UPCOMING TRIP
June 13-18
Toronto, Canada
Partnership: NAMB, Faith Emmanuel Baptist Church
Purpose: evangelism, block party, marriage workshop, children/youth ministry, AV workshop
PREPARING THE WAY: A VISION TRIP TO TORONTO
By Pastor Brian Parker, Discipleship & Missions
In April of 2023, Pastor Doug and I traveled to Toronto Canada to meet with several NAMB church planters with the intentions of finding one that would be a fruitful partnership for the new church as well as for Bethel. After meeting with each church planter, we returned home and spent several weeks praying and asking for God’s wisdom before deciding that God was guiding us to partner with Francisco Ordaz, pastor of Faith Emmanuel Baptist Church. After serving churches in his homeland of Venezuela, Pastor Francisco answered God’s calling to move to Toronto in 2016 as missionaries and by God’s grace, Faith Emmanuel Baptist Church was started in 2018.
Toronto is among the most ethnically diverse cities on earth, topping Miami, Los Angeles and New York City. The population is nearly 6.5 million, and of that number, about 2.3 million are foreign-born. Toronto is an exceedingly drivable city, and from the suburbs to the urban core, it provides an international immersion without the loss of comfortable western amenities.
Although about 33 percent of Torontonians claim Christianity as their religion, the evangelical presence in the area is a little better than 3 percent. There is only one Canadian National Baptist church for every 106,808 people.
Add to this an increasing immigrant population bringing growth in Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism and other world religions. Toronto has one of the world’s highest Jewish populations as well.
About 410,000 Torontonians speak a Chinese language such as Mandarin or Cantonese. More than 100,000 speak Filipino; 56,000 speak Arabic. In total, more than 2 million Torontonians report that they primarily speak a language other than the official languages of English and French.
Statistics are like skylines. They give you a glimpse of a city that only grows more diverse and complex with each community you visit, each home in which you eat and each ministry opportunity that brings you face-to-face with a city full of stories and needs.
Please join us in praying, giving, and going as we serve together in Toronto for God’s glory.
You can learn more about Faith Emmanuel Baptist Church by visiting their website: