July 2014

Summer is probably our best ministry time here in Northern Ontario.  We have much better weather, and people are out and about more than in the colder winter months!  God has been truly blessing our efforts this summer.  We are thankful for the work He has done!

Ordination
On July 5th, Kendall was ordained to the gospel ministry. Pastors Leroy Pennell, Archie Norman, Ernest Bauserman, and Earl Jessup were all a part of the ordination council. For several hours Kendall answered questions, and then at 3pm we had a service with our congregation.  With 31 people in attendance, our little church building was FULL!  Pastor Pennell gave the charge to the congregation and Pastor Norman gave the charge to Kendall.  Afterward, we enjoyed a meal and time of fellowship at our home.  We are so thankful for everyone that supported us and had a part in the ordination.  It was a blessing to know that so many people are praying for us in the ministry here.

Summer Bible Camp
We held a Summer Bible Camp in July in the town of Markstay, about a 1 hour drive from North Bay.  One of our families lives in this town and faithfully drives to the services in North Bay every week.  As an outreach we held a Summer Bible Camp there, and we had 14 children in attendance!  We are so thankful to the Lord to have been able to reach these families.  Markstay is a very small town of about 500 people, and it is primarily a Catholic.  There's a small Pentecostal church there as well.  Most of the families that attended our Camp were of Catholic background.  On the last day of Camp we had an awards ceremony.  ALL the parents attended, and we had the opportunity to share the Gospel with them during the ceremony and then speak to them individually after!  There is a great need in Markstay to reach these families.  North Bay is the closest Independent Baptist Church!  We are praying for more opportunities in this area, and for more labourers to help us get the Gospel to these people!

Family
Kendall's father, brother-in-law, niece, and sister were all able to come up to North Bay for his ordination.  It was a great blessing for them to spend some time with us, and be able to see the work up here.  We are so thankful they made the LONG drive from Tennessee to be here!

Discipleship
We continue with the discipleship of three new converts in our congregation.  Please pray for these men as we teach them the Scripture.  It is so exciting to see them grow in their faith.  They have a desire to learn and have already expressed interest in helping in whatever way they can at the church.  Several of them have been involved in door to door visiting and other church ministries.

Church
We continue to see visitors on a regular basis.  This is a great blessing and it is the Lord's doing!  Our church is not in a very visible area, and on top of that, google maps and GPS do not recognize the street we are on!  It's truly the Lord bringing these people to our church. We have found our website is a consistent tool in bringing visitors.  Often when I ask visitors how they found out about the church, they mention the website.  We thank God for providing us with a good website.

We have passed out literally thousands of pieces of literature since Kendall became pastor here!  Please pray that God uses these tracts in the lives of people in North Bay.  We continue to be faithful witnessing on the streets, going door to door, and inviting people to church.  We have also found that personal contact is one of the best ways to bring visitors to church.  Many people may get a gospel tract in the mail, but they are more likely to remember and to attend if someone personally hands them an tract and invites them to the service.

One of our great needs as a church is a permanent building or meeting place.  Our current lease runs out in December, and we would love to move into something more permanent and stable at that time. However, we need the Lord to open a door to make this possible.  Please pray for wisdom, direction, and guidance for Kendall and the men of the church in finding a new meeting place.  We want to be sure we are following the Lord's leading in this! Our heart's desire is for a church building, but that is almost an impossibility in this town!  However, we know we serve a God of the impossible, and we are simply praying that He does what only He can do!

Thank you to each one praying for us here!  God is working in a great way!
Kendall and Jessica

Happy Canada Day!

Today is July 1st, also known as Canada Day, which is the day Canada celebrates its birth as a country.   Last year on July 1st, my wife (who was still my fiance at that point) and I spent the afternoon and evening passing out gospel tracts at our waterfront Canada Day celebrations.  We will be doing the same thing this year, and then taking in some fireworks at the end of the day.

We are grateful for every person who has prayed for the church and ministry in North Bay over the past several months.  God has truly been good to us!  Here are a few of the highlights of the year so far.

1.  On December 15, 2013 I was voted in as the pastor of Near North Baptist Church with 100% of the vote

2.  In January we had the opportunity to travel to Carlton Baptist church in Ottawa, Ontario to present our ministry.  Everyone was so kind and welcoming to us there.  We are thankful for the prayer and financial support of Carlton Baptist!

3.  In February we made a very quick trip to Tennessee for the funeral of my sister Karla.  The Lord called Karla home after a two and a half year battle with breast cancer.  Karla had a strong Christian testimony that continued even through her funeral.  Despite the circumstances, we were blessed to be able to see family and spend a few days with them.

