Spread Life 2011

It would have been David’s 24^th birthday. Last year, those of us who mourn his loss wanted to do something on his birthday that captured something of his essence. That is when my wife came up with the idea of doing creative acts of kindness in his memory on his day. Some of his friends added elements to the day that made it particularly meaningful , such as the colour orange ( his color) and wearing flip flops. It embodied things that we knew represented him. We landed on calling the day of creative acts of kindness “Spread Life” which we drew from his final words on Facebook “ I want to run, jump and spread life in this world…”.

Last year, for Spread Life,  my family and and some friends contributed to a clothing giveaway at Lighthouse Church in Wasaga Beach. Other members of our extended family planted orange tulips in all sorts of meaningful places and many other people did a variety of kind acts in memory of Dave and in honour of Jesus.

Setting up...

 This year, we converged on HiWay Pentecostal Church, in Barrie,  to make coffee that we gave away on the waterfront. It was a spectacular day.

Really, no strings attached...?

Of course people wondered why we were giving away coffee and some shied away from our table. However, Jordan did such a great job of inviting people in, and all of the kids took part in explaining the reason for what we were doing with the cards created for the event. There were a number of special, unforgettable moments.

Talking about Spread Life...

In fact, one young woman was standoffish and asking us where the coffee came from and what brand it was. “I’m sorry to be a snob, but I am picky about my coffee”. Jordan just handed her the card and said, That’s ok, we are just celebrating the birthday of our brother, who died. He had a big heart, he loved God and he loved people and this is just the kind of thing he loved to do”. When she looked at the card and heard Jordan’s gentle earnestness, she just melted...... Her eyes filled up with tears and she apologized. As she walked away, holding the Spread Life card and clearly touched, she told Jordan, “You have already made my entire day”.

It was true for others as well. I could tell that once they grasped what this was all about , they were deeply moved. They knew that it was about more than the coffee. It was a sweet, gentle time and before we knew it we were out of condiments, the sky was clouding over, and it was time to go. What we did was small and insignificant, but it was in fact Something. And it was done with prayer and with love. And it was more than worth doing….

For the background see  www.davidpowell.me .

It's our time...

For all of its issues, York ( see earlier blog ) is one of the most influential and far reaching institutions to be found anywhere. Add to its nearly 55,000 students over sixty thousand students at the University of Toronto, twenty thousand plus at Ryerson University and many tens of thousands in other university and college campuses dotted throughout the GTA the opportunity and challenge afforded is almost overwhelming…

As I think and pray about the campus, the words reverbrate through my soul. I am NOT OK with this! I am not ok with the way things are. I AM NOT OK!  I can't be.

The reason I dove into coordinating this work is not only due to my experience but because I honestly believe that it is time for our Fellowship to weigh in.. big time.

So, let's make it clear. I am talking about the PAOC. Many are those who are shocked to find that we do campus ministry. They are even more shocked that we often do it really well. More shocked still to find that we are doing it all over the country.

Allow me to be bold enough to say the words that have been alive in my heart for several years.


It’s our time. The time is now.


This could sound like arrogance. I pray not. It is an emerging sense  of responsibility and role. It is the recognition of an opportunity - a word often used to translate a meaningful greek NT word 'kairos'.  The ancients recognized 'kairoi' as key hinge moments that determined 'fate'. It corresponds to the English sense of 'timing' or 'season', which is an opportune time which demands a response.

Yet, here is an honest assessment. We don’t do it well enough.


We can do more and/or better. We must. When I walk through the huge institutions that swallow our young like Molech of old, I am physically affected. I am not being overly dramatic, here. I feel the weight of the challenge.  


 Institutions like York rise like Goliath and loudly taunt God’s people to do something. Anything.....

The assumption is that the parachurch organizations which  continue to serve us so well have it all taken care of. Yet, on almost all campuses across the nation there are less than three percent of the student population involved in a Christian group of any kind whatsoever. In many places it is much less. Much, much less.....

Add in all of the other worthy groups and organizations involved in campus ministry in our nation to our own efforts and the truth be told... all of our combined efforts fall stunningly short of what is needed.

We have a challenge and an opportunity before us. Engage the campus. Do it with the experience and resources we have as a movement. Whether it is planting churches, providing chaplains, starting student clubs, developing church ministries that actually reach out onto campus and/or developing commercial projects that reach the campus , we can leverage the experience of those who have done it well and who are still growing.

I believe we can have it all. Intellectual integrity. Biblical and theological soundness. And the power of the Holy Spirit. We can do it in a way that is contextually aware, creative and that reveals the servant heart of Jesus. To my mind this is 'normative' Christianity.

What we cannot do is be OK with the way things are...