Canada: Struggle in a secular culture
TORONTO — Gerald Ellis is a rare breed at the…
Max Craddock, prominent minister and TV speaker in Canada, dies at 77
The Key to the Kingdom television program featured Craddock.
Max Craddock, a prominent preacher and television speaker in Canada, died Dec. 15. He was 77.
Craddock ministered for the Strathmore Boulevard Church of Christ in Toronto for 30 years. Since 2005, he also had served as the speaker for “Key to the Kingdom,” a weekly television program.
Max Craddock
He also had been co-editor of the Gospel Herald, a news and teaching publication for the roughly 7,000 members of Churches of Christ in Canada.
“I don’t suppose we’ll ever be satisfied, until we convert everybody,” Craddock said in a 2009 interview with The Christian Chronicle. “But I’d say the church in Ontario is reasonably healthy.”
His other roles included serving as chairman of the board at Great Lakes Bible College, a small preacher training school in Waterloo, Ontario.
“Just as John said that Jesus came and dwelt among us, so we Canadians can make the same claim about Max. He left southern Ohio to make Ontario his home,” longtime Canadian church leader Art Ford said of Craddock, who preached in the Great White North for 59 years.
Craddock combined his early church work with a ministry overseeing the dormitories at Great Lakes Christian College, later known as Great Lakes Christian High School, and directing the chorus at the school in Beamsville, Ontario, Ford noted.
“Never satisfied that he was doing enough, Max … seemed willing and able to take on more than most others. In filling all of these roles, Max became known and loved by many in churches throughout Canada.”
“His jovial personality and deep care for the students led to his developing lifelong friendships with those of us who knew him from that role in the 1960s,” said Ford, a past president of Great Lakes Bible College and Great Lakes Christian High School. “While he ministered with local churches, Max’s love for Christian education continued to be evident as he served on the boards of both Great Lakes Christian High School and Great Lakes Bible College.
“He filled many roles on the boards, including many years as chair of each board. Never satisfied that he was doing enough, Max … seemed willing and able to take on more than most others. In filling all of these roles, Max became known and loved by many in churches throughout Canada.”
Craddock’s survivors include Cledith, his wife of 58 years, along with two children, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
His daughter, Lisa, shared this remembrance in his final days:
Memorial services are planned Dec. 21 at the Meaford Church of Christ in Ontario and Dec. 28 at the Strathmore Boulevard church. For more details, see Craddock’s full obituary.
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Note from Bobby: I was blessed to meet Craddock during my first Christian Chronicle reporting trip to Canada in 2008. I last saw him in 2016 during a later reporting trip.
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