In1964, Bill and Shirley Jackson officially joined Northern Canada Evangelical Mission (NCEM). This meant that their names were added to the large roster of more than 100 dedicated missionaries united under NCEM to spread the Gospel across the vast unreached areas of Canada’s Northland. 

        NCEM was started by Stan and Evelyn Collie in Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan. The Collies had been homesteaders in the Meadow Lake area. In 1937, Fred Smith, a Christian and Missionary Alliance worker was visiting homes and holding meetings in a country school house in their area. While visiting one of their neighbors, he told them he wanted to visit the Collies. He was warned, “Don’t go near them, Stan will just curse you.” That didn’t stop Fred. He went and talked to them about Christ. About midnight Stan and Evelyn Collie both accepted the Lord. 

        Many things changed in Stan Collie’s life. For one thing, he learned a new vocabulary. The cursing was gone. The greatest change, however, was a new longing in his heart that others should know the same peace with God that he had discovered. That fall the Collies attended a missionary conference. Later God impressed upon Stan’s heart the need for people to take the gospel to Canada’s North. Stan and Evelyn both experienced a deepening desire to do this. 

        In the spring of 1939, Stan caught a ride with some traders down the Beaver River to Ile-a-la-Crosse and on to the Indian settlement of Patuanak. That trip caused him to give his life to this work. Returning, he sold his homestead and, with Arnold Mclvor’s help, built a small skiff powered by an outboard motor. In June of 1940, Stan made a tour of about 550 miles, holding services, distributing Christian literature and talking to people about the Lord. Soon after, the Collies, with their meager possessions, went by wagon and scow to Buffalo Narrows. In time, more workers came to join the Collies and NCEM officially came into being in 1946. 

        In 1993, NCEM has grown to include around 150 missionaries whose goal is to establish Native churches which will bring the Gospel to their own people. When the Jacksons joined, however, the Mission was less than twenty years old. NCEM was happy to welcome two more missionaries who shared the burden for Gospel work among indigenous people in the North. The fact that Bill was a Cree Christian added to the potential of NCEM’s ministry. 

        Part of the encouragement for Bill and Shirley to join NCEM came from John Unger, Director of Indian Gospel Broadcasts in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. For about six years prior to formally joining the Mission, Bill was one of the most frequently used speakers on the NCEM broadcast. The Cree messages brought many letters of appreciation from listeners across the North.