4.  In March we had to opportunity to travel to the United Kingdom.  I preached a total six times while in the UK in churches in Oxford, Brighton, London, and at a youth rally in Birmingham.  Jessica and I also sang several times.  This was an opportunity for Jessica to see the work I had been involved in in the UK, and to meet many friends that had never had the chance to meet her or come to our wedding.

5.  In April we had the chance to have a table at the Powassan Maple Syrup Festival.  Despite a very cool, rainy, and windy day, we were able to give out several hundred tracts and invitations to our services.  We were also able to give out a Bible to a young lady who wanted to learn more about Christianity.

6.  In June we had two young men from Crown College join us to help in ministry.  One is staying for a month, and the other will be here for at least six months.  They have been busy going door to door, passing out tracts on Main St., helping in nursing homes, and preaching.  Please pray that we will see many visitors as a result of our outreach.

The most encouraging thing that has happened over the last several months is the salvation of three precious souls!  Please pray that these will continue to grow in their new found faith.

Several months ago, Jessica and I were the only people present for our Sunday evening and Wednesday evening services.  Since April, we have seen visitors in every one of these services.  Our high attendance on a Sunday night has been 14, and on Wednesday evening we've had up to 10 people!  We thank God for the increase and give Him all the glory!  We could not do it without His blessing.

Travelling, Preaching, and Praising!

We are thankful for each opportunity God gives us to be a part of HIS work in North Bay, and in other parts of our province as well.

Kendall had a fantastic trip to the States.  He had the opportunity to preach in Crown College Chapel and to present the ministry here in North Bay, Ontario to the college students.  He had several students express interest in coming to help us on a short term basis.  We are excited about the possibilities of hosting some of these young people this summer to assist in Neighbourhood Bible Clubs and other outreach.  Please pray for these young people that they will be sensitive to God's leading in their lives.  Also pray that God would call several of them to minister in Canada.  We would love to have as many people working with us as possible!

Since Kendall has been back, we have been busy with the work here, and we also had the opportunity to travel a bit.  This past Sunday Kendall preached in a church in Oshawa on Sunday morning and in Orillia, Ontario on Sunday evening.  It's always a blessing to meet other faithful Christians who are ministering where God has placed them.  We have made several new friends and are thankful for the chance to see more of what God is doing in our province.

This past Tuesday, we travelled to Barrie, Ontario to be part of the Conference on Soulwinning and Revival.  The preaching stirred our hearts and encouraged us.  We were glad to have the chance to hear Dr. Sexton preach, as well as several other pastors.  The church in Barrie put on a lovely luncheon for the ladies and gave a special gift to all the pastor and missionary wives.  They were very generous to us, and we are thankful.

Overall, the conference was a great blessing.  The preaching encouraged and convicted us.  We enjoyed good Christian fellowship with several friends, and met some new people as well :).  God is so good to us!  It snowed the entire day of the conference, but when we left Tuesday night, we drove about 10 minutes north of Barrie and the roads were clear the rest of the way home!  Those familiar with Canadian winters know that driving can be very treacherous at times, so we are thankful for safety.

We were also GREATLY blessed to have Derrick Morlan come up and meet us in Barrie!  It was a quick trip for him, and we are SO thankful he made the effort to come and see us even for such a short time.  He has been a good friend to Kendall, and I was happy to finally meet him in person :).  We were able to show him a bit of the city of North Bay and what we have been able to do here in the church.  Derrick pastors in Oxford, England and the Lord is doing an amazing work there!  He and his family are faithful, and we are thankful for their friendship and encouragement in the Lord's work.  If you want to be blessed, watch this video of Derrick's ministry in England and then please take the time to listen to his sermon after.  You will be SO encouraged!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msHDfEPMPhc

Trip to Tennessee

Please pray!

I (Kendall) will be heading to Tennessee on October 15th and returning on October 28th.  I will be at the Temple Baptist Church Mission Conference presenting the work here in Canada.  Pray that God moves in the hearts of people to give themselves to the needy mission field here.

I will also be preaching during College Chapel at the Crown College of the Bible.  You can watch the service live on faithforthefamily.com on October 16th at 9:45am.  It's our desire to have students assist in the ministry here in the summer and perhaps longer.  Pray that the Lord will work in the hearts of students to surrender to whatever He has for them.

Finally, I will be speaking in my home church, visiting several of my supporting churches, and visiting new churches that could potentially support the work in Canada.

