Quebec Alive moments

William L. Phillips (1930-2007) wrote a short historical book called Modern Day Missionary Miracles.  It gives an overview of the evangelical Baptist movement in Quebec from the 1930s to the end of the 20^th century.  Bill, as most people called him, was a early evangelistic pioneer himself (see Quebec Alive Moments #4, #5 & #47), and ministered in Quebec from 1951 until he went to be with his Lord in 2007.  He was a church planter, founding member and first coordinator of SEMBEQ, former Secretary of the Association of the Evangelical Baptist Churches of Quebec and former Secretary of the Fellowship French Mission.  Therefore, he was part of much of what he wrote about in this book.  Bill wrote that the “ministry in Quebec has been like riding the surf.  At times the waves seemed out of control.  I came to realize that neither a political decree, a technological invention, a strike by surfers, nor the creation of a parliamentary committee could change anything.  God and God alone controls the surf.  Either you accept the waves and the wind or you stop surfing.  The wise surfer wastes no energy trying to change the weather.  He takes comfort from the fact that God is in control and asks for wisdom.  He remains flexible with his plans and strategies.  He learns to view the changing waves not as an enemy but as an opportunity.” (page 9)   

Thus was the climate and view of the early evangelical missionary outreach to French-speaking Quebec.  There were many struggles and challenges.  The Heron brothers persevered (see Quebec Alive Moments #2 & #3) amid fierce opposition from the Roman Catholic Church in the late 1940s and early 1950s.  Cars were burned and church windows smashed.  Fire hoses, tomatoes, fire crackers and tractor horns were used to disrupt open-air meetings.  Mail was confiscated; New Testaments and Gospels were gathered up by an angry priest and burned.  There were physical violence and constant arrests.  However, the Word of God prevailed and souls were won.  A beachhead into French Canada had been made.” (page 18)

Bill used another 80-plus pages to give an overview of the work of the Lord through the evangelists, church planters and pastors who devoted their lives to reaching the lost souls in Quebec.  This book, Modern Day Missionary Miracles, is presently out of print, but hopefully there will be another printing.  For more information about its availability contact the SEMBEQ office.

D. A. Carson (pictured) was born and raised in Quebec during the ministry of his father, Tom Carson, to the French Canadians there.  Dr. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL.  He often teaches an intensive course (see Quebec Alive Moment #68) for SEMBEQ during late spring.  He has written a book about his father’s ministry in Quebec entitled, The Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor.  Dr. Carson’s statement at the beginning of the preface gives us a good overview of the purpose of the book.  He states, “Most pastors will not regularly preach to thousands, let alone tens of thousands.  They will not write influential books, they will not supervise large staffs, and they will never see more than modest growth.  They will plug away at their care for the aged, at their visitations, at their counseling, at their Bible studies and preaching.  Some will work with so little support that they will prepare their own bulletins.  They cannot possibly discern whether the constraints of their own sphere of service owe more to the specific challenges of the local situation or to their own shortcomings.  Once in a while they will cast a wistful eye on “successful” ministries.   Many of them will attend the conferences sponsored by the revered masters and come away with a slightly discordant combination of, on the one hand, gratitude and encouragement, on the other, feelings of inadequacy, and guilt.”

Dr. Carson goes on to say that, “Most of us-let it be frank-are ordinary pastors.  Dad was one of them.  This little book is a modest attempt to let the voice and ministry of one ordinary pastor be heard, for such servants have much to teach.”

Further in the preface, Dr. Carson says, “But my aim is…to convey enough of his ministry and his own thought that ordinary ministers are encouraged, not least by the thought that the God of Augustine, Calvin, Spurgeon, and Piper is no less the God of Tom Carson, and of you and me.”  He ends the preface with a statement by his administrative assistant who had been reading parts of the documents.  He said, “I used to aspire to be the next Henry Martyn [heroic British Bible translator and missionary to the Muslim peoples of India and Persia].  However, after reading your dad’s diaries, the Lord has given my heart a far loftier goal: simply to be faithful.  I know we as men are but dust, but what dust the man I read about in these diaries was.”  This book is valuable for all, for God simply wants us to be faithful.  You can contact SEMBEQ for the French version of The Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor and many Christian bookstores carry it in English.

