My story begins on August 3, 1942, in the town of Strathroy, Ontario. I’m an “only child.”

Both of my parents never attended High School. Dad worked on his father’s farm just east of St Thomas, Ontario, and mom stayed at her parent’s farm and helped her father with the work of general farming on 60 acres of land near
Forest, Ontario. Dad was the only boy in a family of 6 kids; mom was the younger of 2 girls.

During WW 2 my father was employed selling nursery stock. One day he drove onto the farm where mother was living. They pretty much fell in love right away. She told her mother, “There’s the man I’m going to marry!” A whole year went by until she saw him again, and this time he asked her out. Soon after, they were married and made their home in Strathroy. Eventually I arrived and my upbringing was wonderful. Dad would tell me over and over how much I was wanted and how they looked forward to my coming. At the same time my paternal grandmother lived with us. She was a godly, old woman who loved the Lord with all her heart. She taught me how to read and print and do simple basic arithmetic so when I started in Grade one I was soon put into Grade two! God used her to get my attention! Her husband, my grandfather, died just 2 months after I was born. He was a brother to a well-known Methodist evangelist by the name of Rev John E. Hunter. In the late 1800’s J.E. Hunter teamed up with the Rev. Hugh T. Crossley. They formed an evangelistic team patterned after the famous D.L. Moody and I. Sankey team in the United States. Crossley and Hunter crisscrossed Canada and ministered in the US as well. It is reported that they held over 300 crusades and that over 100,000 souls came to Christ in their ministry. You can “google” using their names.

They held a “revival crusade” in Ottawa in the winter of 1888. Canadian Prime Minister Sir John A MacDonald attended the services along with several cabinet ministers and members of parliament. In fact, Sir John A. celebrated his 73rd birthday in one of the services. It was a six week revival and on the final night it was requested that the team extend their stay in Ottawa. It was the Prime Minister who seconded the motion! Hunter made the appeal in that evening service, and when he asked those who wanted to become Christians to stand up, the Prime Minister along with his wife stood to their feet. Crossley and Hunter became guests at the MacDonald’s home as well. The Rev J.E. Hunter would have been my great uncle! His son, Rev. Ernest Crossley Hunter would become a well known United Church pastor, and his two sons likewise went into full time ministry.

Growing up, my parents and I attended a local mainline church in Strathroy. I was taken to Sunday School every Sunday and my mum and dad attended the adult Bible Class, though most parents just dropped their children off. I noticed that, and remember looking around to see my parents in the general opening exercises with about 4 or 5 other adults. And this was in a church of over 1,000! I never remember receiving God’s call on my life. It was always there going back to my earliest recollections. I’d play church with my ‘stay at home’ mum and my grandmother in attendance! We’d sing hymns, grandma would lead us in prayer, mother would sing, and I’d say, “The next thing on the program will be…” And in the intervening years and up to today, I always do an outline for every service I’m leading. Public School and High School were of no real account, though I did love taking acting parts in the Christmas operettas in public school, and in high school acting in several Gilbert and Sullivans plays.

But in 1955 my life changed. Billy Graham came to Toronto to hold his first Canadian crusade and Dad thought it would be good for me to hear him since I was saying I was going to be a minister. I was 13 years old. That night I actually got to meet Dr. Graham in person prior to the service and he told me, “Young man, since you’re feeling called to the ministry you must accompany the ministers on the platform!” At the conclusion of the service, I went forward and gave my life to Christ. That’s over 69 years ago!

In 1957, the Lord led us from that mainline church to the local Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada church in our town. Through God-appointed connections my dad and the local PAOC pastor became close friends. Upon graduating from High school I attended the University of Western Ontario in London and received the BA degree in Pre-Theology. Then I went to Eastern Pentecostal Bible College in Peterborough, ON whereupon I met the beautiful Zelda Mae Lundy. She had felt God’s call on her life and had enrolled a year ahead of me. Within the first month we were dating and because I had skipped Grade One back in 1948, we were able to graduate together in April of 1965. In June of 1965 we were married. Our first church was in Dresden, ON made famous by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s classic, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Following our time there we moved to Strathroy where I became the pastor of my home church, and 3 years later we were called to Essex, ON to pastor there. We saw the church double in the 7 years we were there. It was while we were in Essex that our son Philip was born in 1970, followed by Esther in 1974.

