Pastor's Message

Dear Visitor,

Thank you for exploring our website! When I think about the ministry of London Free Presbyterian Church my mind immediately goes to Psalm 126:3  "The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."

The most important things you should expect from the Church you attend are faithfulness to the Word of God and the preaching of the gospel of God’s saving power and grace.

Rev. Michael Jaatinen

The message of the gospel is what God uses to lead people to experience the joy and assurance of forgiveness of sin and inner peace through the death and glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Michael & Karen Jaatinen

              Pastor Michael's testimony and call to London

I count it a privilege to be able to give an account of how our Lord Jesus saved me by His wonderful grace.  I grew up in Saint John N.B, Canada. My family was not Christian and felt no desire to attend church, so during my early years I also felt no desire for the things of God, and never knew the need of salvation. When I was a teenager I came in contact with a Christian family. They were extremely patient with me, and faithfully witnessed God’s love  and salvation  in Jesus Christ. Through their witness, I accepted the Lord Jesus as my Lord and Saviour at the age of sixteen.

My wife Karen and I were very clearly directed to the gospel ministry from God's Word and circumstance. In 1995, while living in Toronto, I felt the burden of the ministry from Eph. 6:19-20,"And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."  We were very cautious and wanted to make sure that the Lord was indeed calling us into full-time service. As we continued to seek the Lord's leading He directed us to    2 Cor. 2:7, "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory." Both verses deal with speaking the mystery of the gospel. To be extra sure that we were not reading something into these verses we asked the Lord for Dr. McClelland (former senior pastor of Toronto Free Presbyterian Church) to use one of these verses in a message within two weeks. On the last Sunday of that time period, Dr.  McClelland changed the Scripture text he was going to speak on to one of our texts. Thus, the Lord confirmed to us very clearly that He was calling us into full time ministry. I began my seminary training in Toronto and studied for two years. Then I was sent to Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, South Carolina and studied for three years and graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 2003. 

          Two families in London, Ontario petitioned the Toronto FPC to begin a work  in London in 2005. At that time there was no one available to go and minister to them, yet they persevered and started holding Wednesday night prayer meetings and had a “Let the Bible Speak” radio broadcast every Lord’s Day. While meetings were going on in London, the Lord began to work in my heart and burden me for this ministry. It was during a Sunday service in October 2006  that a visiting minister spoke in Toronto on Isaiah 6. When he reached verse 8 in his message I knew the Lord was speaking to me. "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Based on this text I firmly believe the Lord was sending me to go for Him to London and build up a Free Presbyterian Church. The Lord later confirmed our coming to London from 1Peter 5:2, "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind." and Psalm 37:3, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." Our first service in London was on Nov. 5, 2006 and the church was officially launched!

London Free Presbyterian Church