History of Edmonton, Canada (2005 – 2014)


Romans 1:5; Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith

Preface

In 2014 David Chang contributed this article and photo gallery. Edmonton

Main

2005 – Missionary Noah & Missionary Grace Chang from the Anam UBF in Korea received God’s direction to pioneer the University of Alberta (U of A) in Edmonton, Canada. Although they were already in their 50s and were well established in Korea, they accepted God’s calling in Canada and decided to live as lay missionaries.  Their daughter Deborah Chang entered U of A. Their son David Chang had just finished his undergraduate study in Toledo, USA and joined the pioneering ministry in Edmonton. They arrived in Canada on August 2, 2005. They started a pioneering ministry in their small apartment near U of A campus.

2006 – In May 2006, God granted us a house which would be used as a Bible house, El Bethel. We made our basement the worship service room. We went fishing more actively and invited students to Bible study. Several Canadian students started 1:1 Bible study, but after studying the Bible few times, they stopped coming. It was discouraging, but we held onto God’s calling to serve the University of Alberta students. We finished studying Genesis and started studying the John’s Gospel throughout the year. 

2007 – Missionary Noah, Missionary David & Missionary Deborah Chang and our Bible student Fred Hu (U of A genetics student back then) attended Canadian Summer Bible conference. We were glad that Fred could attend this conference and we could meet Bible students and coworkers from all over Canada. In September 2007, Missionary David Chang entered the MBA program at U of A to serve students more closely. 

2008 – God sent us another family, Missionary Matthew & Best Sumibcay and their 5 children from UK to serve the mission with us. They were originally from the Philippine UBF.  It was a great encouragement to have them as coworkers.

2009 – In May, Missionary David Chang finished his MBA by God’s grace. Also in May, we hosted Canadian UBF staff conference in Alberta. It was held in Canmore, Alberta, surrounded by Rocky Mountains. It was such an honor for us to host this event with precious servants of God including Mother Sarah Barry and Dr. John Jun. On August 29, God established a house church between Missionary David Chang and Missionary Esther Chang who was from Kyungsung UBF in Korea. It was a great work of God. Missionary Esther stayed in Korea to finish her PhD study in Korea. 

2010 – In February, Missionary Esther Chang came to Canada as a permanent missionary so Missionary David and Esther officially established a house church in Edmonton. In April, Missionary Matthew & Best’s family moved to Saskatchewan because of a new job. It was very sad to send them away but it was God’s direction for them to pioneer Saskatchewan. In 2010, we also registered ourselves as a student group at the University of Alberta. We started our Sunday worship service on campus. It was a great new beginning.

2011 – It was a very historic year for the Edmonton UBF. God sent several precious Bible students. Especially God expanded sisters’ ministry. Praise God!

In March, God granted a baby girl, Daniella Yesl to Missionary David & Esther Chang’s house church. It was the birth of 3rd generation missionary. We were very excited. In the same year, Missionary Noah Chang was ordained as the pastor along with some of Canadian UBF directors. 

In summer, God sent Miso Kim, a second generation from the Sudan UB,F to Edmonton as she was entering U of A. During the year, God sent several new Bible students. Among them are Jie (U of A graduate student) and Arnold (PhD student). They were very faithful to Bible study and worship service. We thanked God for sending them. 

It was a significant year in that we had our first Summer Bible conference. It was held in Canmore, Alberta surrounded by the breathtaking view of Canadian Rockies. Although many students were away during the summer, several precious Bible students attended. It was a humble gathering but God really blessed it. The theme was ‘Jesus came to call the sinners.’ We thank God for granting us to have the conference.

In the fall, we studied the Luke’s Gospel. God really blessed it and touched the hearts of the students to get to know Jesus through the Luke’s Gospel. Thank God!

2012 – At the beginning of the year 2012, Missionary David Chang took over the position of the director from Pastor Noah Chang. It was a big responsibility for him. It was by God’s grace alone. It was a wonderful succession and made the ministry young.

God continued to send Bible students. We had been praying for 20 Sunday Worship Service attendants and God finally answered that prayer topics in 2012. We were very thankful and overwhelmed by God’s grace to use our humble Edmonton UBF as a mission station for U of A campus students.

During the summer, all Western Canadian UBF chapters together had the first united summer Bible conference in Valemount, British Columbia. At first, it did not seem feasible because of the distances among the western UBF chapters. But God helped us to find Valemount which was a great location. The theme of the conference was “Whom shall I send?” based on Isaiah 6. From the Edmonton UBF, Jie and Arnold shared life testimony. Missionary David delivered a message. To me, having this kind of united conference felt like a dream. Surely God makes everything possible. Through this conference, I saw a great vision and hope of God for the Western Canada. Praise God! In the fall, Petra Lee, a second generation from the Calgary Evanston UBF joined our ministry as she entered U of A as a freshman. We pray for her spiritual growth. We thank God for sending precious Bible students and second generations to our ministry and raising them up as spiritual leaders. Amen

2013- Miso Kim, Petra Lee, David and Esther attended the International Summer Bible conference in Indiana University, PA USA. It was a good refreshment of God's words.

In the beginning of the Fall semester, we participated in the clubs fair at the University of Alberta. Meris Liborio (freshman back then) signed up for Bible study and faithfully studied the Bible and attended worship service. Also Kit Christopher started studying the Bible.

2014 - There was 2nd Western Canada UBF Summer Bible conference. The theme was 'Dry bones, Hear the word of God.' based on Ezekiel 37. Meris Liborio, Petra Lee and Chris Gu shared life testimony. David and Arnold served as the messenger. God blessed the conference abundantly. Thank God for raising leaders and disciples among Edmonton UBF.

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