Kangirsujuaq, Nunavik -- a Community in Transformation! Part 2

History of Bible Conferences in Kangirsujuaq

By 1976, Inuit in the Nunavik and in the Eastern Arctic started to encounter the “born again” experience, and in the late 1970s and early 1980s, house meetings developed into local churches, and by 1985, Bible Conferences started to develop that brought together Inuit believers from churches in different communities of the Eastern Arctic Region, both from Baffin Island (which is part of Nunavut), and from Nunavik.  There can be no doubt but that these Conferences have had a transformative effect on some Inuit communities in the North!

Remember, when we use the word “transformation,” we are not saying that these communities are “perfect,” but that they have undergone a marked change from what they were like in the 1960s and early 1970s. 

My First Visit to Kangirsujuaq in December, 1992 

Kangirsujuaq was the very first Inuit village that I ever visited, and this took place in December of 1992.  It was Larry Sault who introduced me, for the very first time, to four Inuit villages along the Ungava Bay, Kangirsujuaq being the first.  By this time, these new “full gospel” churches had just been in existence for 10 or 15 years.

As one can see, church attendance was not as large back then as it is today, but there was still a cross-section of both young and old, praising God whole-heartedly.

They would sing choruses like “There’s a Fire Burning in My Soul!” both in English and in Inuktitut.

I was immediately attracted to the Inuit’s passion for the Presence of God.  I would like to thank Larry Sault for being the instrument that God used to introduce me to the Inuit of Kangirsujuaq back in 1992.  It was the beginning of a journey that I have never regretted!

Bible Conference in Kangirsujuaq in September, 2997

By September of 1997, Larry Sault, then the director of Harvest Field Ministries (which had been started by John Spillenaar) asked me to organize the Bible Conference in Kangiqsujuaq, to which Andy Koornstra as well as David Mainse of 100 Huntley Street had been invited as guest speakers.  The corporate worship was amazing. 

Not only were the children prayed for, but they prayed for the older ones, and ministered by the Spirit of God.  There is no “junior Holy Spirit,” but the children are as capable of being ministers of the new covenant as anyone. 

This young girl was wonderfully set free from a harassing spirit of witchcraft which she had opened the door to in seeking to cope with the suicide of her best friend.  Her deliverance triggered an even greater movement of the Holy Spirit among the youth

During the course of that Conference, they even shut the school down one afternoon in order that the Youth who had been so wounded from a history of brokenness could come to the Youth Service.  The Youth listened with rapt attention.

They responded by spontaneously forming a prayer circle...

...and by kneeling down at the front in order to surrender their lives of Christ!

As mentioned earlier, one of the main speakers at this Conference was David Mainse of 100 Huntley Street.  The community eagerly met him at the Airport upon the arrival of the Charter flight arranged by Harvest Field Ministries. 

Here, David Mainse is preaching with Annie Tertiluk, pastor of the Full Gospel Church in Kangirsujuaq as his translator

And here, some of the Inuit are gathering around this man whom they had seen on television, asking for an autograph!  
One year later, in Iqaluit, Nunavut, I would turn the organizing of these Conferences completely over to the Inuit.  The role of people from the outside would now be to come alongside, to serve, to support and to undergird the Inuit, while Inuit would make the decisions as to the locations and speakers at the Conferences.

Youth Conference in Kangirsujuaq in July of 2010

Between 1997 and 2010, I made several more trips into Kangirsujuaq.  During that time, Canada Awakening Ministries was able to link arms with Island Breeze Manitoba, a ministry that reaches out to indigenous people in a way that encourages the redeeming of the culture to be used to glorify God, the Creator.  By July of 2010, we were privileged to bring a whole team of Island Breezers to Kangirsujuaq, including a Maori brother from New Zealand by the name of Ray Totorewa. 

During that last week of July in 2010, we would have 6:00 a.m. prayer meetings at the top of the mountain overlooking Kangirsujuaq, praying for God to bless each and every sphere of the entire community. 

Ray Totorewa is the one pictured on the right with the brown jacket, praying over the village of Kangirsujuaq in the early morning, joining His heart with the people of the land, the indigenous peoples of Canada's North!

Intercessory prevailing prayer over an entire community is certainly a key to breaking forth of that community into transformation.

Here Ray Totorewa from the indigenous Maori tribe in New Zealand in the southern hemisphere is receiving a protocol gift from Charlie Arngak, representing the community of Kangirsujuaq, and the Inuit nation in the far North! 

A strong connection was made between the North and the South, the Inuit and the Maori, as their journey to freedom has been very similar in coming into their own identity and destiny as a people group!

What a joy it was to see so many of the youth still going on with God, and using their gifts and abilities to glorify God! 

A theme song of the Conference was a song entitled New Sound that was birthed among the Maori in New Zealand, but it applies to all indigenous tribes.  The words declare:  “There’s a new sound in the Nation, a new song on the earth, a shout of freedom is coming to this generation.  There’s a sound from indigenous people, a song that’s from the land, put there by the Creator and being released now, in worship to Jesus, in worship to Jesus, in worship to Jesus, this sound of Praise!”

