HVPA History

The idea of planting a church on the south side of Edmonton began during a heartfelt discussion between Pastor Gary R. and another Pastor (who does not wish to be named) at Sunset Point Christian Camp during the Alberta Beach Pentecostal Camp meetings in July, 2006.   Gary and he were Northwest Bible College classmates in the 1979 graduating class.  Each had been ordained as ministers with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC).  They had a mutual desire to be involved in starting a new church which would be affiliated with the PAOC.  They spoke of a “church without walls”, using a rented facility. They presented their idea to Rev. Ken S., who at the time was the Assistant Director of the Alberta District of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.  Rev. S encouraged them to pray with others about it.      

In September 2006, a group of believers began meeting informally to pray for a new church plant.  

Meetings took place over a number of months in private homes, Pastor Gary and the same Pastor, leading the prayer gatherings.  The Alberta District of the PAOC approved of the church plant called “Heritage Valley Pentecostal Assembly” with these Pastors as the co-pastors in March 2007.     

The first service was delivered at St. Margaret’s Anglican Church on Sunday April 22, 2007, beginning at 4:00 pm.  The other Pastor used common garden seeds to illustrate that Heritage Valley Pentecostal Assembly was like a seed planted with the intent to reap a harvest under God's grace and provision.

The one Pastor withdrew his involvement in September 2007, due to a work-related injury.     

The Church was officially incorporated under the Alberta Religious Societies Act on February 12, 2008.    

Gary R. served as pastor until March, 2008. Rev. Ron H. began his ministry as a full time pastor on March 1, 2008.  

Services were held at St. Margaret’s Anglican Church every Sunday afternoon until September, 2008

September 2008 - moved to Edmonton Scottish Society Hall.  

Over the years our council members resigned for various reasons or passed away. By 2011 we no longer had other council members besides the two pastoral couples still meeting on a regular basis.   

June 26, 2011 we had our first baptism at the Hampton Inn Hotel.  It was suggested that we consider renting their meeting room on a temporary basis until we could find a more permanent meeting place in the Heritage Valley area.    

We started meeting at the Hampton Inn Hotel the following fall, September 2011.

There was a Christian Education class for children from the start until  2016 when there were no longer any children in attendance at our services.   

Over the years we also had occasional women’s gatherings at a member’s home.   

2014 - Tuesday evening Bible studies were started at the Heritage Park Towers.

On September 20, 2015 at an informal members meeting for the purpose of exploring future meeting place options in the Heritage Valley area, it was decided the buildings reviewed would not be suitable for various reasons and the issue was dropped.  We had a total of 16 members at the time.  

2016 - A plan was made for Pastor Ron to meet with district leaders to discuss our options.

November 2017 - Pastor Ron met with Dave H. who was the acting Superintendent  who encouraged him to continue on until the District could give more support after their leadership changes were made.

Pastor Ron announced  his decision to resign as of  January 2018. The church members could decide on the future of the church at that time. Financially we were still healthy and not in any crisis. Our missions support continued on to the four previous global workers, along with the four local ministries.    

January 7, 2018, Annual Business Meeting - and vote. Result was to continue HVPA and look for a new pastor.

Sunday, February 4, 2018 Church Business meeting was led by Gary T., the District Superintendent, who endorsed the plan for Gary R. to be the interim pastor and gave some possible options for the members and guests to consider. The plan was to explore the options, but also to move forward with a pastoral search according to the district guidelines outlined in the Church Transition and Pastoral Search Manual.  

HVPA continued their Sunday Worship and Sermon at the Hampton Inn in their main board room.   We continued our search for a new pastor.

August 2018 - We were very blessed when we were able to offer the position to Pastor Larry L.   

Pastor Larry accepted and started his position on October 1, 2018, along with his lovely wife, Colleen.  

Due to the hotel management necessity to reschedule a meeting room, we moved to the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in their main board room.  

We continued to look for a more permanent location.

 In August 2019, we were blessed to find a beautiful location in the Taylor Seminary. 

Our main sanctuary is in Stencel Hall.  We have access to the commons area where we enjoy fellowship, treats and coffee after the service.  We also have access to their kitchen facilities.   Our first meeting in our new location was on August 18, 2019.