ELIM CHURCH MARKS 100 YEARS OF WORSHIP
Saskatoon congregation holding centennial anniversary celebrations over four consecutive weekends from Sept. 16-17 to Thanksgiving
On Sept. 16 and 17, Elim Church will launch a four-weekend celebration of the congregation’s 100th anniversary.
Elim Church began in 1917 as a prayer meeting that came out of the 1906-07 Azusa Street Revivals in Los Angeles, which are considered the beginnings of the Pentecostal Church.
A Winnipeg businessman who experienced the revival began conducting evangelism and healing services in Western Canada, and a group of believers grew out of his ministry in Saskatoon. They established a mission work from a storefront building in the 600 block of 20th Street West (now a thrift store parking lot).
“A leader in the early work was J. Eustace Purdie, Canon of St. James Anglican Church,” pastor Marvin Wojda says.
“He experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit and helped form the nucleus of the group that became our church.”
In the early years it was common for itinerant preachers to hold special meetings, and in July 1923, a large tent was erected on a lot across from Bedford Road Collegiate. The meeting held there drew 1,000 people, with many more standing outside.
The first permanent Elim Pentecostal Tabernacle was built in 1927 on a lot behind what is now the Chinese Alliance Church on Idylwyld Drive.
One of the church’s significant outreaches was a radio program, Wonderful Word, which was broadcast on the new CFQC Radio station. “Hundreds, many of them young people and their pastors, shared their talents on the program,” Wojda says. “It was broadcast across the province and many people in rural areas, who weren’t close to any church, listened and considered Elim their church.”
Elim’s congregation grew and its numbers were augmented when Bethel Bible Institute relocated from Star City to Saskatoon in the 1930s. Teachers and students were required to attend Elim.
The Institute later became Central Pentecostal College and, more recently, Horizon College. Wojda says the college introduced many young people to Elim Church and they attracted many more.
In 1959, the old Elim Tabernacle was torn down and a new building (now the Chinese Alliance Church) was constructed next door. During construction, the congregation met in the dining room of Bethel Bible Institute.
In 1967, the television program The Wonderful Life, began broadcasting on CFQC TV and replaced the radio program.
In 1975, under the pastoral leadership of Rev. Michael Horban, a much larger Elim Tabernacle was built on 8th Street and Moss Avenue. This one was designed to seat 1,000, but Wojda says 700 seemed to pack it to the rafters.
“One of the significant ministries of Elim in those years was the bus ministry,” he says. “A fleet of school buses picked up children across the city. Our Sunday School was in the hundreds.”
The 8th Street land was purchased with an eye toward developing seniors’ housing as part of Elim’s ministry to seniors. The three-phase Elim Lodge fulfilled that dream.
The present church on Slimmon Road opened five years ago with 59,000 square feet of ministry space. At that time, the church’s name was officially simplified to Elim Church.
Seniors’ housing continues to be a priority, and Hyde Park View was established adjacent to the new church. It has 100 residential units and is an age-in-place facility with home care.
Elim will begin celebrating its 100th anniversary the weekend of Sept. 16 and 17 with Saturday and Sunday services on the theme 100 Years of Pentecostal Ministry. Guest speaker for the weekend is Dr. Van Johnson, a pre-eminent Canadian Pentecostal historian. Johnson is also president of Canadian Pentecostal Seminary, which is associated with Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto.
On Sept. 23 and 24, the focus will be on 100 years of Elim Missions, “celebrating our engagement in missions around the world,” Wojda says.
Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 will celebrate 100 Years of Worship with a music concert.
On Thanksgiving weekend, Oct. 7 and 8, the church celebrates 100 Years of Ministry with Dr. David Wells, general superintendent of Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Local dignitaries will be present and the church will host a turkey dinner. Tickets for the dinner are $10, available through the church office (306-374-1700).
“If anything has marked Elim Church throughout its one-hundred-year history, it is its willingness to go outside its doors to serve the community and invite people to Christ,” Wojda says.
He cites the Sunday School bus ministry and the radio and television ministries, as well as annual Christmas presentations. In the Slimmon Road location, Elim holds The Big Party every year on Halloween and invites the neighbourhood. Last year’s party drew 1,700.
“It’s an opportunity to reach out to our community,” Wojda says. “We just want to be a good neighbour.”