By Dale Rose, 1st Vice-President of CBOQ

I had not been in this baptistry for almost 30 years – not since I was the pastor at Lakeside Heights Baptist Church in Pointe Claire, a suburban congregation on the West Island of Montreal. I served as pastor there from 1989 to 1996. As the incoming CBOQ President, I recently traveled to Montreal with members of our executive to meet with churches of the Quebec Association. It was a wonderful day of fellowship, sharing and learning as we listened to the concerns and challenges facing our churches in Quebec. Common themes included language issues; the increasing secularization of culture; new immigrants to Canada; and other challenges coming out of the Covid pandemic. The highlight was a Spirit-filled worship time led by a musical team of young adults from the New Canadian Baptist Church.

As part of our visit, each of our executive members visited a different church in the Montreal area on Sunday. I had the privilege of preaching at my former church. It has undergone many changes over the years. It now consists of 21 different nationalities in Sunday worship, and it continues to reach out to the surrounding community. Imagine my surprise when I was not only invited to preach there, but to conduct a service of believer’s baptism! Lakeside Heights is currently in between pastors and seeking new leadership. I had the honour of baptizing a young adult named Noah. He gave a powerful testimony of God’s love and care for him in the midst of the struggles he has faced in life. Afterwards he gave me a big hug and his face was beaming as he introduced me to his family.

Our regional associate for Quebec, Karen Wong, gave our executive a tour of our Montreal churches, and described some of the meaningful and exciting ministries happening there. We can be grateful to God for our pastoral leaders in Quebec, and for the ongoing ministry of the churches in la belle province.

You can watch the baptism service below.

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