“TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH”
Psalm 72:8
The phrase “to the ends of the earth” from Psalm 72:8 captured Bill Prankard’s heart in the mid-1970s, and he realized the need to reach people living in the far north. Since that time, BPEA has focused its mission efforts on northern Canada’s First Nations communities, and Inuit living in the vast Arctic regions.
The Canadian North:
Since 1972 BPEA has ministered in the Canadian north, sharing the Gospel and funding the establishment of First Nations and Inuit churches, mentoring believers, and developing pastors and leaders. In 2014 we launched Arctic Hope, a spiritually-based program aimed at eradicating the epidemic of suicide in northern communities by bringing hope and healing to this broken generation, addressing the issues of past trauma and abuse, and providing prayer and counseling.
As part of the Arctic Hope program, Champions of Hope teams have been raised up, to evangelize in targeted communities followed by on-going discipleship and leadership training to equip and prepare present and future leaders and help them to become positive influencers in their communities. To learn more or apply to be part of a team, visit our Champions of Hope page.
Jacob Walda with a "Champions of Hope" team
Arctic Russia:
In 1993 Bill Prankard discovered that there were thousands of unreached Inuit (Eskimo) people groups scattered across the vast, remote and isolated Arctic Russian tundra. Many of them still lived nomadically, following the migrating routes of the reindeer herds, and most had never been introduced to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Bill and Gwen Prankard and their combination of Canadian Inuit and Russian team members ventured into this forbidding territory, traveling by tundra tank vehicles, tundra trucks, helicopters, and even reindeer sleighs. Hundreds of lives have been introduced to Christ, and ‘DVD home churches’ were established to ensure that the new believers continued to grow in their faith. In recent years, our Russian missionary, Igor Bogomol, was our hands and feet to lead Russian-only, BPEA-sponsored teams to regularly return to minister and evangelize. However, with the present wartime upheaval, Igor had to flee to safety with his family and his missions were suspended. Pray for the wonderful Inuit believers who are now tasked with reaching their own people for Jesus.
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