Chloe Chamberlain: Inspiring the Next Generation
Chloe Chamberlain
I met Chloe Chamberlain at my Canadian church while I was still in my teens. She was then serving as a BCM missionary teaching Bible in Canadian public schools. One day she took me to see what her classes were like. I was very interested in watching the students listen so attentively as Chloe taught the Bible lesson. I’ll never forget that day and the fun we had in Chloe’s little “bug,” her Volkswagen car.
I too wanted to be a missionary teaching Bible to children. Chloe’s example inspired me to work toward that goal. In 1967, Chloe Chamberlain became National Director of BCM Canada. Her faithful service encouraged many Canadian young people into children’s ministry, including such BCM missionaries as Marilyn White, Kathy Shaw, Pam Rowntree, Lois Seibert, Sally Klassen, Ron Benoit, Bill Ricketts, and many others. Several of us became overseas missionaries after serving with BCM in Canada—Isabelle Leaitch, Mary den Boer in the Netherlands, and I in Pakistan. After serving in children’s ministry for 21 years in Pakistan, I returned to serve with BCM in Canada. The one thing that stands out in my mind is Chloe taking the time to introduce me to teaching Bible in the schools and teacher training.
After doing many teacher trainings in the Ontario area, I launched out into my own ministry area in northern Ontario. Today, more than fifty years after first meeting Chloe Chamberlain, I am still teaching Bible to children and conducting teacher training in Canada as well as other parts of the world from Nigeria to Pakistan. And it all started because of Chloe’s heart to teach and train others, even a young teenage girl.