Power

We believe that God is desperate for a relationship with His creation. He relentlessly pursues us, and once we submit to Him, He gives us the power of His Holy Spirit. Subsequently, living a life that pleases God involves allowing the Holy Spirit the freedom to direct our words and actions for His benefit, and to live out God’s plan through us to accomplish the miraculous. It involves each believer individually responding to the Holy Spirit and finding fulfillment in the work that He calls them to.

Proclamation

We recognize that our society is dynamic. Cultural influences continually change, and in order to successfully impact the community of today we will begin by discovering the questions people are asking. We will tangibly meet the needs of those doing the asking, and we will provide the ultimate answer; the answer that is found in a relationship with the unchanging God

People

We believe that God created us to be relational. He has called us to love one another and, in doing so, to create a social environment that cares for the individual. Our love for each other should be evident as we treat each other with care and respect, recognizing that we are all a part of God’s family. We believe in lending a hand to those who are in need, feeding those who are hungry and in love restoring those who have lost their way. We are welcoming to all people by extending grace and compassion with impartiality. We are Jesus’ hands tangibly extended.

Purpose

We acknowledge that God has made us multi-dimensional beings and that He cares about our whole person – spiritually, physically, socially and emotionally. When we become a follower of Jesus a journey of discovery begins; a journey of development that will last our lifetime. God has unique plans for our journey so that we might reach our ultimate eternal destiny with him. To assist in this journey, we endeavor to provide the tools required to develop the whole person, to inspire passion for the journey, and to bring as many with us as possible.

Preparation

God designed and created each of us distinctly, individually and perfectly according to His plan, and He has granted each one unique gifts and talents. These talents were given to bring honor and glory to God. We will only find fulfillment when we use them for His purpose. Giving glory to God requires the active use of our heart, mind and soul and we believe that when doing so we should give God our best, for He deserves nothing less.

Passion

We believe that Jesus is God in human form. His life, death and resurrection removed all doubt and today Jesus calls us to follow Him. Following Jesus means to live a life that consistently displays His characteristics. When we live a life of love, service and submission, we will begin to look like Jesus…and God will be pleased.

Pursuit

Living in truth is to live in freedom, without the kind of masks that we wear in order to appear as someone that we are not. God is not fooled and he desires a genuine, authentic relationship with us, one that is free from pretenses and pride. This kind of relationship is only possible when we know the truth of God’s Word, when we deal with others openly and honestly, and when our lives increasingly match our beliefs.

Our vision consists of three words…

CONNECT

We recognize that people are what matter to God. We desire to see people connecting with God wherever they are in their life, and for WPA to be a people and a place of connection and relationship. An important way we connect with God is through connecting with each other. To connect with people is to desire genuine relationship – whether among our WPA family, other Christians, or those who don’t personally know God. We connect with people through genuine care and interest.

We recognize real evangelism will occur in everyday life, through everyday relationships that believers have with those who do not know Jesus – when each member is “being” the church. We also recognize WPA has a calling to serve and to connect with other Christians in the Region of Waterloo – to serve as an oasis for other individuals and ministries.

DEVELOP

We recognize our desire to be the body of Christ and, as such, sensitive to spiritual realities, receptive of the giftings given by the Holy Spirit, and to be a people who use those gifts for the benefit of others. We want to be a people who passionately pursue the power, presence and will of God in whatever we do.

We recognize that God’s desire is that everyone who is part of the WPA family live a life that reflects Jesus. Jesus was a man of prayer who sought God’s counsel. We want everyone at WPA to continually grow in their understanding of God through his Word and prayer and to be living a vibrant life of increasing spiritual growth and maturity. We know that God’s desire is for this to permeate every aspect of our lives and that an essential way we do it is through a life of spiritual discipline that allows us to grow in our knowledge of God and His Word.

SERVE

We recognize that Jesus did not come to be served but to serve. We want everyone at WPA to get involved in serving and mentoring other members of the WPA family. We want to assist and equip people to find places and opportunities for discipleship and servant leadership. Effective service blesses both the person giving their service, through the development of God-given gifts, as well as those who receive it.

We recognize the need to be willing to get involved in people’s lives whenever we see there is a need, just as Jesus did. We embrace and support mission opportunities within our community, our country, and around the world. Mission opportunities ignite the passion of God in our individual lives and in the life of our church family.

While we may share a similar sense of purpose and responsibility with other congregations in our community and fellowship, we also believe there is something specific and unique to which the Lord has called WPA. He wants us to CONNECT, DEVELOP, and SERVE each other, our region, and the world.

Who are we?

