The desire to pursue missions settled into my mind when I was very young, and it was the determination to continue pursuing this goal that led me to Heritage. Now, as I look back, I see that the Lord used my experience at Heritage to shift my view on missions for the better.

My whole life I chose missions, but I never truly knew why. However, I was always eager to latch onto its possibility of adventure. While attending Heritage, God stretched my faith, humbled my heart, challenged my ideas, and ultimately reframed the true meaning of grace that contributed to my shift in understanding. In those three years, I discovered the “why.”

I came to realize my childhood choice carried a command to go, not because I was promised I would thrive, but because Jesus’ name is to be glorified. I realized that there are people who haven’t heard the gospel of grace, that don’t know God sent His Son to die for their sins that they may be saved. In the time I spent studying God’s word at Heritage, nothing hit me harder than this reality and I couldn’t ignore it.

After completing my program, I became a student at Emanate Missionary Training Center with my husband Tyler to become equipped for cross-cultural church planting. Reflecting on the work the Lord did in my heart at Heritage to reveal His mission kindles gratitude within my soul that will not be quenched. Jesus’ love is eternal and it’s unfathomable that he’d use a sinner such as I to share the wonders of His grace.

Read Mikhaela's story and more in the 2022 Heritage College & Seminary Spring and Summer Newsletter that will be arriving in mailboxes soon.

Click Here to Read This Year's Newsletter

The campus of Heritage College & Seminary was a place of celebration this weekend as we welcomed family and friends to recognize the accomplishments of the graduating class of 2022.

Before both graduation ceremonies, the Heritage community gathered on campus for the annual Graduation Banquet on Friday, April 29. Both graduating and returning students from both the college and seminary were acknowledged for their academic accomplishments and Christian character with several awards throughout the evening.

The celebration continued Saturday as we hosted two separate ceremonies for college and seminary graduates of Heritage. Dr. J. Stephen Yuille delivered his graduation address to graduating college class, encouraging them to ensure that they direct their hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Jesus Christ in all they do after Heritage. The class also had the opportunity to hear from Valedictorian Award winner Ethan Skinner.

President Dr. Rick Reed commissioned the men and women graduating from Heritage Theological Seminary into life and ministry later in the day during the school’s ceremony. Jack Scott Award winner Jonathan Killoran also encouraged the graduates and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn and grow while studying at Heritage.

Please join us in praying for the 31 graduates of Heritage College and 36 graduates of Heritage Theological Seminary that combine to make up the class of 2022 that, through their life and ministry, they would make an eternal impact for Christ in all they do.

For a list of this year’s award winners, please see below:

2022 Heritage College Award Winners

Academic Awards

The Certificate Program Academic Proficiency Award  

Melissa Zoght

The Fourth Year Academic Proficiency Award

Alex Guenther

The Zondervan Hebrew Award

Joseph Tabet

The Zondervan Greek Award

James Hutton

The Lehman Strauss Expository Preaching/Teaching Award

Alex Guenther

The Wilson Banks Music Award

Micah Sauder

The ABWE Missions Award

Sara Wood

The Craig Simmons Missions Award

Mikhaela Whatley

Delta Epsilon Chi, Honour Society of ABHE

James Hutton

Field Education Awards

The Field Education Award

Brooke Weir & Timothy Wessel

The Norman W. Pipe Evangelism Award

Ian Cameron & Evan Sanderson

The Gerry Benn Award for Christian Education

Emily Gagnier & James Hutton

The Pastoral Ministry Award

James Hutton

Other Awards

The Elsie M. Lawson Awards

Myriam Alexanian & Ethan Skinner

The Marvin Brubacher Citizenship Awards

Tori Lesniara & Joshua Slotegraaf

2022 Heritage Theological Seminary Award Winners

Academic Awards

The Graduating Academic Proficiency Award

Nathan Weber

The Harold Stainton Hebrew Award

Daniel Sales de Andrade

The Zondervan Greek Award

Christopher Wood

The Heritage Seminary Preaching Award

Levi denBok

The Charles & Olive Tipp Church History Award

Matthew Maw

The Denzill E. Raymer Old Testament Award

Kathleen Hill

The W. Gordon Brown New Testament Award

Ryan Oh

The William & Leila Whitcombe Theology Award

Matthew Maw

Field Education Awards

The Irene Robertson Loveday Christian Education Award

Wendy Saulesleja

The Jack H. Watt Pastoral Ministry Award

Gregory Nash

Other Awards

The Jack Scott Award

Jonathan Killoran

The Mr. & Mrs. Alex McCready Award

Daniel Sales de Andrade

There’s excitement on campus as the Heritage community prepares to celebrate the accomplishments of the class of 2022 during this weekend’s graduation celebrations.

Heritage College & Seminary is looking forward to welcoming graduates, family, and friends back to campus for two graduation ceremonies recognizing the achievements of this year’s college and seminary graduates on Saturday, April 30.

