A right of passage for most of us has been the annual commemoration of the day we entered this world – otherwise known as a birthday party! It is no different for us in the AGC. This year we are turning 100! We will celebrate at our National Conference in Ottawa, and we will party – sort of! Celebrations recognize important events like a birthday, an anniversary, or a special graduation. Friends and family gather to give thanks for the person or event they are celebrating. Around the world, in most cultures, celebrations like these always include food and gifts.

As we celebrate this 100th anniversary, we want to celebrate:

We celebrate and give thanks for God’s faithfulness to those early AGC pioneers who stepped out in faith to uphold the authority of the Word of God in a time of cultural shift and diminishing biblical authority.

We celebrate and give thanks for the faithfulness of those many unnamed men and women who served to strengthen the association in its early years as Sunday School teachers and youth leaders, which led to many becoming vocational pastors, missionaries, and Christian workers worldwide. By the early 1960s, more than 325 missionaries were supported by AGC churches. Many others came to Christ and had vocational calls to ministry confirmed through the ministry of Fair Glen Youth Camp and Fair Havens Bible Conference weeks.

We celebrate that Jesus is still calling us to participate in sharing the Gospel and witnessing its transformative power in an ever-darkening land.

Our country has changed dramatically in the past 100 years. Yet the challenges remain, and perhaps they are more complex. We see our culture moving steadily away from a Christian worldview and embracing practices and behaviors that devalue faith and the sanctity of human life. We pray for wisdom in dealing with national issues like MAID (euthanasia), abortion, the immigration and refugee crisis, economic downturns, homelessness, poverty, and a rising mental health crisis. We see the Word of God being challenged more than ever as cultural values replace biblical truth for some. We may be tempted to celebrate the past, ignore the present, circle the wagons, and wait for Jesus to return!

However, there is a different option for us. What has not changed is the spiritual needs of our country. Let us proactively pray for our federal governmental, provincial, and municipal leaders, asking for God's wisdom to govern justly and with equity. Most of all, let us be fervent to pray, asking God for open doors of opportunity as the Apostle Paul did in writing to the church at Colossae, “At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” (Colossians 4:3-4).

A celebration is also an announcement. As we celebrate the AGC's 100th birthday, we are announcing that the message of the Gospel, the hope of salvation, is still available to all who come. And yes, there will be cake and balloons!!

Happy 100th birthday, AGC!

Rev. Bill Allan,

AGC President

A Legacy of Blessing: It’s Time to Celebrate!