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The Beginning

In 1932, two young evangelists came to Langham to hold open air meetings. Through these meetings, Christians were revived and many souls were saved. George W. Elliot (Top picture, on the right) was one of those who were revived. That same summer there was a weekly prayer meeting started that encouraged believers to share their faith and to hand out tracts. Elliot became an enthusiastic witness and tract worker. He would also take teams into Saskatoon to distribute tracts. God blessed this work, with many souls being saved, and Christians becoming eager witnesses. This became a passion for Elliot so much that at his Ford dealership (shown above), shelves which were normally reserved for car parts were taken over by tracts! In 1941, Western Tract Mission was founded by Elliot with 3 staff and 57 members.

The initial desire of Elliot was clear, to see lost souls saved and to have Christians engaged in the missionary work around them. This was primarily through a detailed tract distribution system that would have Christians both equipped and sent out to do this. This system was so effective that at its peak there were over 3500 people who distributed tracts all over Canada and beyond. This caught the attention of believers around the world who set up similar missions efforts for themselves in many other countries.

 

Saskatoon Revival

In 1947, Western Tract Mission moved it’s office to Saskatoon. There would be 3 different office locations within the city before the ministry settled at a location on 33rd St. in 1965. It was at this location, armed with a commercial printing press, that God would use Western Tract Mission to play a key role in the revival that hit Saskatoon in late 1971 (pictures below). An Evangelistic meeting lead by the Sutera twins at Ebenezer Baptist Church was where it all began. What was originally planned as a week event, ended up stretching beyond seven weeks as the Holy Spirit sustained this revival by calling for honesty before God and man. The effects of this revival were reported to reach various parts of Canada. Western Tract Mission was, by God’s timing, equipped to handle the printing for all the revival literature needed at this time. There were such high volumes of literature to print that the presses had to be run 24 hours of the day! There was one pamphlet printed in particular that reported what was happening and this ended up being encouraging believers all over the world (Click here to read “Revival Comes to Saskatoon”)!

 
 

New Name, New direction, Same heart

Over the years, Western Tract mission had other endeavors beyond tracts. Most notably, we were partnered with another ministry to send out mailbox bible studies for both kids and adults. There were also mass mailings conducted that covered many parts of Canada. However, in 2011, director Arnold Stobbe set to gathering young believers to brainstorm how to reach the lost youth of our generation. A number of young people came out and this eventually birthed a weekly prayer meeting that meets to this day. The Lord has really used this prayer meeting for many things, including passing the leadership of Western Tract Mission into the hand of younger leaders. This resulted in a new name (Impact Canada Ministries) and a season of refocusing and rebuilding. As we have sought the Lord’s direction, we have changed a number of the initiatives that we are undertaking. While we still value tracts, but we see them as a tool that can only be useful if there are those who are trained to use them. The best tract in the world is useless if no one is passing it out. From our discernment, we feel that we needed to take a step back and put effort to helping believers understand the need to evangelize and to do what we can to equip them for this necessary work. Tools, such as tracts, will continue to have a place in this ministry but they are our only focus. Foremost, we want to see believer’s heart revived in Christ Jesus to be joyful, passionate, and proclaiming voices in our world.

The desire of Elliot’s heart was to see Christians engaged in the missionary work around them. By the grace of God this happened! Today we have that same desire to see all of the body of Christ in Canada encouraged, equipped, and enabled to share the Good News with those around them. The activities that we carry out today may in some ways look different from the past, yet the objective remains the same. By the grace of God, as we hold to scripture as our foundation, prayer as our heartbeat, and Jesus Christ as our conquering King we will see this happen once again in our generation! May this all be done to the Glory of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!

Want to read more about these and many other stories?

Order the book “Workers Together with God: How God Worked with Ordinary People Over 76 Years”, a 350 page history of Western Tract Mission/Impact Canada. It is available for $25 + shipping.

 

Video: Western Tract Mission’s 20th anniversary in 1961

See some of the old office buildings, many of the people involved at the time, how the process of printing and delivering tracts occurred. Also get a feel for what Saskatoon was like in the ‘60’s from the cars, to the hospital, to the local museum.