Word of Life Spring Gala!

All the awards to give away. 

 All the lights to make a perfect show.

 All the cameras to get that perfect angle.

All those famous people that everybody knows.

The Word of Life Spring Gala was a special night ! It was a fun night. It was a tasty night! It was a celebration! A celebration of this past year.

The Spring Gala was a night to remember this past year. But it was also a night  where memories were made.

This past year we have experienced a whole lot of meeting new people, Open Air, classes, Missions Conferences and Recharge.

With all of these sweet experiences we’ve also had a jam-packed schedule with electives, ministry, and service assignments, and why not throw in a handbook of seemingly ridiculous rules....

and… at times, you might have felt like giving up but you didn’t! You are still here with only seven more sleeps.

The Word of Life Spring Gala was a celebration as the students remembered that famous quote from their very first teacher:

"I will not quit, by God's grace I can do it." - Dr. Wendall Calder

 The evening started out with an opportunity to mingle and converse over delicious appetizers, kabobs and chocolate fondue. Following this, the program began with a game having the students guess the celebrity look-alikes for some of the staff and students. After that, Amplify the praise team, led the group in some well-known praise songs. Then the RA's performed a skit poking fun at some of the Deans and staff of the BI. Then there was a slide show of the past year. You can view the slide show here.

Amplify leading in worship

After the slide show, the evening was a mix of awards, two songs from Testify and testimonies from the past year. Students received awards form being the most dramatic student  to being the most romantic student to being the most studious student.

all the boys

all the girls

This Gala was a fun way to remember the year, to make mention of some students and to look forward to an exciting future. The students have just over a week left of classes, ministry and discipleship. It is definitely a bittersweet time for many of them. 

However, in a month's time, most of the students will be returning to campus, or in fact, camp to train and prepare for seven weeks of intense camp ministry. Please keep them in your prayers.

Word Studies: Eschatology

Class: Eschatology

Week #12: April 30 - May 4
Professor: Mr Mark Strout


Assignments: Textbook reading: Students will be required to read the section on eschatology in Basic Theology by Charles Ryrie. Essay reading: Students will be required to read two short essays before the final exam. While working through these, they will be required to look up and read all of the biblical passages mentioned in the essays except for those which are underlined.



Mr. Strout attended our New York campus of Word of Life Bible Institute in 1982, after which he was a youth pastor for 8 years at Huntingville Community Church in Sherbrooke, Quebec. He went on to pastor 3 years at Grace Chapel in Sherbrooke. Mr. Strout joined the new French ministry of WOL at Parole de Vie and served as the director of the Bible Institute at PdV from 1994 until 2002. During that time he obtained his Master of Ministry degree from Baptist Bible Seminary. In July of 2002 he assumed the role of Director of Francophone Ministries for Word of Life Canada. In August 2009 Mark and his wife Laurie relocated to Schroon Lake (NY) where he is the Executive Dean of the Bible Institute.


Another class about End Times? Not exactly. Eschatology is a study of future events however, Mr. Strout enables the student not only to process what the Bible says about the future but also to understand God's plan for human history from beginning to end. Scripture is the foundation of what Mr. Strout teaches and he places major emphasis on considering all of scripture when it comes to interpreting prophecy.

  "It was sweet. The teacher taught in a way that was easy to understand. I was able to grasp the concepts. Mr. Strout cleared up a lot of things for me."
- Nathan, Goulais River

Mr. Strout also had the opportunity to present two seminars: "Walk through the Land" and Walk through Jerusalem." With these presentations, the students were able to experience the land of Israel and its capitol, Jerusalem, through the eyes of someone who had been there many times.

"I enjoyed Mr. Strout's presentations on Israel and Jerusalem. His travels have given him useful experience that enabled him to expound upon the land and the people."

- Rob, Beamsville

Happening Now: Campus Days

Right now those who have come for Campus Days are enjoying Bible Survey Class with resident professor Mr. Jonathan Ward. After that, they will participate in Director's Chapel followed by another class, Romans with Mr. Doug Reider. They will complete their morning with a tour and an info session on the BI including an opportunity to fill out a  BI application.

It is so exciting to see so many young people interested in taking a year to study the Word of God. Please pray that these young men and women and others will consider the importance of studying God's Word for one year!

Happening Now: Campus Days

Within the hour over 30 people will be arriving on property for an overnight adventure known around here as Campus Days! Campus Days is an opportunity for those interested in the Word of Life Bible Institute to check out dorm life, eat food and sit in on some classes. The schedule is packed tight with games, classes, devos, food, basketball, a tour, food and interviews.


If you want to know more about the Bible Institute, call Cassandra, our Admissions Coordinator, at 1.519.376.3516 ext. 216 or click here.

Word Studies: Church History Part 1

Class: Church History Part 1

Week #10-11: April 16-27
Professor: Dr. Tom Taylor

Assignments: Students should read the book, One Hundred Dates in Church History before the time of the second major test. It must be a reading… not a quick scan of the table of contents. By reading this book you can elevate your grade by one letter, i.e., a “C” to a “B”.

