MINISTRIES AT KAMLOOPS ALLIANCE CHURCH

Since Kamloops Alliance Church had been in the city for a few decades, there were several ministries in existence when we arrived.  There were ladies meetings and men's meetings, the men's gathering was usually a breakfast on a Saturday morning.  There were weekly clubs for boys and girls.  There was a good size young peoples and a good size college and career gathering.  Sunday School had classes for all ages and was fairly well attended.  An adult choir ministered in music every Sunday morning. There was also the periodic adult social evening, that was always enjoyable.  I remember September 1986, when my Mom and Dad were visiting us and they joined in on the fun at a corn roast up Harper Mountain.

Another corn roast in 1989 at Mile High Ranch

There were two associate pastors when I arrived.  One of them was a youth pastor, but he had resigned before I arrived, leaving three or four weeks after my arrival and went as a youth pastor to an Edmonton Alliance church.  Bill Cook continued and served with me for a couple of years.  Kent and Gayle Klassen, interns from Canadian Bible College, served for six months, beginning in the early part of 1986.  These two were a God send, in the absence of a youth pastor, and were dearly loved by the young people.   

In the latter part of the summer of 1986, we hired a youth pastor.  I prefer not to give details here re what happened within about five months of his ministry with us, suffice it to say that he had a moral failure and left town.  Fortunately that was the only time in all of my decades of ministry that I experienced such.  I need to say this to his credit, several years later, when I was no longer living in Kamloops, he phoned me up to say that he was back in fellowship with the Lord and he wanted to apologize and ask for forgiveness for all that he had put us through as a church.

The elders went out of their way to reassure us of their love and support during this time.  Within a few weeks of his departure, the elders sent Leona and me on a ten day, all expense trip for rest and renewal to Palm Springs, California.   We were certainly surrounded by a supportive congregation.  I believe we still have a beautiful letter, somewhere in a box or file folder, which one of the high school students wrote to us, during this ordeal, assuring us of her love.

Our move to Kamloops proved to be quite different for the first few months for Leona.  We only had one car.  We lived up in Aberdeen Hill, some six miles from the church.  Since she was more or less home bound those first few months, I enrolled her in a three year Bible Institute course that Jerry Falwell was offering at his school, Liberty University.  I promised to take her to that school in Lynchburg, Virginia when she graduated.  She soon became busy in the church life and six years later completed all the lessons.  We were no longer at Kamloops when she graduated, but we made it to Liberty University for her graduation in 1992.

Leona receiving her diploma from Jerry Falwell Sr.