“They knelt together, the one a man, the other a mere fragment of life. The man was pastor of the Ridgewood Baptist Church in Joliet, Illinois. The ‘fragment’ was a drunken man who had left the cold of the streets to find haven in the Pacific Garden Mission, and also found an eternal haven in the Person of the Son of God.

It was a work of grace.

A great work was also done in the heart of 23-year-old J. Lloyd Hunter, who, on bended knee that wintry night in 1913, was quickened by one all –consuming thought: “If only this thread of wasted existence had been won to Christ as a boy, not only his soul, but his LIFE would have been saved!” This was the seed planted by God: the seed in the heart of a man that was to bloom into the nation-wide ministry of the Canadian Sunday School Mission.”

-    Adapted from ’Twenty Thousand Tomorrows’ brochure from CSSM Ministries National Office

Lloyd Hunter was soon invited to minister in Canada, and followed the call of God to Winnipeg in 1926. He was introduced to a group of Christian businessmen who had been meeting regularly to pray for exactly what was burning on Lloyd’s own heart, and who soon became the first board of the Canadian Sunday School Mission. A gift of $150.00 launched the ministry into action. Lloyd was passionate about presenting the Gospel to children, and after two years of ministry, there were 3800 children enrolled in Bible memory contests, 346 individuals converted to Christianity and 19 Sunday Schools started throughout Manitoba.

The need for the Mission to begin a Bible camp ministry quickly became evident: Bible club children had been promised a free week at camp in reward for memorizing 500 verses, and they were rising to the challenge! In 1930, after two summers of using loaned camp facilities, CSSM Ministries purchased Gimli Bible Camp, a beautiful waterfront property located on the shores of Lake Winnipeg.

Gimli Bible Camp was only the beginning of the Mission’s camping endeavors, and camps soon began operating coast to coast as the Mission recognized the need of Canadian children for solid Bible teaching, Christian community, and encounters with God. In 1950, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was being ministered by CSSM Ministries in every province of Canada, and by 2010, CSSM Ministries was overseeing 43 different camps nationwide, along with numerous Bible Clubs, Day Camps, and church plant ministries.

Camping ministry has become one of the main focuses of CSSM Ministries – Both nation-wide and provincially. Here in Manitoba, CSSM Ministries runs six different camp locations, as well as a traveling Day Camp ministry. We have a strong foundation of faith, truth, and the presence of God, along with many faithful previous leaders, ministers, and missionaries whose shoulders we can stand on.

While the ministry approach of CSSM Ministries (installation of ziplines, occurrences of camp teen retreats, and participation in chapel talent shows), may look different today than original outreaches in the ministry's past, the heart, values, mission, and purpose remains the same – To take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ‘unreached’ of Canada, to those with the least opportunity to otherwise know the reality of our God. That’s where our heart lies, and that is the goal CSSM Ministries – still – goes after tenaciously.