Dr. Tom Taylor will be teaching Church History for the next two weeks. Dr. Taylor received his BA from Bryan College, MDiv and STM from Faith Seminary and a Doctorate from Philadelphia Biblical University. To quote his own words, he is “retired emeritus from Biblical Seminary having held the post of Associate Professor of Church History and Old Testament for 24 years... I have written few books (but lots of articles that were not all wanted!) and have concentrated lately on conference ministry… Married to Ruth with five children and a small army of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Better known for humour and playing the harmonica than for scholarship, but that is just another of the inequities in the world.”



Church History allows each student to understand the role the church has played in history and the process the church has undergone in the past 2000 years. Dr. Taylor takes the class through the formation of the church in the first century to Constantine's  legalization of the church to Luther's 95 Theses. The importance of learning about church history lies not in the knowledge of what happened but the understanding of how the church got to where it is today and the implications of that on the lives of believers today.


Dr. Taylor loves to interact with the students in and out of class. His many experiences give him much to talk to the students about and he regales them with many stories. The students shared their thoughts on their teacher and the class:


"It was an incredible privilege ad honor to sit underneath Dr. Taylor's teaching. His in depth knowledge of the subject matter enabled me to understand the important role the church has had throughout the course of history. His joy and passion for learning inspires me still today."
- Benjamin, Muskoka (Alumnus)

"Amazing to really realize how the church has played such a huge part in history in the past. It was a class like no other."

- Jordan, Goulais River

"This class taught me much about the history of the early church. Dr. Taylor presented his material with excitement and enthusiasm. He knows his stuff."

- Ryan, Wyoming

Word Studies: Electives

Class: Homiletics, Ladies Public Speaking, Greek I and II, Exodus

Week#: Each elective runs for one Semester. Homiletics and Greek have two lessons a week. Ladies Public Speaking and Exodus have one lesson a week.

Professor: Homiletics - Mr. Jonathan Ward and Mr. Doug Reider
                Ladies Public Speaking - Mrs. Sue Reider
                Greek I - Mr. Doug Reider
                Greek II - Mr. Doug Reider
                Exodus - Mr. Richard Heppner


 Homiletics and Ladies Public Speaking

Assignments: Throughout the course, the students have written assignments as well as oral presentations.  Homiletics' students also read through Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson.

Homiletics - Mr. Ward and Mr. Reider seek to impress one truth into the students: Don't preach your word, preach God's Word. Along with this truth, practical skills are taught and used through assignments. The goal of the course is to familiarize the student with the task of presenting the Word of God in any setting as well as general skills in public speaking.

"I learned not only how to speak well in front of other people but it also taught me how to study the Bible."

- Nick, Drayton

"It was good practice that I will hopefully use in the church some day."

- Tim, Owen Sound

Ladies Public Speaking - Mrs. Reider takes students through a vigorous course training them in the art of public speaking. She also introduces the students to the process of handling God's Word correctly. An important lesson  the students walk away with is the importance of digging into the Word of God on their own.

"It challenged me to not just give Bible studies but plan it to be effective as well."

- Kassey, Goulais River

"I absolutely loved it. Mrs. Reider challenged us and taught us about how to be Biblical women and to keep growing."

- Meaghan, Owen Sound

 Greek I and II

Assignments: Students have translation exercises for each lesson. There is a quiz each lesson as well. Textbook used: New Testament Greek for Beginners by J. Gresham Machen and Dan G. McCartney

Mr. Reider, a student of both Greek and Hebrew, provides students with an opportunity to attain a basis in  koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament. Students walk away with the ability to study and translate a large portion of the New Testament. But greater than that, students have an understanding of the importance of studying the original languages of God's Word. God provided His Word in an amazing language that when personally studied and translated reveals much more about the truths of God's Word.

"It is amazing to be able to pick up a Greek New Testament and understand what a verse says."

- John, Mount Forest

 Exodus

Assignments: There are some small assignments, some reading and a final exam.

The Exodus elective studies the history of the Hebrew captivity in Egypt, the life of Moses, and the giving of the Law. It also covers topics such as the 10 plagues, Passover, Moses as a great leader, the Law contents, and a study of the Tabernacle.

Installation Weekend

Last Friday was a momentous day in Word of Life history. Mr. Scott Foreman was installed as the new director for Word of Life Canada. The current director Mr. Gary Stairs transferred his responsibilities to Mr. Foreman Friday evening at 7 PM. This exciting night was focused on what God has been doing in and through the ministry of Word of Life Canada over the past 50 years. Saturday morning was a day of appreciation for Gary and Barb Stairs. In the morning, there were testimonials and presentations from people who had ministered with the Stairs. Tears were shed but the were balanced out by the laughter that echoed again and again. The weekend will go down in WOL history and will be remembered by all who attended.

Gary and Barb Stairs

Scott and Rachel Foreman and their children