Please pray that God will have His hand on this trip.
Pray for labours for the mission field of Canada, and more specifically northern Ontario.
Pray that we would see many surrender to missions during the Missions Conference at Temple Baptist.
Pray for safety on the flights to and from Tennessee.

September Update ~ Ministry in North Bay

We have been experiencing lovely fall weather here in North Bay.  The leaves are almost all changed and the colours are so vibrant!  The weather is cooling down too, but at least we have been enjoying lots of sun.

Near North Baptist Church

Ministry continues to be exciting and busy in North Bay.  Pastor Bauserman, the pastor at Near North Baptist Church, has been in the USA for most of September.  In his absence, I have been filling in full-time at the church in preaching, visiting, and various other ministries.  The Lord blessed us two weeks ago with 13 visitors in the service!  A friend from Crown College happened to be in Ontario for a wedding that weekend, and I persuaded him to drive another 2 and ½ hours north to preach for us that Sunday.  His ministry both in preaching and playing the piano blessed us.  Please pray that the Lord would bring back all of those who visited us that Sunday

Campus Ministry

The Lord opened an amazing door for us to be involved in Club Days at Nipissing University and Canadore College.  If you remember from my previous letters, the University and College share a campus here in North Bay.  That means approximately 5000 students in one location that need to be reached with the gospel.  We started a Bible Study last semester, but we came in half way through the semester and did not have a good opportunity to promote the study.  Two weeks ago, they held Club Days, which is an opportunity for any campus club to set up a table and recruit students.  I spent five days on Campus talking with students.  We had forty-four students sign up with email addresses and phone numbers.  I have been in continued contact with many of them. 

After much headache in securing a room, we finally began meeting on Monday evening at 6:30pm.  The Lord provided us with a room, but we must pay a fee each week to meet.  Please pray that the Lord provides the funds for us!  Also pray that many who signed up would be able to come to the studies.  We are looking at the book of Ecclesiastes.

Nursing Home

We continue to be involved in a nursing home ministry.  It seems that the Lord is opening the door for us to begin ministering in a new home.  Please pray that this would work out.  It would be one Sunday a month, and the residents are brought out to the service.  Pray that the gospel would have an impact on those who attend.

Sunday school/Neighbourhood Bible Clubs

We are blessed to have children each week in Sunday school.  The Lord has put a great burden on my heart to see this ministry grow.  We have several faithful children.  Please pray that the Lord would open the door for more children to attend and hear the Gospel.  Last week, one of the teens led the Bible story for Sunday school.  It’s a blessing to see the older ones becoming involved in ministry.

Ministry Updates

The last few months here have been exciting.  For one, Jessica and I were married :).  The Lord blessed us with beautiful weather for our outdoor ceremony, and with the wedding of our dreams.  After vacationing for a week in Ottawa, Ontario, we returned back home and began to settle into married life.

I am thankful for the opportunities God has given me here.  I continue to preach on a regular basis.  Two weeks ago I had the privilege of visiting two different Canadian Churches.  The first one was Berean Baptist Church in Oshawa, Ontario, where I was able to preach the Sunday morning service.  Their regular pianist had just had a baby, so Jessica was able to fill in playing the piano for the service.  On the way back home, we stopped in Barrie, Ontario and attended Heritage Baptist Church.  We were blessed to meet with Pastor Pennell and his wife and family after the service and get to know them better.

Last weekend, we had a great opportunity to evangelize.  It was the annual Summer in the Park Festival here, and that meant a lot of people out and about!  Jessica and I made our way down to where they had a mid-way set up and passed out tracts!  Unfortunately, neither of us counted how many tracts we distributed, so we have no idea, but we do know a lot of literature got out that day :).

I continue to preach weekly at Near North Baptist Church.  Pray that the Lord gives me clarity and understanding as I study his Word.  Also, pray that He would continue to give me the messages He would have for me each week.  Jessica and I also continue to minister at a local nursing home weekly.  We are thankful for the precious souls that come out to hear the singing and preaching each week.  We are getting details worked out for the Bible study at the University and College that will begin this fall.  Pray that we are able to secure a room to meet in, and that the Campus will let us advertise the study.

This week, we will be heading to Tennessee for a quick visit to see my family.  Many of them could not make it to the wedding, and we wanted to go down and see them before the fall.  Pray for safety as we travel.

Your Servants in Christ,
Kendall and Jessica Wadley

Welcome

Welcome to the Wadley family blog. This is the place to find all the updates about our work in Canada.  We are excited about what the Lord has for us here!  Please pray with us and for us.  The verse at the top of the blog is definitely true of our area.  There is a GREAT door, but there are MANY adversaries.

Thank you for taking the time to read about our work.