Christian Leadership Archives - MCS Canada's Pentecostal Christian Leadership College Tue, 24 Mar 2026 22:57:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 206116961 The Experiment is Working: Update from President Martini https://mcs.edu/spring-update/ Mon, 23 Mar 2026 17:50:20 +0000 https://mcs.edu/?p=21934 From significant student growth to an exciting announcement, President Martini shares how God is moving—and how you can be part of what's next.

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Spring 2026 update from Dr. Jeromey Martini | President of Master’s College & Seminary and Horizon College & Seminary

Dear friends,

Two years ago, Horizon College & Seminary and Master’s College & Seminary stepped into something bold—an “experiment” of partnership.

Today, the results are clear: the experiment is working.

We are glad to report that at the end of this year, we have just shy of 300 students. Next year, we will surpass that. This represents significant growth compared to where both institutions stood prior to the partnership.

Even more encouraging is the strength of recent first-year intakes. Over the past two years, incoming new student numbers have been strong, positioning the institution for continued momentum in the years ahead.

A National Movement: The Rise of Hubs

One of the most exciting developments has been the expansion of Church Hubs—local learning communities connected to the colleges.

In just two years, Hubs have spread from Newfoundland to British Columbia, creating a truly national footprint. And the growth isn’t slowing down.

In fact, this movement is still in its early adopter phase, with significant opportunity ahead. Churches and communities across the country are invited to become part of this expanding network.

Church Hubs Canada map

Successful Seminary Pathways

This season also brings exciting developments in seminary programming:

Heather Tomes, Counselling Programs Coordinator

Heather Tomes, MA in Pastoral Psychotherapy Program Coordinator

Doubling Impact

In an unprecedented step forward, a very generous donor has introduced an incredible matching grant opportunity. When you make a donation to Horizon or MCS:

  • First-time gifts will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $200,000.00
  • Increased giving from current donors will also be matched!

This means every new dollar given has double the impact—fuelling student training, program development, and national expansion.

Thank you for your support!

Looking Ahead

This partnership began as an experiment. Today, it stands as a testimony.

With growing enrolment, expanding reach, and new opportunities on the horizon, the future is full of possibility.

Church Hub students

The mission continues—and there is room for YOU to be part of it!

1. Apply today to become part of our growing student body, or shoulder-tap the person you know who has leadership potential.

2. Church leaders, explore what it could look like to become a Church Hub and help train up the leaders in YOUR congregation!

3. Give a donation that will double your dollar to help us train competent Christian leaders for Canada.

Dr. Jeromey Martini Saskatoon

With the church, for the church.

Dr. Jeromey Martini, President
Master’s College & Seminary and Horizon College & Seminary

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]]> 21934 Imagine If We Could Eliminate Canada’s Leadership Pipeline Crisis https://mcs.edu/shift-the-leadership-trend/ Wed, 26 Nov 2025 22:22:53 +0000 https://mcs.edu/?p=21390 "Friends, this is a pivotal moment for the Church in Canada. God is stirring hearts. Young people are responding..."

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By Dr. Jeromey Martini | President of Master’s College & Seminary |

President Martini writing a letter

Dear friends,

According to the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Church will need 625 new senior pastors every year for the next 20 years, just to keep pace with retirement and natural turnover. And that doesn’t include associate pastors, missionaries, church planters, or other vital ministry leaders who serve our communities.

Imagine if we could eliminate this leadership pipeline crisis…

If you are leading a church in Cardinal, Ontario and need a children’s pastor, you shouldn’t have to hope someone uproots their life to move across the country. What if you could raise up someone who’s already sitting in your pews?

Or if you were living in Simcoe, and learned that you need a part-time staff member, who would you find to readily fill in?

Church Hub Leaders

What if there were trained leaders, local leaders, ready to step up to enter these roles with confidence?

And imagine this:

Your church not only receives leaders but sends them. When God calls someone from your congregation to serve elsewhere, you release them with joy because you helped prepare them.

These aren’t hypothetical scenarios. They’re real stories, happening today through Master’s College & Seminary and our growing number of church-based training hubs across Canada. Together with local congregations, we are confronting the leadership gap head-on, helping the Church to not only survive, but flourish.

A Biblical Pattern of Flourishing

Two people gathering in a field

In many translations of the Bible, the word flourish means to multiply.

In Genesis, God says, “be fruitful and flourish.” He promises Abraham that his descendants will flourish. Luke used the same idea to describe the explosive growth of the early church, even in seasons of pressure and hardship. When circumstances have suggested the church should shrink, it has grown.

We believe Canada is entering such a season again.

