Canada District Council of the PAW Men's Retreat 2018

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World has been in Ontario since the late 1960’s. However, there was only one Canadian Church in the organization. This church was the Emmanuel Pentecostal Church in Mississauga Pastored by the late District Elder Hubert Mitchell and the late Evangelist Caroline Mitchell. In 1977, October 26-29, The New York State and Ontario District Council for the very first time held its 132nd Council setting outside of the United States. The meeting was held at Alhambra United Church in Toronto, hosted by Elder and Evangelist Mitchell, and with Bishop William Crossley as the Chairman. It was a historical and exiting event. About 15 years later more churches became affiliated with New York Sate and Canada Council. In early 1992 Suffragan Bishop Edgar Wilson (then Pastor Wilson), desiring an affiliation with an organization of repute and through discussion with Bishop Robert Jones of Syracuse, contacted the PAW New York State Council. In July 1993 a delegation from CornerStone House of Refuge went down to Binghamton NY to meet with the Diocesan Bishop Charles Davis. As a result a delegation from the New York Council including: District Elder Leon Williams, District Elder Alvin Nelson, and Elder Errol O’Savio met with the members of CornerStone House of Refuge Apostolic Church in Ottawa. The result would be CornerStone House of Refuge Apostolic Church joining the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World in August 1993. Through the influence of Suffragan Bishop Wilson, Kingdom Life Ministries also joined the PAW in March 2000. By the year 2002, there were six Ontario Churches in this council: Emmanuel Pentecostal Church, CornerStone House of Refuge Apostolic Church (August 1993), Eternal Life Apostolic Ministries (August 1995), Kingdom Life Ministries (March 2000), Hamilton Deliverance Church of Jesus Christ (July 2001) and True Light Apostolic Church. As a result in June 2002, the Executive Board of the New York State and Canada Council under the leadership of Bishop Charles Davis passed a resolution to create as District Five the churches within Canada, assigning Suffragan Bishop Carl Lewis as Overseer of the District. On October 26, 2002 the first District Executive Meeting was held in Hamilton, Ontario. In attendance were Suffragan Bishop Carl Lewis, District Elder Edgar Wilson, District Elder Hubert Mitchell, Pastor Barrington Smith, Pastor George Tulloch, Pastor Timothy McPherson and Pastor Ralph Morris. At this meeting the following officers were appointed for our District; District Elder Wilson, Chairman; Elder Tulloch, Vice-Chairman; Elder Smith, Secretary; and Elder McPherson, Treasurer. The foundation for a Canadian Council was now in place. In March 2004 at a New York State and Canada District Council Meeting in New York, the Executive Board met and decided to select Suffragan Bishop Carl Lewis as the Council’s recommendation for the future Bishop of Canada. With this new development, a meeting was convened on May 22nd 2004 in Kingston, Ontario with the goal of building a framework for the Canadian Council. In attendance were Pastors, Elders, Ministers, Evangelists and other key members from the churches of our district. This was a very productive and successful meeting. A template was now in place for a PAW Council in Canada. In the 2007 Summer Convention in Nashville Tennessee, The Executive Board of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World established the Canada District Council as its 55th Episcopal District. Bishop Carl Lewis was consecrated as the first Bishop of Canada in the convention. After many years of waiting and planning, the Canada District Council was a reality. In May 2008 District Elder Wilson was consecrated as the first Suffragan Bishop of this new council. In August 2008, after a very short tenure, Bishop Lewis left our Council to take over the role of Diocesan of the New York State Council. With Canada in need of a Bishop, Bishop Mark Tolbert was elected and consecrated as the 2nd Bishop of Canada in the 2009 Summer Convention in Atlanta Georgia Today, the Canada Council stands poised for victory with thirteen churches as of January 2015; Ten in Ontario, One in Quebec, One in Florida and One in New York. We believe that with God as our guide and with a mind to build, the Canada District Council will become a great army for God’s Kingdom in this great Pentecostal Organization.