OC Director's Blog: October 2022

Making Disciples

In September we launched a new quarterly theme on our website and social media. We are focusing on our core value of making disciples.  We are featuring stories and articles from our team members that highlight the importance of disciple-making.

Multiplying disciples is at the heart of everything Outreach Canada does; we seek to recognize opportunities to serve the church and make disciples. We are responding in some innovative ways through chaplaincy, diaspora ministry, blogging, mentoring, discovery Bible studies, and more.

Fall Season

OC has entered a very busy fall season.  In some ways, I miss the quiet days of the pandemic when no one was traveling, and it was easy to connect with all our team members online.  Now, our team is busy and its harder to connect with some of them.  However, that indicates that we are back into a more normal season of ministry. 

This week I am in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the OC USA Leadership Conference. I was invited as one of the plenary speakers and will be speaking on “Setting Our Direction.” I have been asked to share how Outreach Canada has adapted to change over the past several years and provide guidance for our American partners as they develop their new five-year strategic plan. This is a great opportunity for me to share our story and connect with 100 of our key leaders from around the world. 

Later this month, I will be in Toronto to meet with some of our team members and attend the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s “Presidents Day.”  This is an opportunity for Mission and Ministry directors across Canada to spend a day together, listening, learning, and building relationships.

Ministry Projects

Corporate Chaplains

Corporate Chaplains Canada is having an exciting fall.

• We added a new client company on Vancouver Island and will start serving them as soon as a chaplain is trained. 
• I also heard a great story from one of our chaplains in the Fraser Valley. Several employees asked him to start a Bible study with them and they now meet weekly and have their own little church service.

Burundi

We are preparing for our fall leadership conference in Burundi, led by Barry Whatley and our ministry partners there. They will be reviewing a major research project and identifying ways to help serve their nation in meaningful ways to bring about transformation and discipleship.

If you would like to help sponsor a Burundian pastor or leader to participate in the conference, you may donate to Outreach Canada and indicate that it is for Burundi. Every gift makes a difference and enables us to serve more leaders.

Diaspora Ministry

We are also gearing up for a strategic gathering of diaspora pastors, leaders, and teachers as Consultation on Canadian Collaboration for Mission Engagement. We have partnered with several other organizations to host the Vancouver gathering on November 26.

We have invited a number of leaders to come together to learn from one another and find ways to collaborate as we seek to effectively work with and reach out to Canada’s growing population of refugees and immigrants.

Dr. Craig Kraft is the Executive Director of Outreach Canada. After 15 years of pastoral ministry in western Canada, Craig, with his wife Heather, served with OC in southern Africa before returning to lead the ministry in Canada. Craig is a graduate of Northwest Baptist Seminary at ACTS and a graduate of Asia Graduate School of Theology with a Doctor of Intercultural Studies. His study has focused on diaspora missiology in Canada.  His dissertation explores the potential for revitalizing Canadian churches through the practice of biblical hospitality with refugees and immigrants. Craig loves to watch sports, work in the yard & spend time in the woods.