“A message of hope in these days is really significant.”

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

Unchurched people are looking for hope. That is the repeated message One Way Ministries has heard over the past year, and it inspired them to organize an evangelism initiative to help churches across Ottawa reach out the week of Easter.

“We are hearing from a number of different folks that there is a real openness to the Gospel,” states Mark Peterkins, One Way Ministries’ executive director. “So we wanted to put something out there that is going to stir local churches and that they can get their community involved with.”

Photo courtesy of Pinball Clemons.

The initiative they came up with is Capital Hope 21—a live webinar at 7:30 p. m., on Wednesday, March 31. During the short presentation, participants will hear from football star Pinball Clemons, along with marketplace leaders Trish and Jim Beaulne, as they share their journeys to faith.

“This pandemic has been a real challenge for people. There has been a lot of fear and a lot of hopelessness for people. A message of hope in these days is really significant,” says Ryan Dawson, lead pastor of Sequoia Community Church.

The idea started with a local group of evangelists that came together after the CAPITALYZE Conference. One member, Jim Beaulne, organized a webinar at the outset of the pandemic, reaching out to his contacts across North America. More than 3,600 people joined the call to hear a message of hope and 600 of them made decisions for Christ.

With Easter approaching, Beaulne suggested the team organize a similar event working through the networks of Ottawa churches. To make the event more effective, One Way is using special technology so it will be easier for believers to invite their friends and families and to ensure effective follow up with those who respond.

Photo courtesy of Trish and Jim Beaulne.

The system enables churches to identify “inviters” who are given a unique link for the event. The team also created a short, very practical video to coach people on the best ways to invite their friends and family. Then, because of the unique invite links, when people respond to the message they can give consent for the system to notify the person who invited them.

“It allows people to indicate that they made a decision for Christ, or they desire more information, or that they want to be put on a list to see more of these types of things in the future.”

So far, 48 churches and ministries have partnered with One Way, recruiting more than 300 inviters. The team hopes to have 1,000 people join the webinar. Peterkins says they are looking for more inviters before the event.

If participants miss the live event, the system still allows the same response and follow-up options with the recorded version, which will be available for 90 days.

“The technology is pretty cool, using the [system] to connect people and make sure the follow-up works,” says Dawson. “It’s a great opportunity and people have been really receptive to receive an invitation.”