Eventually I was elected to become the Christian Education Director of the Western Ontario District of The PAOC. This was a most enjoyable assignment which took me all over the WOD into small, rural churches, our northern ON churches and our large urban churches. Sunday school teacher training was a big part of the work, plus the midweek activities for kids called Pentecostal Crusaders which back then would see over 1,000 kids come from all over the district for the annual PC rally. Summer camps for children and children’s church were part of the CE Director’s mandate.

Then in the summer of 1978 came a call out of the blue to consider the lead pastor’s role at Bethel in Ottawa.

After much prayer, discussion in the family, and also with my District Superintendent of Western Ontario, I candidated for the pastorship at Bethel and was elected. We came to live in Ottawa in August of 1978, exactly 46 years ago this month! Zelda Mae, Philip and Esther and I truly enjoyed our 5 years at Bethel. It was during this time that the current location for Bethel was purchased. There was not a house or building to be seen at that time in the vicinity! It was the right decision!

At the Eastern ON and Quebec District Conference of 1983, I was elected to become the District Secretary-Treasurer. This necessitated a move to Belleville. In 1983 the District Superintendent at that time resigned and I was elected to serve in that role for the next 11 years. With all of the province of Quebec and with the eastern part of Ontario it required a lot of travelling and time away from family, but it was very rewarding too as we saw churches planted, missions offerings in the district grow, and the Bible College thriving.

To reach many of our First Nations churches in northern Quebec I’d charter small one or two engine planes. I can tell you a few scary stories. I can tell you about jumping from my car while crossing a rural train track seconds before the vehicle was hit by the train and driven down the track. I only had scrapes on my knees. And there was the time in 1988 while driving on the 401 I was hit head on by a car going in the wrong direction. Again, I had only a bruised arm!

At the General Conference of 1996 I was asked to serve as the Overseas Missions Director of the PAOC. This was a daunting task. I had never served as a Global Worker, and in a time of major restructuring throughout the International Office, I was eventually asked to serve in a new role as Assistant General Superintendent. This role I took on hesitatingly, but it was during this time that we sold the building on Century Avenue in Toronto, and we got the current building built on Milltower Court in Mississauga. Once this major project was completed which I’d been tasked with leading, I felt it was time for me to move on.

A particular assignment came during this time from the Canadian Council of Churches to The PAOC. The request was for us to appoint someone to join The Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy. The evangelical
community in Canada had never had such a representative at the table, so it was my honour to be the first such individual to do so. It was a role I held for 12 years.

Shortly after leaving the International Office position the request came for me to serve in various interim pastoral positions. Several churches were in between pastors so I filled in for several of those churches and then a call came from Malawi to temporarily fill in at the Blantyre Church for the Global Worker family coming back to Canada on Home Assignment. Those months were a career ministry highlight, and we got invited to do it again a few years later. While at home I served as a representative of International Missions in Eastern Canada. At the same time the Fellowship had an influx of new workers who needed to raise their own finances. I was so happy to introduce many of them to our pastors and Missions Committees in our churches and was able to help them to get their funding in place.

About the same time Zelda Mae was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and that became a battle for her and a challenge for me. Finally, in October of 2013, after about 12 years of dealing with this illness, she passed away. We had 48 years, 4 months and 4 days of a wonderful marriage. She was a partner in ministry par excellence!

In due course I met Gudrun (Tucker) and after an appropriate period of time we were married. Rev Marvin Sinclair, Esther’s husband, married us. And she’s a marvellous person to have in my life. I’m so grateful to the Lord for bringing her to me. She’s originally from Sweden; she and her parents left Sweden as Pentecostal missionaries in 1946 and headed to China. Then due to the revolution, they had to escape and make their way to Sri Lanka where they served for many years. She’s a Viking – so beware!

As I write this in late July 2024, we’re filling in at our church in Morrisburg, ON. We’re members of Bethel Ottawa, where I came with my family back in 1978. So, it’s like life coming full circle.

I have 4 grandchildren (one’s a fireman in Fredericton, NB. His brother is a student at Carleton University). These are Esther’s. The two much younger ones are Philip’s daughters who live in Pickering. Gudrun has 6 grandkids. The oldest is studying with the Canadian Coastguard in Sydney, NS, and the second eldest is heading in September to work with Watoto Ministries in Kampala, Uganda. So, Gudrun and I are both blessed beyond measure!

Here’s a verse that means a lot to me: “You didn’t choose me, remember, I chose you, and put you in this world to bear fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he will give you.” John 15:16 (The
Message)