Fort Smith (Apr 03/06) - John Emerson says a church should be an organization with its walls down.

The pastor of the Fort Smith Pentecostal Church says that means a church must be active in and serve the community.

Pastor John Emerson of the Fort Smith Pentecostal Church stands in front of Extended Hand, a food bank and goodwill store operated by the church. On the steps are items donated by the public. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Emerson says two per cent of his time is spent behind the pulpit, and the remaining 98 per cent is in the community. "That's where you can make a difference."

All church members have something to offer and it should be natural to share, he says. "When you bless others, you're blessed."

One of the most visible roles of the Fort Smith Pentecostal Church is Extended Hand, a food bank and goodwill store that has operated for close to 20 years.

Emerson and his wife, Myrna, arrived in Fort Smith in 1999, and ran Extended Hand for their first four years in the community.

Extended Hand now has a manager and a team of volunteers.

At Christmas, it distributes hampers to about 100 families.

Throughout the year, 50-60 people show up three nights a week for free food or to buy cheaply-priced clothes or household items.

"Christianity is when you meet not just spiritual needs, but physical needs, as well," Emerson says. "That's part of our vision."

The Fort Smith Pentecostal Church is active in several other ways.

It has the Sub-Arctic Leadership Training Institute, which offers a two-year course for Northerners and people from the south.

On average, it has between six and eight students a year.

Some graduates have gone on to serve in many parts of the world, Emerson notes.

Emerson served on a mission in Africa in 1993, where he worked with AIDS orphans and saw tens of thousands of homeless people. "When you see that, it widens your world view."

Members of the church have served on Pentecostal task forces in Africa, Central America and elsewhere.

The church also runs the Pentecostal Sub-Arctic Ministries, which oversees seven churches in small NWT communities.

The 53-year-old Emerson, who is originally from Saskatchewan, came to Fort Smith with his family after serving in the Alberta communities of Newbrook, Chauvin and Claresholm, beginning in 1981.

His wife also used to be a pastor, but now works as a nurse. They have three sons, one of whom is still at home.

"I'd never been to the North," Emerson recalls of the decision to move to the NWT. "I never knew anything about Fort Smith."

Emerson says he and his wife were attracted to Fort Smith by the small-town feeling.