Evangelizing new immigrants may be the key to reaching secular Quebec

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

An influx of Filipino immigration to Gatineau presents a strategic opportunity that one local church has seized upon. Last year, Jesus Is Lord Church (JIL) commissioned 27 of their members to plant a sister church in Gatineau. One year later, they have more than quadrupled.

“We heard that so many Filipinos are coming as nurses; families and families. So we opened a group on Facebook, Filipino Nurses in Gatineau,” says Adele Catoy. “We meet them through Facebook. When they arrive, we pick them up from the airport. Most of these people have no homes yet, so we open our homes to them for a few months or weeks and we share the Word of God.”

Catoy was one of the original six members of JIL Ottawa (four adults and two kids) when it started in 1995. The booming Filipino church now runs three services to accommodate their nearly 600 members. Yet, from the start, Gatineau has been a burden on Catoy’s heart.

Their anniversary service had 183 people in attendance.

“When I moved here, I found out there was only one percent Christians here,” she says. “I had a burden, so we kept praying. Whenever my mom and I walked around, we prayer walked. [Last year], God spoke to our regional pastor that we should plant a Gatineau church.”

Along with her family and a few friends, Catoy held the first JIL Gatineau service on February 5, 2017. Their anniversary service, last Sunday, had 183 people in attendance.

Jesus Is Lord Gatineau, in their first service. Photo courtesy of Jesus Is Lord Gatineau.

Emil Yenga and his family are some of the new members. Catoy helped them get on their feet when they moved to Gatineau from the Philippines, in May 2017.

“We didn’t know what to do when we came here and they helped us a lot,” says Yenga. “I didn’t hesitate to grab it because we didn’t know anyone here in Canada. They let us stay at their place and they were holding prayer meetings and Bible studies. We were so blessed.”

Yenga’s family were Christians before they came to Canada, but JIL inspired Yenga’s wife to start participating in ministry for the first time. Yenga says it has also deepened his faith.

“They have a real devotion to prayer. During the prayer time you can really feel the presence of God. The backbone of JIL church is prayer and fasting. When I was young, I had a prayer time every 3 a.m. I lost that when I got older, but now it is coming back.”

In the past year, Catoy says they have seen 100 people become Christians. She attributes the dramatic growth to their emphasis on dedicated prayer and fasting, as well as strategic evangelism.

“Whenever there are birthdays, we make them evangelism opportunities.”

“What is really keeping us going is the power of prayer and fasting. The first thing on our prayer list is for people to accept Christ and that God would make us more passionate to share Jesus. The more you pray for souls, the more God uses people.”

Some of the church’s outreach is through traditional methods: handing out tracts and weekly outreaches at local malls. However, they also have a lot of success through birthday evangelism.

“Whenever there are birthdays, we make them evangelism opportunities. We invite [the new immigrants we connect with] for birthday parties, but our main goal is to share the Word. People love parties, so of course they come.”

Catoy says new immigrants are often lonely and suffering from culture shock when they arrive. Their longing for community gives them a special openness in these caring environments.

“So we tell them that we are going to share the Word of God and pray,” she says. “We ask them if they have a prayer request, then we open the Word of God and share with them the salvation message.”

JIL Ottawa is planning to replicate the Gatineau church’s success with a new plant in Orleans, starting April 1. They are also praying about future plants in Barrhaven and Kanata.

“I am excited about what God is doing here, especially in Gatineau,” Yenga says. “I heard there are only a few Christians here who really believe in Jesus, so we are really excited to share.”