A Surprising Shift in Canadian Faith Trends

For decades, especially since the 1990s, Canadian church engagement has declined and attendance has thinned. “Regular” involvement shifted from multiple touch-points a week to perhaps one Sunday a month. Belief and participation waned.

But now, something unexpected is happening.

Recent Canadian research shows a renewed openness to faith conversations. Interest among 18–34 year olds has nearly doubled in the last few years. Young adults are choosing Christ, and their faith is more intentional, personal, and resilient. Similar renewals are happening in the US and UK as well. 1

Canada Christian student

“For the first time in decades, younger adults–Gen Z and Millenials–are now the most regular churchgoers, outpacing older generations, who once formed the backbone of church attendance.” 2

But increasing attendance does not automatically form disciples. 3 Faith must be formed. Hearts must be shaped. Minds must be sharpened.

Since 1939, our mission has never changed. Ever since MCS began, we have existed to prepare leaders for the Church.

A Growing, National Movement

Serving the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, MCS has expanded our partnerships and our national footprint:

  • Forming a strategic partnership with Horizon College & Seminary in Saskatchewan
  • Building relationships with churches from Newfoundland to British Columbia
  • Supporting 100+ church-based training hubs raising leaders from within their own congregations
Church Hubs Canada map

We’re not scaling to keep pace with culture, we’re scaling to keep pace with God!

Where You Come In

You may have influence, or perhaps affluence. Maybe both.

Your influence matters. A simple conversation that says “I see something in you,” can redirect the trajectory of a young life. Many leaders begin with exactly that moment.

Your affluence matters too. As Canadians, we are resourced, and God calls us to steward that well. When we expanded our partnership with Horizon last year, we deliberately lowered tuition to reduce the burden on students, even though the cost of delivering high-quality theological education continues to rise.

Supporting over 100 churches as they develop leaders is not inexpensive. But we are not asking for support to construct a building, because our churches already have buildings.

We are asking you to build leaders.

Will you join what God is doing?

This is a pivotal moment for the Church in Canada. God is stirring hearts. Young people are responding. Churches are awakening to their role in raising local leaders.

Together, we can eliminate the leadership pipeline crisis and see a generation of disciples flourish.
Dr. Jeromey Martini Saskatoon

Thank you for investing in this mission.

Dr. Jeromey Martini, President
Master’s College & Seminary and Horizon College & Seminary

1 Dr. Rhiannon McAleer and Dr. Rob Barward-Symmons. Bible Society. “The Quiet Revival”, April 7, 2025. https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/research/quiet-revival

2 Barna Group. “Young Adults Lead Resurgence in Church Attendance.” State of the Church Initiative with Gloo, September 2, 2025. https://www.barna.com/research/young-adults-lead-resurgence-in-church-attendance/

3 Kinnaman, David. Quoted in “Young Adults Lead Resurgence in Church Attendance.” Barna Group, State of the Church Initiative with Gloo, September 2, 2025. https://www.barna.com/research/young-adults-lead-resurgence-in-church-attendance/

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]]> 21390 What does the PAOC believe? https://mcs.edu/soet-videos/ Thu, 17 Jul 2025 14:09:56 +0000 https://mcs.edu/?p=20536 The SOET Videos: A Resource for Churches and Pastors In a time when clarity around doctrine and theology is more needed than ever, the Statement of Essential Truths (SOET) videos offer pastors and churches a valuable tool for teaching, discipleship, and leadership development. What are the SOET Videos? In [...]

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The SOET Videos: A Resource for Churches and Pastors

In a time when clarity around doctrine and theology is more needed than ever, the Statement of Essential Truths (SOET) videos offer pastors and churches a valuable tool for teaching, discipleship, and leadership development.

What are the SOET Videos?

In 2023, Dr. Jeromey Martini, Dr. Andrew Gabriel, and Dr. Carmen Kampman shared a 4-week series preaching through the Statement of Essential Truths (SOET) from the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC).

Special thanks to Pastor Rob Shepherd, Pastor Matt Redstone and the technical teams at Westside Pentecostal Church and OneChurch for making these videos available!

SOET preachers
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada

There are 5 videos. Two sections were combined per sermon (excluding the section on the Church). Each sermon is approximately 30 minutes.

  • Video 1: Overview – Dr. Jeromey Martini
  • Video 2: Triune God and Bible – Dr. Andrew Gabriel
  • Video 3: Salvation and Spirit Baptism – Dr. Jeromey Martini
  • Video 4: The Church – Dr. Carmen Kampman
  • Video 5: Creation and Restoration – Dr. Jeromey Martini

Use the SOET videos for:

  • Personal growth and understanding

  • Sunday school or midweek study series
  • Membership or baptism classes
  • Leadership training modules
  • Youth or young adult Bible studies

  • Church board orientation

Access the Videos

Get the video links sent right to your inbox! Sign up is free. We just need your name and email address.

