Abba Ministries of Canada
A Brief History
Abba Ministries of Canada and its precedents have been in continuous existence since 1978. The formation of our denomination followed the traditional pattern of establishment: a pattern that is as old as Christianity itself, and well documented in St. Paul's letters.
In the beginning, a group of people came together to worship the Lord.
In February of 1978, a Mr. Donald Smiley sponsored a halfway house in St. Catherines, Ontario. The facility was designated for both male and female residents. Smiley prayed, and the Spirit offered guidance, and by early March of '78 the facility was thriving with 18 to 22 people in residence at any one time.
There were many miracles. The Lord provided food for the communal meal on one occasion after 18 people had concluded 'grace' while the cupboards and refrigerator were as bare as Mother Hubbard's. Transport was donated, heating bills paid. And there were many individual healings.
As time passed, folk would often us WHY? Why were necessities provided? Why did we do the work that we did? This presented the group with the opportunity to tell people about Jesus and His ministry; to share our faith in God, our love for our Saviour, and the knowledge that He loves us all. These times grew into impromptu bible studies and times of worship and praise.
More and more people came into contact with the St. Catherines core group and this led to the formation of other churches and various outreach ministries. Questions were asked about 'status' and 'tax receipts' for charitable donations and this led the founding members to explore the possibility of denominational status here in Canada.
The recognition of our Abba Ministries of Canada by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency as a Federal charity led to its incorporation in 1998. Denominational status was granted to us by Ontario shortly thereafter. British Columbia followed in 2002, then Nova Scotia in 2003.
Those who have joined Abba Ministries of Canada come from diverse backgrounds but all share a common passion for the Lord. It is Abba's goal wherever possible to strive to work with other ministries and denominations, as a community of faith, to stand together in reaching out to all segments of the community to help serve those we can as best we can. For those of us within Abba, the critical word is 'service': just as our Lord served, so must we, and as Jesus reached out to all without exception with His teaching, healings and program of open commensality then so must we reach out.
At the beginning of 2005 Abba Ministries of Canada is Spirit led on a path that will lead us to become more professional, more inclusive and absolutely dedicated to the deceptively simple program of Jesus of Nazareth: love Almighty God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself. Please join us in prayer and meditation so that Abba Ministries of Canada can continue to grow from its humble beginnings, beyond the three provinces it touches today, to cover Canada countrywide from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts and then beyond. Join us and become true disciples of Jesus of Nazareth.