God Stirs a Heart

Late in the summer of 1953, Reverend Bert Poole and his wife, Muriel, embarked on a trip that would take them from their mission field in Japan back home to Canada. While aboard the S.S. Cambodge, restlessness came over Rev. Poole. He yearned to reach the nation of Japan with the gospel of Christ. He and Muriel had a burning desire to share the love of God with the Japanese, yet their efforts were often thwarted by language barriers and complicated cultural issues. It had been a very difficult road.

As the ship brought them closer to Canada, the Lord impressed upon Bert a vision of supporting Japanese Christ-followers to plant churches. It was an “aha!” moment. The superior efficiency of having Japanese reach their own people was evident. There would be no language barriers, no cultural missteps, and expedited progress without the need to prove oneself to a foreign community. This revelation ultimately became the foundation of White Fields.

Others Join the Cause

The number of missionaries to Japan had always been meager, and Rev. Poole’s heart to see the exponential growth of Japanese Christ-followers continued to surge. He felt that pairing experienced missionaries with Japanese church planters could produce new churches in Japan in an unprecedented way.

Upon their return to Canada, Rev. Poole and Muriel began to personally support some Japanese pastors. In 1955, a Christian attorney heard of their work and offered his services to assist in registering this newly formed mission as a tax-exempt organization. It was at this time that the name "White Fields" was chosen for this new ministry. It was taken from the words of Jesus found in John 4:35, "Do you not say, `There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest."

The Pooles encouraged churches and individual Christians to participate in prayerfully supporting national church planters. The greatest response in the early days came from western Canada. The first annual banquet designed to share the ministry of White Fields was held in Edmonton, Alberta in 1971. These banquet-type meetings quickly began to spread to other cities.

Expanding Across the Globe

The White Fields International Board of Directors was formed in 1977 to assist Rev. Poole in expanding the mission into other countries. Over the years, national church planters were supported in Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Tobago, Trinidad, Venezuela and Mexico. Currently, White Fields supports church planters in Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Mexico, Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Russia, Malawi, Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Over 98% of the churches planted through White Fields’ support have been successful and many have planted daughter churches. Over 800 churches to date have been established through this ministry. From the very beginning, White Fields has been a ministry that emphasizes the importance of prayer. Reports from the field are used to create "Prayer Facts” to assist our supporters with interceding on behalf of White Fields church planters. We attribute the solid success rate of church plants to the teamwork between nationals, missionaries and prayer supporters.

On Thanksgiving Day in 1999, the Lord called Rev. Bert Poole home after a long battle with cancer. Muriel celebrated her 80th birthday on February 18, 2002. She is still in good health and actively involved in the ministry of White Fields. The International Board is grateful to God for the vision and leadership Rev. Poole provided to White Fields for almost 50 years. It is our firm belief that now, more than ever, the White Fields concept can be greatly used to help fulfill the Great Commission.