During the Youth Conference in Kangirsujuaq in July of 2010, Isi Masi of Island Breeze Manitoba used the picture of the bowhead whale hunt that took place near Kangirsujuaq the previous year to illustrate that the Inuit, by their very survival, have demonstrated that they are a brave, courageous, fearless and undaunted people.

They are to use that daring and valiant spirit to fight in the spirit for their families and for their communities to be free from all fear and oppression.

The indigenous people from the South Pacific Islands demonstrate spiritual fervency and the heart of a spiritual warrior...

...and also gracefulness in their dances and songs.  Both expressions reflect something of the image of God into the creation.  The call to the next generation of Inuit was to rise up, to be bold, to be strong, to be very courageous, even as their forefathers were, and had to be even to survive.

Deep heart ties and vital connections were made between the Inuit of Kangirsujuaq in the far North...

...and the indigenous tribes of the South from Fiji, Samoa and New Zealand as they stand together, and understand together, as the descendants of the original peoples of the land.

At both the northern and the southern ends of the earth, the indigenous peoples are finding their voice among the nations of the earth.

Eastern Arctic Healing/Bible Conference in Kangirsujuaq on Easter week-end, March 24 to 28, 2016

The theme of the Conference was Standing in the Glory!

The anointed praise and worship led by Inuit worship leaders of many years, such as James and Looe Arreak, and Johnny Oovaut, brought a heavy weight of God’s Presence into the meetings.  

This caused fears, pressures, anxieties and burdens to be outweighed by the weight of God’s Presence.  

This, in turn, caused freedom and deliverance to come simply by standing in the weighty glory of God which already inhabits every saint.  

The heavenly worship at this Easter week-end Conference in this Inuit community was well described by former mayor and present-day muncipal councillor in Kangirsujuaq, Mary PillPilurtuut who on her Facebook page referred to the worship that was led by James and Looee Arreak.

“ᐅᖓᐹ ᐃᑯᓪᓚᖏᑦᑐᒦᑦ. The time we spent together this weekend was very precious to me and my family."

"ᑐᑦᓯᐊᕕᒻᒥᓗ ᐃᖕᖏᓂᐊᐱᖏᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᑎᑦᓯᓂᖏᓪᓗ ᐱᐅᔪᓪᓚᕆᐊᓘᖃᑦᑕᑑᒃ ᑖᒃᑯᐊ, ᐅᐱᒋᓪᓚᕆᑦᑖᑲ. Worship led by them and their band is truly heavenly.”

Some of the speakers at this Conference are seated here on the opening night, including Eliyassie Sallualuk (from Puvirnituq), David Ellyatt, James Arreak (from Iqaluit), Roger Armbruster (who also brought along Daniel Fewster from Niverville, Manitoba), and then there was a brother from England by the name of Les Wheeldon.

Every service was pretty much packed to capacity, and featured both a strong sense of God's Presence and a hunger for the Word of God.

Les Wheeldon is a powerful teacher of the Word that truly made the scriptures come alive!  He teaches new covenant truths with great clarity in a way that the truth becomes plain and easy to understand, even though it requires a radical change in our thinking to shift from a “condemnation-consciousness” to a “righteousness-consciousness.”  

After his teaching, I was able to confer with him about how beatifully this teaching confirms what the Spirit of God is saying to the church today.

In declaring the knowledge of God’s glory which is spreading on the earth today, Les Wheeldon reminded me of Paul’s words in II Corinthians 3:  

“For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.  Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great plainness (boldness) of speech—unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away…But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Corinthians 3:11-13, 18).

David Ellyatt, director of the Arctic Mission Outreach Trust Fund, also brought a couple of wonderful messages in line with the theme, Standing in the Glory, and also with the Easter week-end theme of the Resurrection!  

Towards the end of the Conference, David together with Les and myself received hats that were locally made by Jessica Arngak.  

The three of us are in total agreement that our heart is to serve, to support and to undergird the indigenous church of Canada’s North.

Both David and myself were greatly honored inasmuch as a special blanket that was prepared by one of the believers in Kargirsujuaq mentions both of us along with our wives Joan and Marge, respectively, among other Inuit leaders who have participated in the transformation taking place in that community.

It was my privilege to have David Fewster, a young man from Niverville, accompany me on this journey to Kangirsujuaq.  There is a strong anointing on his life, and he ministered powerfully during the afternoon Communion Service on Friday, March 25, as he shared a powerful testimony of a person who was healed during Communion.  God was there to confirm the message, and quite a number of people testified to having been healed during the Communion Service that afternoon.  Rhoda Ezekiel from Quaqtaq, Nunavik, was his translator.

Then, on the following afternoon, of Saturday, March 26, Daniel had the afternoon to share his testimony, to teach the word, and to minister to people.  Daniel understands the importance of equipping believers into the work of the ministry.  When he initially called forward people who had pain in their legs, a man by the name of Adamie from Puvirnituq, Nunavik, was the first to respond.  On a scale of 1 to 10, he said his pain was at the level of about an 8.