In the Preface of the Servant for Jesus’ Sake, a book about the life and ministry of Bill Phillips (see Quebec Alive Moment #4, #5, #47), SEMBEQ President Francois Picard writes the following.  “God has chosen for Himself men into whom He has poured His grace, entrusting them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He placed a People upon their hearts, in the days when Roman Catholicism was at its height in Quebec.”

“Trailblazing visionary, tireless worker, creative and skilled strategist with a passion for the Good News, Bill, as his peers called him, knew how to seize every God-given opportunity and, as a tender shepherd, how to love people and bring them together.”

He was able to gather together other trailblazers from various backgrounds and to rally them in order to reach out to Quebec.  Bill also developed a team of valued collaborators.  Since he easily identified people with potential, it was not long before he would put them to work, especially young leaders with strong personalities.  He would trust both God and others to accomplish work.”

“…Bill played a crucial part in the establishment of our Seminary, along with Elisee Beau and Jacques Alexanian…I also wish to emphasize his major involvement in establishing the Fellowship French Mission Board, through which English-speaking Canadians have shown their love and support for our French workers in a practical and effective way…With many hardships experienced through ministry, through illness, and through the arduous process of learning French, he embodied power through weakness.  He was not a speaker sought after for his eloquence, but rather for his faith, wisdom and advice…May the story of Bill Phillips awaken us and prompt us to follow in his footsteps, investing our whole lives for the sake of the Gospel.  Let us stand and walk in the path that is opening before us.”

If you would like more information on this book other material on the history of evangelism in Quebec, contact SEMBEQ.

“Jacques (see Quebec Alive Moment #11) grew up in a Christian home near Lyon, France.  Both of his parents were orphans, victims of the Turkish massacre of the Armenian people during the First World War.  His main goal upon arriving in the United States was to become a man of importance, wealth, and success.  But God had other plans.  While listening to a Christian radio program, Jacques submitted his life to the Lord Jesus and a year later, at a Baptist missions conference, felt the call to serve God as a missionary.  Believing the Lord wanted him to  return to France, he attended Philadelphia Bible Institute (now Philidelphia Bible University), where he met Loretta.  The doors to France closed while they were at Bible school, but God soon led them to consider the needs in the Canadian Province of Quebec.  After Jacques received his bachelor and master’s degrees at Wheaton College, the Alexanians were appointed as missionaries by Mission to the Americas in 1961.  Though French Canadians have often been hostile to the gospel, the Alexanians have labored faithfully in Quebec, planting churches in Sherbrooke and the Ottawa Valley, and training church leaders.  In 1973, Jacques Alexanian was instrumental in founding SEMBEQ…to train new leaders for the French churches of Quebec.  Jacques was named president of SEMBEQ in 1984 and held that position until 2001.  Today he continues to serve in a church ministry in Gatineau, Quebec.” 

Such is the overview given on the back of the book, The Son of a Wandering Armenian Orphan.  For more informagtion about this book or other books about evangelism in Quebec, contact SEMBEQ.

Another book describing the evangelism of Quebec during the 1900s that we want to highlight is the autobiography of Murray Heron entitled Footprints Across Quebec.  The following description is found on the back cover of the book.  “As one of Quebec’s pioneer missionaries Murray Heron [see Quebec Alive Moment #2] has a unique story to tell.   For over 50 years [over 60 years now], he has had an ardent desire to reach the people of Quebec with the gospel.  As a young man of 22, he received widespread media coverage in Canada when he was arrested and charged with a restrictive town bylaw for holding a street meeting in Rouyn, Quebec.  He weathered the protracted legal battle that followed and won the right to bring his message to the townspeople.  Action and innovation characterize Pastor Heron’s ministry.  He pastored English and French churches, held street meetings, organized weekly radio and television programs and began a Christian camp ministry.  This book communicates his steadfast commitment to his calling and offers a shining testimony to God’s power throughout a long and fruitful ministry.”

