Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada

The origin of the modern Pentecostal moment goes back to Topeka, Kansas in 1901. In 1910 the movement came to Parkside, Saskatchewan. In 1919, Pentecostals in Saskatchewan joined the Assemblies of God (USA); 1920 saw the establishment of a national paper, The Pentecostal Testimony, in 1925 the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada asked to be released from the Assemblies of God; and in 1926 W.E. McAlister became the first district superintendent of the Saskatchewan District of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. In 1935, Pastor George Hawtin began the Bethel Bible Institute in Star City; in 1937 Bethel moved to Saskatoon; and in 1938 it was sanctioned by the Saskatchewan District. On May 1, 1962, Manitoba and northwestern Ontario joined in sponsorship of the Institute, which was renamed Central Pentecostal College.

Camp meetings and conventions have always played a role in the success of the Saskatchewan District. While camps were held each year in numerous places in Saskatchewan, the official camp for the Saskatchewan District was begun at Manitou Lake in 1942; Living Water Camp is now located on Adamson Lake near Prince Albert. In southern Saskatchewan, Plains Pentecostal Camp was established in 1973 and currently meets in Echo Valley. The Saskatchewan District began an official outreach to First Nations people in 1961 with the appointment of Carson and Jean Latimer as full missionaries; in 1967 Pastor Sam Biro was appointed as full-time director for the First Nations work. Today the Saskatchewan District consists of a Bible College, camps, seventy churches, and missionaries both in Canada and overseas.

Wally Wildman