Dr. Gordon Arthur McDonald

He was born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1943 to Kenneth McDonald and Lois Mosley (McDonald). Bishop McDonald was one of four children; his siblings included Kenneth, Bobby and Sandra.

Bishop McDonald graduated from Holmes Bible College in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1965. That is where he met the love of his life, Glenda Doss. They were married on September 4, 1965, in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

Bishop McDonald began pastoring the Arcadia Pentecostal Holiness Church in the Upper South Carolina Conference and, after graduating from Holmes, he and Glenda continued to lead congregations in South Carolina before moving to Canada.

Bishop McDonald furthered his education by completing work at Louisiana State University, Furman University, the Southern California School of Theology, and the California Graduate School. He received honorary degrees from the California School of Theology and the West Coast Bible College.

Bishop McDonald served for 40 years as senior pastor of Calvary Christian Church in Surrey, British Colombia, Canada. In 1997 he was elected Superintendent of the Pentecostal Holiness Church of Canada, a position he held for 23 years. For 29 years he served as chairman of the board of Pacific Academy, a private school based in Surrey, B.C. In November 2015, the Academy dedicated the Gordon McDonald library in his honour. He also served as director of Life Outreach International, a ministry of James Robison.

Bishop McDonald’s influence reached far beyond North America to include extensive overseas missions efforts. Not only did he serve as a member of the IPHC World Missions Ministries Board for 12 years, he also served on the board of Kuwasha Kids in Uganda. From its inception, he was a member of the IPHC Global Leadership Council, formerly known as the IPHC World Pentecostal Fellowship. He was a faithful member of both the Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches of North America and the Pentecostal World Fellowship.

When asked if he had a life motto, Bishop McDonald responded with one word, “Others.”

Bishop McDonald is survived by his wife Glenda, and their three sons and their families: Jeff and Amber McDonald and their children, Calvin, Eilidh and Fergus; Dwayne and Staci McDonald and their children, Sadie, Taylor and Lucas; and David and Carmel McDonald and their children, Jacob and Anna.

A Celebration of Life will follow at a later date.