Back to Ottawa

I had the privilege of going to Peace Tower Church in Ottawa, to follow up preliminary discussions with their associate pastor Jonathan Hutchison, about campus ministry in Ottawa. I wrote about my October visit to the Capital City in a previous blog.

Jonathan has been released by his church to commit several days per week on the campus of Carleton University, which has tremendous possibilities. Educated at the University of Manchester, in the U.K., he has a rare combination of smarts, passion and depth for someone who has yet to see his thirtieth birthday. He has a deep burden to “Reach the U”



I spent Sunday evening with his Young Adults group, where I shared a message about what I had learned through the life and death of David ( see earlier blogs), who at 22 was their peer.

On Monday morning we had a mini-summit that involved some key players around the proverbial table where we discussed campus ministry in Ottawa. This meeting connects to my role as a ‘catalyst; bringing together the right ingredients in order to bring about the right result. That includes the right people, churches and resources.


So, in addition to Jonathan and myself, who was there ? For starters, my “boss” George Werner, the director of Mission Canada. George has a deep and personal interest in campus ministry. It dates back to when he was a student at Carleton and found that there was next to no spiritual support for him when he needed it most Jeff Hillier, the church ministries director for the Eastern Ontario District was there. He is the guy who is responsible to oversee campus ministry for the District. Brian Egert, the regional presbyter for Ottawa and a champion of campus ministry steered the meeting. Marvin Sinclair is the Young Adults pastor for Woodvale Pentecostal Church. Others sent their regrets.


I am not built for meetings. However, this one was really rewarding. We each brought something to the table that should help us launch something of significance in Ottawa.


Here without an attempt at prose are some point form things we discussed.


 It was clear that there was a need for an initiative in Ottawa.


Two major universities ( Carleton and University of Ottawa ) and a large College ( Algonquin).


The question is how to bring the District and the area churches on board, while allowing PTC to spearhead the initiative.

• the history of campus ministry in Ottawa.

• Interchurch cooperation in Ottawa

• The nature of each of the institutions.

• History of PAOCcampus ministry in Canada.

I shared my own analogous story in BC. I was in a situation similar to Jonathon.


We reviewed the C5 Model and its applicability to the current situation.

• Agreed that it was important to find the right person and to resource him/her

• Also agreed that at this point, Jonathan is ‘the guy’ . Both he and PTC are strategically situated to spearhead the initiative.

Jonathon and the youth/young adult pastors have built up strong network of trust and relationships.


We could get something up and running by September if we made sure to bring people into the loop. Nothing is a "done deal" but we are off to a great start.


We need to follow up next month by ensuring that we get things up and running in time to start in September. The first month is critical.


What is important to all of us is effectiveness and sustainability. Ottawa is in a good position to do something significant in campus ministry over the next decade.