After Daniel initially prayed for him, the pain diminished to about a 5.  Then he had a young man by the name of Johnny, a grandson of Mark and Annie Tertiluk, who is eager to use His life to bring glory to God, to continue to minister to Adamie.  His pain level went down to about a 2, and then as he continued to pray, the pain went down to 0!  Great joy broke out in the congregation!

I prayed for a man by the name of Putiluk from Salluit, Nunavik, and he got healed.  Then I had him pray for the man standing next to him, and he got healed!  Healing was breaking out spontaneously all over the place!  As far as I know, everyone who came forward that afternoon with one exception got healed.  We do not fully know or understand why not everybody gets healed 100% of the time, but we are seeing enough evidence of healing that we are encouraged to keep pressing in for something more.

Earlier that afternoon, I had taught on the Temple not made with hands that God is building upon the earth today, a temple that includes believers from every tribe and nation within whom God has deposited His shekinah glory.  

As we allow that glory in every believer to become our focus, we are transformed into that same image, and start to reflect more and more of His Presence.  

This is what is bringing transformation to Kangirsujuaq.  

Rhoda Katzak from Pond Inlet, Nunavut, is translating.

God's purpose for the Church is to ultimately fill heaven and earth with His Presence.  This takes place as we bring the Presence, the Love, the Joy and the Peace of the Holy Spirit into every sphere of influence in our communities.

The ministry times afterwards were times of rich impartation and release of the anointing.  The Inuit receive so easily, because they have always been a spiritual people, and are very open to spiritual things, and to the teaching of the word of God.  They receive the word, and see it takes its effect upon their lives.

James Arreak from Iqaluit has been a prominent pillar of this Eastern Arctic Healing/Bible Conferences for many years.  Even though his wife Looee has taken over a more prominent role in leading their local church in Iqaluit as well as in organizing these Conferences, James continues to fulfill a meaningful role in supporting, in serving and in undergirding others.  

This is what true ministry is about, and whether leading praise and worship, teaching the word, or ministering prophetically, James continues to release his anointing with ever greater freedom at these conferences.  

James is originally from Pond Inlet, where his great grandfather was a shaman with a very open and a humble heart, and he opened the door for the gospel to come into his region after he had discerned for himself that the gospel was the true revelation of God, the Creator of all.  

Among the earliest Anglican missionaries that came into Pond Inlet were Canon John Turner, who, along with James Arreak, was featured on the Transformations II video.  It was therefore very meaningful to have Faith Turner, the daughter of Canon John Turner, attend and participate in the Conference in Kangirsujuaq between March 24 and 28, 2016.  She is pictured above with Billy Arnaquq’s mother from Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut.  

The above picture is of Pond Inlet during the 1920’s, which must have been what Pond Inlet was like when Faith Turner's father Canon John Turner was there, as he answered to call of the Anglican Church  Missionary Society to go there in 1929.

John Turner is credited with the picture on the right which was taken of a group just outside the Anglican Mission in Pond Inlet in either late 1929 or in the early 1930’s.

Edmund James Peck, the first missionary to the Inuit, established the first Anglican Mission station among the Inuit at Blacklead Island (near Pangnirtung) as well as a station in Kimmirut back in 1894.  As early as 1900, he had made contact with the north Baffin Island Inuit which is where Pond Inlet is located.  

By 1915 the Anglican Church Missionary Society had withdrawn from Arctic work, and the mission stations were left in the hands of partially-trained catechists.  Ten years later, in 1925, the Bishop of Moosonee appealed to the new Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society to reopen the Arctic work.  

It was this call that brothers John and Arthur Turner answered in March of 1926.  Both men felt called to the Canadian Arctic.  Arthur Turner left for Pangnirtung in 1928, and the next year, in 1929, when John Turner was 24 years of age, he set out for Pond Inlet.

Here Canon John Turner is seen on a kayak near Pond Inlet.  He established an Anglican Mission in Pond Inlet, and during the decade prior to his untimely death in 1947, he planted seeds for the gospel in neighbouring Arctic communities.   

In time, the Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society that was sponsored by the Church of England sent missionaries and planted churches in most of the communities of Arctic Canada.

Just a few weeks after his death on December 9, 1947, his daughter Faith was born, and she has served as a nurse in a number of Arctic communities including Pond Inlet and in Arctic Bay, communities where her father planted seeds that are now springing to life in a greater measure.  

The picture above was taken on December 15, 1947, of his wife Joan, while she was still pregnant with Faith, and six days after John’s death.  She is accompanied by her adopted Inuit daughter Rebecca.  Joan Turner described a vision that she had that was documented on the Transformations II video.  She foresaw that one day, the Inuit would be singing and praising God in the streets of their community.  

The above picture was taken on the streets of Kangirsujuaq in 1997 (where Faith Turner, Joan’s daughter visited in March of 2016).  This picture is a testimony to the reality and the genuineness of the vision that her mother Joan had.  God’s word will not return void.  One generation will praise His works unto another!  Psalm 145:4.

Well, to God be the glory for the things that He has done, and for what He will yet do in Kangirsujuaq!  In closing, let me say a big “THANK YOU” to the people of Kangirsujuaq for their unsurpassable hospitality in welcoming outsiders who come alongside to help.  their love for ALL will never be forgotten.