RICH BIRCH
Unseminary.com
Rich Birch is one of the early multisite church pioneers in North America. He led the charge in helping The Meeting House in Toronto to become the leading multi-site church in Canada with over 5,000+ people in 15 locations. In addition, he served on the leadership team of Connexus Church in Ontario, a North Point Community Church Strategic Partner. He has also been a part of the lead team at Liquid Church – a 5 location multisite church serving the Manhattan facing suburbs of New Jersey. Liquid is known for its innovative approach to outreach and community impact.
Rich is passionate about helping churches reach more people, more quickly through excellent execution. He has a weekly blog and podcast that helps with stuff you wish they taught in seminary at unseminary.com.
ED STETZER
Highpoint Church, Chicago
Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., is a professor and dean at Wheaton College where he also serves as Executive Director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. He has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches, trained pastors and church planters on six continents, has earned two master’s degrees and two doctorates, and has written hundreds of articles and a dozen books. He is Regional Director for Lausanne North America, is the editor-in-chief of Outreach Magazine, and is frequently cited in, interviewed by, and writes for news outlets such as USAToday and CNN. He is the Founding Editor of The Gospel Project, a curriculum used by more than 1.7 million individuals each week for Bible study. His national radio show, Ed Stetzer Live, airs Saturdays on Moody Radio and affiliates. He serves as teaching pastor of at Highpoint Church, with several sites in the Chicago-land area.
SHAILA VISSER
Alpha Canada
Shaila Visser is the National Director of Alpha Canada and the Global Senior Vice-President for Alpha International. Shaila has a heart for people coming to know Jesus and is passionate about helping the local church flourish. She is a gifted communicator who is known for her strategic leadership as well as her ability to bring people together. Shaila is recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Christian Women in Canada. Shaila lives in Vancouver BC with her husband, Ryan Visser, a Vancouver Police Officer, and their four-legged family members, Talon and Benny. You can reach Shaila on Twitter or Instagram @shailavisser.
FINU IYPE
Village Church, ON
Finu serves as the Regional Director for Church Planting for Village Church in Ontario. Village Church is a multisite church with a mission to see people transformed into fully devoted followers of Jesus! Finu has been involved in global evangelism, and church development ministry, and has held Pastor’s conferences and mass evangelism campaigns in over 20 nations. Finu has coached and consulted on church revitalization and led annual gospel training events like GO Conference, GO United YA Conference, and GO Lead Pastor workshops in the Greater Toronto Area. Finu is married to Tresha and together they have two young daughters, Lauren and Catherine.
MICHAEL HARVEY
National Weekend of Invitation
Michael has spoken to thousands of church leaders and congregational members in his Seminars. To date, he has seen hundreds of thousands of Christians mobilised, resulting in 1 million+ accepted invitations. He launched the first National Weekend of Invitation in June 2018 and the Acorn Spiritual Practice in May 2020. He is author of the books, “Unlocking the Growth,” “Creating a Culture of Invitation,” and his latest book, “Invitation to Heal.” As an itinerant speaker, Micheal has a ministry across 18 countries and five continents. Michael Harvey is married to Eike, and they have three adult children.
JERRY SEN
OneChurch.to
Over the last 20 years, Jerry has been a transformative leader within the Digital & Brand Marketing space. Jerry’s leadership within the marketplace is now being utilized to impact the lives of people within the city of Toronto and globally. As Directional Leader for OneChurch.to, a multi-site church in Toronto, he oversees all Digital efforts, Local and Global outreach. His leadership was critical in launching the LoveArmy which encourages people to be un-ignorably good to others and supports many organizations in the city. His active participation in the Global Leadership Summit also speaks to his enthusiasm for building strong leaders who create positive echoes in their community.
ANNE MIRANDA
Village Church
Anne is currently the Pastor of Women’s Ministries at Village Church in Canada where she oversees the development of women’s ministries in a multi-site church. She also loves to develop leaders in vocational ministry, through a network she co-founded called Leverage as well as through the Canadian Christian Leaders Network (CCLN) where she participates on the pastoral advisory committee.
sam rainer
Church Answers
Sam Rainer serves as president of Church Answers and is a cofounder of Rainer Publishing. He is also lead pastor at West Bradenton Baptist Church in Bradenton, Florida. He writes, teaches, speaks, and consults on a variety of church health issues. Sam cohosts the popular podcasts Rainer on Leadership and EST.church.
DARRIN LATHAM
Broadway Church, Vancouver
Darin Latham has served as the Lead Pastor of Broadway Church in Vancouver, British Columbia for the last 14 years. He has served on a leadership level at the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, as a police chaplain both in the Niagara Region and in the city of Vancouver and as the chaplain for the UBC Thunderbirds hockey team. Known for his humorous yet thought-provoking style, Darin has spoken in churches, camps, conferences, college and university campuses across Canada and around the world.
BILL HOGG
Church Planting Canada
Bill is a published author and former radio talk show host and has served as a pastor, professor, and evangelist. He was involved in pioneering evangelism in Scotland, developing Youth for Christ in his role as National Evangelist, served as part of the Arrow Leadership Ministries faculty offering congregational and para-church leaders training in evangelism, and served as National Missiologist with a Canadian interdenominational church planting network. Bill has also been involved in assessing, coaching, training, and supporting church planters for several years. He is part of the SEND Institute Missiologists Council. He also serves on the Church Planting Canada leadership team and his doctoral research focused on the missional renewal of the church.
MIKE MILLER
Nova Church, Halifax
In 2016 Mike embarked on a journey to plant Nova Church Halifax. Together with the Nova Dream Team, they officially launched Nova Church in September 2017. The team is obsessed with helpin those far from God come close to God. They are becoming the church their kids, neighbours and city needs.
