Q & A With Joel van Loon Joel van Loon is senior pastor of Evangelical Free Church in Meadow Lake, Sask., where he has served for two years. He and his wife Kristin have a two-year-old daughter and newborn son.
What is your greatest joy in ministry?
Proclaiming the truth of the Bible and applying it to lives.
I can’t get over the profound privilege God has given us
to read His words, comprehend His plans and purposes,
and declare them to others.
What has been your greatest struggle?
Knowing where my energy and attention should be focused. There are always many good things and ideas that
could be pursued, but only enough hours and volunteers
for some. What’s most important at this moment?
What Bible passage do you most connect with right now?
2 Corinthians 2:16b. Speaking of the work of ministry,
Paul asks, “Who is sufficient for these things?” I am regularly awed by the honour of proclaiming God’s words,
and humbled by my own weakness and insufficiency.
And thus also 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient
for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
What are the best theological books you’ve read in
the last year?
The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Every-
thing by Fred Sanders (Crossway, 2010), The Intolerance
of Tolerance by D. A. Carson (Eerdmans, 2012), and The
Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards (Yale University Press, 1959, original 1746).
What book is on your nightstand right now?
Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books by Michael J. Kruger
(Crossway, 2012), and God’s Glory in Salvation Through
Judgment: A Biblical Theology by James M. Hamilton, Jr.
(Crossway, 2010).
What is your best advice for those entering ministry
today?
Delight in the glorious gospel of grace. Neither deviate
from it, nor water it down, nor assume it, but proclaim
it with precision and passion.
What are the specific challenges – and joys – you face
doing ministry in Saskatchewan?
Meadow Lake has a strong evangelical fellowship of
churches, built upon many years of relationships and
ministry together in a small community. It is my great
joy to see people and churches regularly encourage and
support each other. FT