The day will begin with the graduation service for the college’s graduating class beginning at 10:00 am. Vice President of Academics and Academic Dean of the College Dr. J. Stephen Yuille will deliver the address to the graduating class. Graduates will also hear from this year’s Valedictorian, Ethan Skinner during this special ceremony.

Following the college ceremony, Heritage Theological Seminary will celebrate its class of 2022 at 2:30 pm. The graduation address will be delivered by President Dr. Rick Reed and will also include a message from the recipient of this year’s Jack Scott Award, Jonathan Killoran.

Before the ceremonies, college and seminary graduates will join the Heritage community on Friday, April 29 for the annual Graduation Banquet. Throughout the evening, both graduating and returning students will receive several awards recognizing academic excellence and Christian character.

Join us online to celebrate with the class of 2022. All are welcome to watch both the college and seminary services this Saturday at DiscoverHeritage.ca/Live.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR MINISTRY LEADERSHIP DAY 2022

How can pastors and ministry leaders best train disciples to read and live out the truths of Scripture in a way that will both shape their minds and hearts and train them to live for Christ?

Learn more about the topic of discipleship in the local church from theologian and author Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer at this year’s Ministry Leadership Day happening on Thursday, March 31 from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm.

This year, Heritage will be hosting Ministry Leadership Day both in-person on campus and online. We are looking forward to welcoming pastors and ministry leaders to the campus as well as online for a valuable day of encouragement and equipping for life and ministry.

Dr. Kevin J. Vanhoozer currently serves as Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. Previously, Dr. Vanhoozer was Blanchard Professor of Theology at Wheaton College Graduate School and Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

He is the author and editor of many books including The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical-Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology and his latest book Hearers and Doers: A Pastor’s Guide to Making Disciples Through Scripture and Doctrine.

Registration is officially open for MLD 2022. Visit DiscoverHeritage.ca/MLD to register today.

Dr. Jon Korkidakis, Adjunct Professor at Heritage College & Seminary, says that though prayer is highly recognized as important to the Christian walk, it is also confusing for many people in today’s church and is seen as intimidating.

It was this common struggle to understand prayer that led Korkidakis to write his latest book, Touching God: Discovering Prayer that Moves the Heart of God. He explains that he wanted to write the book to help people gain a better understanding of the biblical purpose of prayer to see their own prayer life deepen.

“There is for many, a mystery to prayer,” says Korkidakis. “I hope the book helps to bring clarity and focus to God’s intention for prayer and how we can develop our prayer lives in accordance with the biblical model.”

In the book, Korkidakis goes to Scripture to highlight an essential part of prayer that he believes is missing from our contemporary understanding of the discipline. Throughout most of what is written about prayer in the Bible, he explains that there is a piece that—though sometimes is acknowledged—is often not as prominent in the prayer life of the church as it is throughout God’s Word.

Korkidakis sees at the heart of this missing piece is an understanding of prayer that sees the discipline as a process of aligning ourselves to the will and purposes of God. It is through this that he believes we grow a deeper awareness of God’s kingdom and his activity in the world where God is at work.

“When we move in that direction, it is a transformative experience, one that I believe brings pleasure to God as he sees his children grow deeper in their relationship with Him,” he says.

As he looks back, Korkidakis says that this understanding of prayer has helped deepen and transform the prayer lives of many in his church. After preaching much of the material in a sermon series at the church he pastors a few years ago, he was grateful to hear how it helped people orient their prayers differently and became a tool for deepening the church’s walk with Christ.

On a personal level, he says that this broader, biblical understanding of prayer has been transformational in his own prayer life and walk with God.

“There is a deeper sense of peace in my own life, as well as a deeper sense of awareness of what God is doing in my own heart and life,” says Korkidakis.

He desires that the readers of this book would have the same experience that he and his church have had—that it would elevate people’s prayer life, deeply nourish their souls, and help create a prayer movement that deepens people’s desire for God’s will to be manifest on earth.

To learn more about Touching God or to purchase the book, click here.

When he reflects on what led him to write his latest book, Iron Sharpens Iron: Friendship and the Grace of God, Professor of Church History at Heritage Theological Seminary Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin explains that the topic of friendship has been a long-time and personal interest of study.

“My own personal makeup and experiences over the past fifty years have given me a longstanding interest in this subject from a personal vantage point and a professional one,” says Haykin.

Haykin says that he has been drawn to study figures in church history who had circles of friends like Paul, Basil of Caesarea, and John Calvin. However, the focus of this book looks at the friendships that were important in the lives of two eighteenth-century pastor-theologians: Andrew Fuller and John Ryland.

Through looking at the letters and correspondence that stemmed from these relationships, Haykin sets out to look at the example that was set by these men and how they developed and sustained their friendships, as well as how their relationships impacted their ministries and how they were seen in the eighteenth century as means of grace in the Christian life.

These men and the relationships they fostered during their lives would be examples of what Haykin describes as biblical friendships. Though he says that there are many examples of this kind of friendship in Scripture—from Ruth and Naomi to David and Jonathan to Paul and Timothy—he says that these friendships reflect the model that we see throughout the Bible and church history.

