Levelling With God
Pastor Shawn's Story
January 2022
Dear Friend,
At one time I thought I was destined to be a politician—perhaps the premier of British Columbia, even—but God and the efforts of His people changed everything.
Today, thousands of others are seeking divine direction in their life. Your gift today can help them find their way.
LEVELLING WITH GOD
Tears filled my eyes as I looked up into the stars, levelling with God.
“Here’s the deal, Lord,” I said. “If You want me to be a preacher, then You better show me the people who believe the stuff that I’ve been finding in this Book.”
“Where are they?” I challenged. “You show me where those people are, and I will start preaching what I’m reading.”
I went to bed smug that night, knowing for sure that instead of being a preacher, I would soon be pursuing my lifelong dream of becoming a politician.
The next day, I got a phone call from my brother. He’d gotten a brochure in the mail about some prophecy meetings and wanted to know if I’d like to come.
Bible prophecy fascinated me, but when I realized these meetings were put on by Seventh-day Adventists, I wasn’t too sure. After all, weren’t those the wackos who ate vegetarian food out of dog food cans?
“Hey, we could at least go and heckle the preacher,” my brother prodded. Those were just the words that this argumentative political science major needed to hear.
I went that first night ready to spar with the young evangelist—and left amazed. The things this energetic preacher was sharing were just what God had been showing me.
Night by night my fiancée Jean and I listened spellbound, our jaws sometimes almost dropping to the ground. Could it be that God had a people who truly followed all of the Bible?
At the conclusion of those meetings, in spite of our family’s opposition, Jean and I took our stand in the waters of baptism—and we haven’t looked back since.
BECAUSE OF THEM
But what would have happened if my brother had never received that brochure? What would have happened if those meetings never took place? I shudder at that thought. Because of the energy, because of the determination, because of the financial support of a body of believers in Victoria, British Columbia, Jean and I learned a message that has radically changed our lives.
Today, in a city not far from you, someone not too different from Jean and me is seeking for truth. They’re dissatisfied with what they’ve been taught and want something more. Is God calling you to be His hands and feet to reach them?
Since that pivotal series nearly 30 years ago, I’ve devoted my life to reaching out to those who are seeking like I was. Some believers ask me, “Does public evangelism work?”
My answer is unequivocal. “Yes, because it worked for me, and by God’s grace I’ve seen it work throughout the world for nearly 100,000 others, too.”
EXCITING PLANS AHEAD
That’s why I’m so excited about what the Voice of Prophecy is planning for 2023, when we will host a large-scale city-wide campaign in one of Canada’s most secular cities, Calgary.
My full-message series Revelation Speaks Peace will be held at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Canada Olympic Park in April 2023. But before then, lots of work needs to take place.
My team and I have already spent hundreds of hours preparing for this event. Navigating the border during COVID-19 has been challenging, but we’ve already initiated an aggressive plan to meet regularly with the churches of the area. Our early emphasis is prayer and assembling a powerful, Spirit-led leadership team. Later on, we’ll dive deeper into the nuts and bolts of the series.
It takes significant time, planning, and resources to be ready for a series of this magnitude. Calgary isn’t an easy city to work in. Fewer and fewer people there attend church regularly or even call themselves Christians anymore. But God has not called us to do only the easy work. In fact, I believe He delights in demonstrating His power in some of the most spiritually foreboding places in this world.
Will you join me in preparing the soil in Calgary for these important meetings? Your donation today will enable us to continue the aggressive work we’re doing, helping us sow the seeds for the great harvest we’re planning for in 2023.
A PERSONAL PROJECT
This project is intensely personal to Jean and me. Not only are we bringing Revelation Speaks Peace back home to the country it began in, but much of Jean’s family lives in the Calgary area. As we pray for these meetings, we’re not just praying for people in general. There are names, there are faces, there are lives of those we love whom we want to reach for the kingdom.
Right now in Calgary, social media campaigns are actively seeking would-be Bible students, and teams of pastors, Bible workers, and lay people are actively reaching out to their neighbours with study request cards. The reports we’re receiving are exciting. The Holy Spirit is on the move, doing something in this city that perhaps it’s never seen before.
Much work is still ahead. Though the evangelistic meetings are over a year away, there are dozens of steps still to accomplish. Bible study enrolment cards will be mailed out next month, a student literature evangelism team will blitz the city this summer, and recruitment and training events will continue up until the series begins.
Beyond the work, financing such a large-scale event is no small feat, either. Renting the Markin MacPhail Centre, covering the city with enrolment cards, mounting a large advertising effort, holding multiple training events—altogether, we’re looking at costs of approximately $500,000 for this series.
OUR OPPORTUNITY
If you read the headlines from Calgary, it’s clear that tension is in the air. Anger and dissatisfaction are boiling to the surface. Whether it be the pandemic, the economy, or the crime in the streets, people are frustrated, and they’re looking for answers—they’re looking for hope.
Voice of Prophecy Canada family, this is our opportunity to bring hope to a city that’s desperate for it.
Please send your gift today. Together, let’s reach men and women who, like I was, are wistfully looking up to heaven for answers and hope.
May God bless you as you extend His arms to those He’s longing to save.
Your brother in Christ,
Shawn Boonstra
Speaker/Director
P.S. Your tax-deductible gift today will reach seeking men and women in Calgary and beyond. Will you join me in this critical mission of hope?
Your donation provides:
- Hope: For thousands who are on the brink of hopelessness
- Peace: For those confused with the world around them
- A Future: In Jesus for those who will heed His call