Video 1: Overview

Dr. Jeromey Martini (32 minutes)

Dr. Jeromey Martini provides an overview of the PAOC’s Statement of Essential Truths, including beliefs about the Triune God, the Bible, creation, salvation, Spirit baptism, the Church, and the hope of final restoration.

Courtesy of Matt Redstone, OneChurch, Carlyle, SK

Video 2: Triune God and Bible

Dr. Andrew Gabriel (27 minutes)

Explore the core beliefs of the PAOC concerning the Triune God and the Bible. Dr. Gabriel unpacks what it means to worship One God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and why the Bible is central to Pentecostal faith and practice.

Courtesy of Rob Shepherd, Westside Pentecostal Church, Saskatoon, SK

Video 3: Salvation & Spirit Baptism

Dr. Jeromey Martini (32 minutes)

Take a close look at the foundational beliefs of Salvation through Jesus Christ and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Dr. Martini shares what it means to be saved by grace through faith, and how Spirit baptism empowers believers for Christian life and mission.

Courtesy of Rob Shepherd, Westside Pentecostal Church, Saskatoon, SK

Video 4: The Church

Dr. Carmen Kampman (26 minutes)

Dr. Kampman explains what it means to be the body of Christ, united by the Spirit, and highlights the Church’s central role in God’s mission in the world. This teaching offers a clear and inspiring look at the nature, purpose, and calling of the Church in Pentecostal theology.

Courtesy of Rob Shepherd, Westside Pentecostal Church, Saskatoon, SK

Video 5: Creation & Restoration

Dr. Jeromey Martini (30 minutes)

What does the Bible say about the beginning—and the end—of the world? In this video, Dr. Jeromey Martini teaches how the biblical story begins with God’s good creation, unravels through human sin, and moves toward God’s ultimate plan to redeem and restore all things through Christ. This teaching highlights the hope we have in God’s renewing work—both now and in the new creation to come.

Courtesy of Rob Shepherd, Westside Pentecostal Church, Saskatoon, SK

We’ll email you the video links for easy access! Sign up is free. Just enter your name and email address.

Final Thoughts

Doctrine matters—not just for theologians, but for the life and health of the local church. The SOET videos equip pastors and churches to teach what the PAOC believes, why we believe it, and how those truths shape the way we live and lead.

Whether you’re a pastor looking for a trustworthy teaching tool or a church leader wanting to better understand your theological foundations, the SOET videos are a gift worth using.

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]]> 20536 Am I really using my Bible Schooling? https://mcs.edu/using-bible-schooling/ Mon, 07 Jul 2025 22:35:56 +0000 https://mcs.edu/?p=20444 In "ministry" or not, what you learned in Bible college makes a difference. At some point, almost every post-secondary alumni will ask themselves, "Am I really using my schooling?" And the Bible college graduate might ask, "Am I really using my schooling if I'm not working in a church [...]

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In “ministry” or not, what you learned in Bible college makes a difference.

At some point, almost every post-secondary alumni will ask themselves,

“Am I really using my schooling?”

And the Bible college graduate might ask,

“Am I really using my schooling if I’m not working in a church or ministry?“

If that thought has crossed your mind, let me reassure you — you are not alone, and you are not failing.

More than a Job Title

Part of our vision here at MCS is to prepare leaders who are equipped for Spirit-empowered life and ministry.

That doesn’t mean you need to have a pastoral job the moment you graduate. The truth is, our education is meant to transform you, not just to train you for a ministry-specific role.

Whether or not you work in a church, if your life has been shaped and deepened during your time pursuing the knowledge of Christ, then chances are you are using your Bible school experience well.

Keldy Regier (Admissions Counsellor for Horizon College & Seminary) says, “I’ve met people who feel embarrassed after Bible school because they didn’t ‘end up in ministry.’ They think, I guess I’m not really using what I learned. But that’s just not how this works.”

Ministry is a Lifestyle

There are so many ways to live out what you’ve gained in Bible college. Whether you’re in an office, a classroom, a grocery store, or your own home, you’re carrying with you everything God has done in your heart. And for those of you who do feel the call into ministry — hold onto that. But don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen right away.

Purpose in the Waiting

If you always imagined you’d be in ministry but the door hasn’t opened yet, in those “in-between” times there are real opportunities to witness, serve, and grow. Conversations, attitudes, and everyday actions can all reflect the heart of ministry. Bible college training isn’t wasted in those moments — it’s often much more meaningful than people realize.

bible college student thinking

So if you’re in a job that isn’t what you imagined after graduation, or if your ministry dreams are still just dreams — take heart. You’re not off course. God is still working. You are still growing. Your daily life still impacts eternity and Kingdom purposes.

