Friends from Bible School days, Bob and Darlene Steward also visited the Jacksons’ field of labor. Farmers in Drumheller, Alberta, they prayed for and supported Bill and Shirley’s work at Lac La Biche. They knew it was not really Bill and Shirley’s work but the Lord’s work. As such, it was sure to be opposed by Satan, and needed prayer. 

        “God called the Stewards to missionary service a little later,” Shirley pointed out. "Now they are Northern Canada Evangelical Mission (NCEM) missionaries. In fact, Bob is the NCEM Eastern Field Director in the Maritimes.” 

        The immediate area of Bill’s ministry comprised about a forty mile radius. He preached and visited in Kikino, hoping that eventually the little work there would grow into a New Testament church. He shared the gospel at Goodfish Lake, at Beaver Lake and, a little further afield, at Imperial Mills and Saddle Lake. Most of his communicating was In Cree, but where he met Native people whose language he couldn’t speak, he resorted to English. From time to time Bill also traveled, sometimes as far away as north of the Peace River country. 

        The Spring Bible Conference sponsored by Berean Bible Institute was a great favorite of many missionaries, especially those who had attended the school. Bill and Shirley were no exception. Annually, they enjoyed going to Calgary. There were family and friends with whom they could trade news; maybe even do a bit of shopping, if the budget allowed. For people who were continually giving out the Word of God in ministry, to be ministered to for that period was a particular delight. The speakers at these conferences knew how to “feed the flock of God.” Refreshed and ready to enter the battle once more, the refreshed missionaries carried back to their posts the memories of those hours under the Word. 

        Bill also found these conferences of practical value for day to day activities as a minister of the Gospel. Such things as conducting weddings and funerals were new to Bill. These conferences gave him opportunity to consult with more experienced ministers to find out if he was doing things right. 

        “I remember conducting my first wedding ceremony; the people getting married were Joe Howse and Annie Cardinal,” Bill recollected. “I must have been at least as nervous as the groom. I know I sweated just as much as he did.” There had been no rehearsal. It was held in a tiny building without even a table to sign the legal papers. 

        Fortunately for Bill, he had a minister’s handbook which he’d picked up somewhere. It contained the order of service for weddings. Since then, he has officiated at many weddings. Understanding that God places a high value on the sanctity of marriage, he encourages young people to get married rather than to just live together. 

        “I have premarital counseling sessions during which I lay out God’s principles and share the Gospel of Christ,” Bill recounts. “If the couple are already living in a common-law relationship, I tell them about their responsibilities before God.” Bill teaches that people cannot move in and out of common-law relationships as if they have no responsibility. If they want him to legalize that union, he is usually willing to do so. “I very carefully consider each situation and do my best to represent God and His Word to the people concerned.”