715 10.8
2.8 Jewish 296,425 1.2 318,065
1.2 Islam 98,165 0.4 253,260
0.9 0.5 Buddhist 51,955
0.2 163,415 0.6
0.4 Hindu 69,505 0.3 157,010
0.6 0.3 Sikh 67,715
0.3 147,440 0.5 0.2 No
affiliation 1,783,530 7.4
3,386,365 12.5 5.1
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How far from Completing the Great Commission in
Canada are we today?
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Canada An Overview

• 82 of Canadians unchurched in 1996
• Declining religious observance
• In 1957 53 attended church twice a
• month, in 1993 23
• Canada has 3rd highest world suicide rate
• 10.8 evangelical
• Evangelical planting (1.7 annually) falls behind
  population growth (1.9 annually)

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Greatest Church Planting Needs in Canada

• Residents of High Density Housing
• French Canadians
• Native Indians
• New Immigrants
• Postmodern Worldview
• By Province

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Multi-Family Housing

• 1/7th as likely to attend church as residents of
  single family homes (unreached)
• Residents invisible to most churches and
  untargeted (hidden people group)
• Highly mobile
• Often prefer cocooning
• More likely to be poor
• Quebec and Ontario have highest proportion
• Require a church in every housing complex

15
French Canadians

• Largest unreached people group in North America
  (6 million)
• Less than 1 evangelical
• One church for every 17,000 persons (Cf. English
  ratio of 1 church for 3,400 persons)
• Do not participate in Catholic church but highly
  suspicious of non-Catholics cults
• French evangelical church small, weak and lacks
  confidence and leadership resources

16
Native Indians

• 2400 reserves without Gospel witness
• few evangelicals, very few leaders
• Overwhelming social problems compose 50 of
  federal prisoners. Most of these suicides are
  native youth.
• Counterproductive native spirituality and
  syncretism
• Need to look to cross-cultural Asian planters for
  assistance

17
New Immigrants

• Greater Toronto Area 49 first generation, 69
  second generation immigrant
• Vancouver 63 do not speak English at home
• Generally bring non-Christian worldviews
• More open to new ideas in first generation
• Majority Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, or
  Confucian - the mission field is here!

18
Post Modern Canadians

• Conceive of truth as personal, not absolute
• Influenced by new-age thinking
• Syncretistic - believe a little of almost
  anything
• From broken families - now hesitant to make
  commitments
• Open to following Jesus (but dont care for the
  institutional/traditional church)
• Require seeker-targeted churches

19
Where.
are new cells of believers most needed?
20
New Churches Needed by Province
Transforming Our Nation, p. 81
21
Canadians Dying without Christ 165,500 Souls
each Year

• The harvest is past,
• the summer has ended,
• and we are not saved.
• - Jeremiah 820

22
Working Together to Multiply 10,000 New Cells of
Believers

• Every denomination - setting goals, casting
  vision, providing support and resources
• Every congregation - birthing new cells of
  believers (daughter churches)
• Every bible school seminary - raising up and
  training planters for the harvest
• Every para-church mission agency - planting
  churches
• Every lay-leader - a harvest field worker a
  member of the team