“A biblical friendship is one that combines loyalty to the friend with openness and transparency whereby one’s friend can speak into your life for your good,” explains Haykin.

Haykin acknowledges that his book on the history of biblical friendship comes at a unique time in history when modern society has changed the way many people —both inside and outside the church—view friendships.

To re-establish the model for friendships set out by Fuller and Ryland in the church today, he says that education is needed on the value of biblical friendship. However, amid a culture of hurry and busyness, he also believes that an understanding of biblical friendship will also need to lead people to commit to the time necessary to foster these relationships again.

“Unlike other relationships, there is no contract or nor any mandate,” says Haykin. “People need to see the importance of this for the sake of their souls and their sanity. Then, we need to commit to reorienting our schedules to simply make time for friends.”

To learn more about Iron Sharpens Iron or to purchase a copy, please click here.

As Baiyu Andrew Song begins his new role as Assistant Professor and Director of General Education Studies at Heritage College, he explains that he sees this as the start of a tremendous opportunity to form life-changing friendships with his colleagues and students while contributing to the meaningful mission of the school.

“As the mission of Heritage College is to provide an evangelical, faith-based, university-level education to equip students for life and service in the church, community, and the world, I believe Heritage College is the place where I can train the future generation of Christians in Canada, for the greater glory of God,” says Prof. Song.

Song brings a combined passion for both education and the local church that Dr. J. Stephen Yuille, Vice President of Academics and Dean of Seminary, believes will be a welcome addition to our faculty and will serve current and future students of Heritage well.

“His rigorous academic training, resolute church commitment, and unique life experience will strengthen our institution and prove to be a tremendous blessing to our students,” says Dr. Yuille.

Currently, Song is in the process of finishing his PhD dissertation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky looking at the ecclesial spirituality of late eighteenth-century English Baptist minister Joseph Kinghorn. Before his doctoral studies, Song studied at Toronto Baptist Seminary for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Alongside his work at Heritage, Song works as a volunteer editor for The Gospel Coalition Canada and an editorial board member of The Gospel Coalition Chinese. He has also gained significant academic experience serving as an adjunct lecturer at Redeemer University and the Chinese campus of Toronto Baptist Seminary. Song is also a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and an early career member of the Royal Historical Society.

Since 2014, Song has also worked with The Andrew Fuller Centre for Baptist Studies alongside the Centre’s Director and Heritage Theological Seminary’s Professor of Church History, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin. As he continues to serve in the role of Research Associate and Teaching Fellow, Song says that he has had the blessing of both learning and working with Dr. Haykin as well as observing the life and learning of someone he describes as a mature Christian scholar and a model he aspires to follow as a teacher and follower of Christ.

“For decades, Prof. Haykin has dedicated his time to mentoring students and developing Christian friendships. Furthermore, he has a praying heart for lost souls,” says Song. “For me, he is a global historian by default. As a model, I wish my students will also know me as a Christian historian of love and humility.”

As Director of General Education Studies, Song will have the unique opportunity to now teach college students a variety of topics from critical thinking to anthropology to history. Though he has been trained primarily as a Christian historian, Song sees that interdisciplinarity has also been a major feature of his academic career and, as a result, to have the opportunity to teach a variety of fields and disciplines is both challenging and enriching.

“For me, being a professor is not merely a job; instead, it is a commitment to a lifestyle––to glorify and experience God through a life of learning,” explains Song. “Thus, Heritage College provides me with an opportunity to continue exploring God’s revealed mystery with my Christian brothers and sisters.”

As we launch into 2022, it is a privilege to share an update with you regarding our “Heritage for Canada and the Nations” capital campaign. We praise God for His clear leading as we move forward with the new seminary building and the other projects that are part of the campaign.

Our Design Committee continues to work collaboratively with A+ Link (our architectural firm), to design and ultimately see the new home for Heritage Theological Seminary become a reality. We are currently waiting to obtain Site Plan approval from the City of Cambridge. This should come any day now. Geological drilling has been completed and in the next few days our committee will be meeting with the electrical and mechanical consultants, which is an exciting next step as we continue the journey of design. We are thankful to have a unified team that works well together and strives to design a building that will serve Heritage well for many years.

We also praise God for His ongoing provision for the campaign. To date, $11,859,154 of the $14,000,000 goal has been pledged and/or donated. Heritage is so thankful for so many generous donors and we are praying that many other individuals and churches will begin to support the campaign between now and December 2023.

Please join us in praying for:

• Approvals by the City of Cambridge.
• God’s provision of the remaining funds.
• The President’s building advisory committee.
• Dave Switzer (Building design and facility manager).
• Darryl Brush (Project manager).
• Wisdom in making decisions related to the new building.
• Our capital campaign committee.
• Reed, our faculty, and our staff, as we launch into the winter semester.

If you have any questions related to our capital campaign, do not hesitate to contact us at heritageforcanada@heritagecs.edu.

To learn more about Heritage for Canada & the Nations, please visit heritageforcanada.ca.