For more information about this book and the life of Murray Heron and his wife, Georgia, or other books available about the history about evangelism in Quebec, contact SEMBEQ.

In last week’s Moment we indicated that during the next few months we would highlight some of the biographies and history books which provide an understanding of the Baptist evangelistic outreach into Quebec Province during the mid-to-late 1900s.  Today we are highlighting the life of Yvon Hurtubise, written by his daughter Lois (see Moment #47), in the book The Carpenter’s Apprentice.  Lois summarizes the life of Yvon (pictured here with his wife Marion) as follows.  “Yvon was born in 1914, to a poor family with no education in a francophone community of Northern Ontario.  At a young age, Yvon already had two very strong interests: carpentry and Bible stories.  He dreamed of becoming a carpenter or a Bible teacher.  He did not think that he would ever be able to realize either of his dreams.  He was far from doubting that he would one day become the Great Carpenter’s apprentice and that God would use him in missionary work.”

Lois goes on to say that, “After he was touched by God’s message of love, Yvon answered the call to work as a pastor in Quebec.  He dedicated himself to this task for the rest of his life, and was used by God in establishing several churches and in training a number of godly young men.  He passed away in 1999, and is survived by his six children and hundreds of individuals who have been touched by his ministry.”

Richard Houle, a SEMBEQ leader and Coordinator of Missionary Training at the Evangelical Baptist Church of La Haute Yamaska, Granby, was influenced greatly by Yvon and Marion Hurtubise.  Richard described Yvon as a humble man of faith and prayer, a man of vision who was attached to Scripture, and a team worker. (pp. 135-136)

If you would like to read more about the life of Yvon Hurtubise and the evangelizing of Quebec, contact SEMBEQ about The Carpenter’s Apprentice.

Over the past few years SEMBEQ has been publishing biographical books about those who were instrumental in bringing the Gospel to the French Canadians in Quebec during the mid-1900s.  The collection of books is being called Notre Histoire, or Our History.  They depict the struggles and victories of the early church planting, the formation of the Association of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Quebec and the formation of SEMBEQ as seen through the lives of those involved in the process.  Francois Picard (pictured), President of SEMBEQ, indicated in the Preface of the book, The Carpenter’s Apprentice, that the main reason for publishing this series is for the present and future generations to understand how mightily God worked and that He blessed and answered prayer, all to His glory.  Francois stated further, “Because God continues to call men into the ministry in Quebec, it is important that they know their history.  It is important that they know what could possibly have pushed men to come to Quebec, what made them break new ground, persevere, [and] resist the temptation to flee and to look for easy answers.  These young men need to see that the pioneers paid with their lives and that [their] wives…supported them.  How many of these wives’ secret prayers were answered!  [They]…put their destinies into the Master’s hand as they watched their husbands leave for days at a time, be imprisoned…They watched their husbands struggle to make ends meet and to live with near empty wallets.”

In the following months we will periodically introduce you to several of these books and also some of the earlier books depicting the history of this early Baptist evangelization of Quebec published by others.  Specifically, we will intoduce you to a biography of Yvon Hurtibise called The Carpenter’s Apprentice, a biography of Bill Phillips called Servant for Jesus’ Sake, a biography of Jacques  Alexanian called The Son of a Wandering Armenian Orphan, a biography of Tom Carson called Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor, an autobiography of Murray Heron called Footprints Across Quebec, a history of the 1900s called Modern Day Missionary Miracles, and others as they are published.  Our prayer is that these introductions might wet your appetite for further reading.