Bible college isn’t just preparation for a role — it’s preparation for a life that glorifies God in every setting.

Keep going! You’re doing better than you think.

Jayna SniderJayna Snider, Director of Marketing
Master’s College & Seminary, Horizon College & Seminary

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]]> 20444 Is Online Learning Right For You? https://mcs.edu/online-learning-faq/ Fri, 01 Nov 2024 19:30:32 +0000 https://mcs.edu/?p=18236 Distance Education (DE): Answers to Your Top Questions! Thinking about taking Christian college or seminary courses online? It's a great way to earn a degree while balancing work, family, or other commitments. But with so many options swirling around, it can be tough to know where to start. Let's look at [...]

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Distance Education (DE): Answers to Your Top Questions!

Thinking about taking Christian college or seminary courses online? It’s a great way to earn a degree while balancing work, family, or other commitments. But with so many options swirling around, it can be tough to know where to start.

Let’s look at some common questions about online learning with MCS.

Read on to get the answers you need!

Is online learning right for me

What are the benefits of studying online with MCS?

Online learning with MCS offers several benefits, including:

  • Flexibility: Students can participate in classes from anywhere in the world and at times convenient for their schedule.

  • Accessibility: Online learning removes geographical barriers, making theological education accessible to individuals who cannot relocate or have other commitments.

  • Engaging Learning Environment: Despite the distance, MCS strives to create a connected and interactive learning experience through live-stream conversations, discussion forums, and opportunities for student engagement.

  • High-Quality Instruction: Online courses are taught by the same experienced and qualified faculty who teach on campus, ensuring a consistent and high-quality educational experience.

  • Community Building: Online learning facilitates connections between students from diverse locations, enriching the learning environment and fostering a broader community of Christian leaders.

“I am the Associate Pastor at Bethel Pentecostal Assembly and have studied as an online student for the past four years. I am almost at the end of my BRE program, and have a full workload at church. I can’t tell you enough how smooth the transition was to online studying with MCS-Horizon. The orientation videos are amazing, and I love the live-stream classroom interaction. The VOD lessons mean I can watch at a more convenient time for me. As well, I’m taking three courses, and the staggered approach of start and completion dates enables me to better plan my time.”

Barbara Watson, Mature Student

“MCS-Horizon is more personal for online students, and I am thrilled with the experience. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a way to integrate studying into your busy schedule without feeling disconnected.”

Barbara Watson, Mature Student

Is the quality comparable to on-campus instruction?

Yes, MCS maintains the same high standards for its online programs as its on-campus programs. The faculty teaching online courses are the same experienced and qualified professors who teach on campus, ensuring consistency in curriculum, teaching methodologies, and academic rigor.

Can I interact well with my professors and classmates?

Yes, MCS prioritizes interaction and community building in its online courses. Live-Stream classes enable real-time communication with professors and classmates through video conferencing, breakout rooms, and chat features. VOD courses offer interaction through weekly assignments, discussion forums, and opportunities to connect with professors during designated times.

Do I need special equipment for online learning?

All online learning options, including Live-Stream, VOD, and Online Video courses, require reliable high-speed internet access. The Zoom software used for Live-Stream classes is compatible with various devices, including Mac, PC, Android, and iOS devices.

What are some of the differences between the DE options?

Live-Stream courses allow students to attend class virtually via Zoom, while on-campus courses require physical presence at the MCS campus in Ontario or at a Church Hub. However, the quality of instruction, interaction with professors and classmates, and course content remain consistent across both formats. Live-stream students can fully participate in real-time discussions, ask questions, and engage with the learning material just like on-campus students.

VOD (Video On Demand) is a learning option that provides recordings of lectures for students unable to attend live-stream classes. VOD courses offer flexibility, allowing you to learn at your own pace and on your own schedule. However, VOD students are still required to meet deadlines, engage with recordings within specific timeframes, and participate in weekly assignments demonstrating understanding of the material. VOD courses follow the same schedule and syllabus as the on-campus and live-stream courses, allowing for interaction with the specific class and professor recorded.

Online Video courses are entirely separate from the on-campus schedule, offering asynchronous learning through pre-recorded video content and online discussion forums. These courses provide greater flexibility in terms of scheduling and pacing but lack the real-time interaction of Live-Stream or VOD options.

How do I choose the best format for me?

Want to take a DE course? Great! First, you’ll need to apply and be accepted as a student. If you haven’t applied yet, you can do so here.

If you think studying online with us sounds like a good fit for you but you still have questions, talk to our Admissions Counsellor!

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