Waterloo Pentecostal Assembly consists of a wide range of different people, from all ages and different backgrounds. Whoever you are you are assured a very warm welcome at WPA.  To help you get to know us better we’ve prepared some information on what we believe, our vision, and our core values.

When to arrive?

If it’s your first time then it’s probably best to arrive about 5-10 minutes before the service you are attending  (for service time and locations go here). Wear whatever you feel comfortable in. We will dress in many different ways, from business casual to shorts and sandals (in the summer!), and we encourage everyone to dress as they feel comfortable. It is a “come as you are” environment.  We find that most people tend to “dress up” for the Sunday morning services and are more casual for the evening services.

What to expect?

For some people going anywhere for the first time can be a bit of an uncertain experience. To help avoid any worries here’s a quick summary of what you can expect at Waterloo Pentecostal Assembly.

For people who have young children, their first stop is checking the little ones in with our wonderful Children’s Ministry volunteers. After placing the little tikes in such capable hands, people usually find the fresh coffee pretty quickly at our cafe. With a cup of coffee in hand, it will be easy to feel welcomed as folks spend a few minutes getting to know each other and catching up on life’s latest happenings. We will then transition to a time of singing where a worship leader will lead the people in a few songs. We will always have the words available on a very large screen in case the song is new to you. Then, our pastor will get up and discuss a specific area of the Bible. It is our goal to understand the Bible as it was written and use it as the tool to transform our lives and our home. We will finish with just a couple more songs and sometimes a few announcements before we will take off to a new week and all of the adventures that it will bring.

Is it just Sundays?

Absolutely not! God is not something that we just do or talk about on Sunday mornings. We believe our spiritual life is an integral part of everything we do from work to family. There is much that happens through the week and you can find more information on the “Times and Places” page.

Waterloo Pentecostal Assembly was established in 1960 and from then until now has been a church whose focus has been on evangelism, music and children’s ministries.

Rev. John Shrier came in 1962 when there were 40 people attending. He led the church into relocating to a larger property which could support the growth he foresaw. In 1965 the congregation, now totaling 120, moved to the present location. In 1974 the present sanctuary was built to once again accommodate the rapidly growing congregation.

In 1980 Rev.Samuel Buick became the Senior Pastor. In 1984, under Rev. Paul Cassidy’s leadership the church continued to grow due to his outstanding exposition of the Bible.

In 1989 Rev. Bill Pipke began to emphasize the need for adults to attend Sunday School with the result that a dormant Adult Sunday School became alive.

By the time Rev. Keith Parks arrived in 1995 the church was prepared for God’s next step which was through renewal. This move of the Holy Spirit touched many, creating a thirst for more of God.

It was into this environment that Pastor Todd Matchett came in 2001. His emphasis was on evangelism and outreach to our community with programs such as Adopt-A-Block.

After serving as the Associate Pastor for 20 years Rev. Marshall Eizenga became the Senior Pastor in December of 2007. The desire of his heart is for WPA to build on the foundation which has been laid so WPA realizes its fullest potential through continued emphasis on evangelism, spiritual growth and Pentecostal power.

So as the church looks ahead, we anticipate great days where lives are touched and changed by God’s power.

we believe…

… the holy scriptures to be the divinely in-breathed, infallible, inerrant and authoritative Word of God.

we believe…

…that there is one God, eternally existent in the Persons of the Holy Trinity.

we believe…

…in the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, His unqualified deity, His sinless humanity and perfect life, the eternal all-sufficiency of His atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the Father’s right hand, and His personal coming again at His second advent.

we believe…

that justification is a judicial act of God on the believer’s behalf solely on the merits of Christ, and that regeneration by the power of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for personal salvation.

we believe…

…in holy living, the present day reality of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:4, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the Lord’s supernatural healing of the human body.

we believe…

…in Christ’s Lordship of the Church, the observance of the ordinances of Christian baptism by immersion for believers and the Lord’s Supper.

we believe…

…in the eternal blessedness of the redeemed in heaven and the eternal doom of the unregenerate in the lake of fire.

A Heart for His House

The process of implementing a building project is a long one. It has been well over a year now that the Building committee of WPA has been operational and working through the drawings until just the right plan to facilitate ministry within the walls of Waterloo Pentecostal Assembly was achieved.

Over the years the structure has changed to facilitate and accommodate new and expanding ministries here at the church.  Space can hinder ministry and if you’re around on a Sunday morning it’s easy to see we are busting at the seams as we scramble to provide space to the various ministries that call WPA home.

As you spend time reviewing the building we trust you will not only see the vision for a building but more importantly you will see a vision for ministry and the equipping of the people in order to share the good news of Jesus Christ.