Quebec City was inhabited in 1608 by Huguenots (French Protestants) who came over from France to plant a New France.  In 1625 there was intense persecution of the Protestant Huguenots in France to the extent that they were not even allowed to settle in New France, but had to immigrate to Protestant Europe or America.  Even though the Protestant influence of the Huguenots was initially present, Quebec City, as well as Quebec Province, became strongly Roman Catholic.  However, in the 1960s this influence was weakened to the extent that practicing Roman Catholics went from over 90% to less than 5% by the end of the 1900s.  Today Quebec Province is extremely secular with less than 1% of the over 7.5 million people in Quebec professing Jesus as Lord and Savior.  There is even less evangelical presence in Quebec City with only about 0.06% having Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Nearly two years ago there was an evangelistic outreach in the Quebec City region during the celebration of the city’s 400th anniversary.  Many of the French Baptist churches associated with SEMBEQ, along with other evangelical churches, participated in the goal to personally distribute 350,000 copies of the Gospel of John in French.  Nearly 380, 000 copies were actually distributed, by more than 1000 people from Quebec, other Canadian Provinces, the United States and Europe.  Praise the Lord for the seed that was planted and for some of the fruit which is being seen.

Beginning this fall, SEMBEQ hopes to have a new Cohort formed in Quebec City.  Quebec City is about 3 hours northeast of Montreal and offers an excellent location for students who find the other regions difficult to travel to.  A minimum of 10 students is required for a cohort to form.  Pray that the Lord would raise up even more than 10 students willing to commit themselves to this 6-year program of study, where the mind, character and ministry abilities are simultaneously developed within the local church setting and under the guidance of a coach.

Montreal is actually an island with the Saint Lawrence River to the south and the Riviere des Prairies River to the north.  It is the second largest city in Canada, Toronto being the largest.  It is also the second largest French-speaking city in the western world, Paris being the largest.  The population of greater Montreal is about 3.8 million with about 2/3 having French roots.  The first language is French, but most also speak English, with many other languages heard on the streets of this very international city.  The city is a mix of modern skyscrapers and old European architecture.  Less than 0.5% of Montreal’s population would be considered evangelical and, therefore, there is a great need to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.  In the past few years, the French Baptist churches and SEMBEQ have increased their energy to specifically train workers to reach the urban community and plant churches.

Urban communities provide some unique challenges for evangelizing and church planting in comparison to the rural areas.  Some of these challenges are the fast pace of city life, the high concentration of population, the lack of space for meeting and parking, the high expense for renting or owning a building for meeting, the various zoning requirements, and the multiple cultural and language presence found in Montreal.  These challenges limit the recruitment of workers and resources and require various methods of evangelizing, but these challenges do not deter the desire to meet the challenges and reach out to the city of Montreal.  Pray for the leaders as they work to train workers for these challenges.

A vision of many of the French Baptist churches in Quebec is one of planting daughter churches by sending a couple to begin a Bible study group or sending a group from the congregation to begin a new church.  Since the new church is given birth by the sending church, the relationship between the two is a mother-daughter relationship.  Likewise, if the daughter church gives birth to a new church, then a granddaughter church has been established.  This Quebec Alive Moment will discuss one of the early church planting of daughter churches, as provided in the book, Servant for Jesus’ Sake, written by Blanche Phillips (see Moment #47).  In the Spring of 1969, after having already started churches in other areas, Bill (see Moments #4, 5) and Blanche Philipps set out to plant a church in a region of Montreal where there was no French Baptist church.  [Blanche is pictured above with part of a group answering questions about their involvement with the early church planting in Quebec, during the dedication of a building in honor of her late husband Bill, who went to be with the Lord in 2007]  They chose the region of Ahuntsic and in the Fall of that year they held their first official worship service with 12 people in attendance. By 1972 the attendance was at 40 and by 1977 it had grown to 75.  During the next seven years the Ahuntsic church had sent a group of its membership to Repentigny and Montreal-North.  In 1984 the Ahuntsic church sent 27 of its 75 members, two of whom were Bill and Blanche Philipps, to form a daughter church on the West Island.  Many of those who went lived on the West Island and eventually formed the Emmanuel Evangelical Baptist Church of the West Island.  Bill Philipps served as the pastor of the church from 1990-1995, when he retired.  In 1996, with the encouragement of Bill, Emmanuel sent 40 of its members farther west and planted their own daughter church in Vaudreuil.  The Lord used several other French Baptist churches in similar ways and He continues to do this today.  Quebec Alive Moment #66 will discuss some of these current situations.