DARIA NARDOZZA
Waybase.com
Daria is the Director of Community Engagement at Waybase, whose purpose is to connect churches, ministries, agencies, and marketplace leaders into regional leadership networks that leverage trust, forward-thinking, shared data, and coalitions to engage a new generation and care for our cities. She is on the board of directors of 24-7 Prayer Canada, an organization centred on prayer, mission and justice.
JEREMY NIPPARD
PAONL
Jeremy is the Director of Formission with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Newfoundland and Labrador (PAONL). He is also a Mobilizer with Simply Mobilizing Canada, and in his spare time, he writes children’s novels and makes Newfoundland-themed board games. He lives in Paradise, NL with his wife, Cheryl, and two kids, Christyn and Carter. Jeremy imagines a world where all pastors feel loved, fulfilled and valued, and have all the resources and connections they need to multiply healthy discipleship.
DANIEL WHITEHEAD
Sanctuary Health Ministries
Daniel is a Regent College graduate and ordained minister with over ten years of full-time vocational church ministry experience in the UK. He has traveled extensively overseas working on various humanitarian projects and is a certified mediator with London School of Mediation. Dan studied the role of majority world theological perspectives in shaping a theology of mental health in his ThM research.
JONO AND NICOLE ZANTINGH
Evolve Church, Edmonton
You don’t have to know Jono and Nicole for very long to understand the passion they have for loving people and connecting people to Jesus. They both prioritize and value a growing and real relationship with God. They are committed to the local church and reaching out to help other people find hope and belonging in Jesus. In April 2018, Jono and Nicole moved to Edmonton from Winnipeg with their three children, Julia, Riley and Kaleb, and began building the Evolve Church community.
RICK HIEMSTRA
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
Rick Hiemstra is Director of Research and Media Relations at the EFC. Rick speaks on Canadian church and cultural trends, including the new Renegotiating Faith research about emerging adulthood and faith formation. Prior to coming to the EFC, he served as a Wesleyan pastor and high school mathematics and computer science teacher.
He has recently contributed to Canadian studies on Bible engagement, local church missions engagement, emerging adulthood, and faith formation. Currently, he is leading a study on small evangelical churches and another on parental discipleship of children in the home.
ROGER HELLAND
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
Dr. Roger Helland is the Prayer Ambassador of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. He has served as a pastor, district minister, and professor, and is the author of seven books including The Devout Life, Missional Spirituality, and Pursuing God’s Presence (forthcoming). His passion is to stimulate spiritual and missional renewal in the church.
JENNIFER MITCHELL
Lighthouse Church, AB
Jennifer was born and raised in Uganda, East Africa. She and her husband Cameron have been married for 12 years and have three children. Jennifer served at Uganda Jesus Village orphanage for five years with a psychology background. Later, she and Cameron served as the overseers for two years. Since coming to Canada, they have run Freedom and Fire Ministries. This involved missions, self-sustaining projects, an education and feeding program, and travelling speakers for eight years. Jennifer has served her local church in areas with youth, young adults, women, and personal ministry. Currently, she is the Senior Pastor at the Lighthouse Church in Stony Plain, Alberta.
JOHN ALBISTON
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
John is a turn-around specialist and a District Effectiveness Coach with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. He has had a track record of leading churches both small and large to dramatic conversion growth.
KATHY ZELMAN
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
Kathy has worked with kids and families for over 30 years in church settings (small, medium, crosscultural, large, and mega-sized churches), school settings, and early childhood settings. She is presently the Children and Family Ministries specialist at the ABNWT District Resource Centre, as well as working in Care Ministries at Hope City Church in Edmonton. She thrives on collaborating and coaching leaders, helping them thrive.
GARY TAITINGER
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
Gary led a growing metro church for 36 years, then transitioned to be the District Superintendent for the ABNWT District of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada in 2017. His hope is that the ABNWT District team will be the single most helpful resource in leading and growing your church. His goal is that 80% of our churches will be experiencing incremental growth across the region.
NATALIE ROGGE
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
Natalie provides leadership as Strategic Manager for Mission Canada at the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, working with groups and leaders who see Canada as a mission field. She combines this passion with her role as the Director of Communications and Strategic Initiatives for the Pentecostal Assemblies. Natalie is passionate about reaching and discipling the next generation, made evident through her involvement in various leadership, teaching and mentoring capacities in their local church and in the PAOC family.
JEREMIAH RAIBLE
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
Jeremiah is one of the District Effectiveness Coaches and worship specialists for the PAOC ABNWT District Office. He is a seasoned worship pastor, tech director, and community outreach pastor. Jeremiah constantly proves the naysayers wrong about how even the smallest church can thrive.
ANTHONY GRECO
Calgary Life Church
Together Anthony & Madeleine have visited over 40 nations of the world passionately sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. Crowds of up to 50,000 have attended their seminars as they shared God's word of Peace, Life, Forgiveness and Purpose. They pioneered the Gospel in unreached areas, partnering in church planting and leadership training for many years before establishing Calgary Life Church.
They started Calgary Life Church in March of 1999 from a small Bible study in their home. Their infectious love for people and life attracts people from all walks, nationalities, and ages. Their desire is to help people discover the amazing value and purpose all people have through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Tim Schindel
Leading Influence
After almost 25 years of pastoral/community leadership, Tim Schindel founded Leading Influence in 2006 to fulfill the vision of providing excellence in pastoral care to politicians across Canada. Under his leadership, Leading Influence has grown to a National ministry with a team of Spiritual Care providers (chaplains) that stretches from Victoria, BC, to Quebec City. Tim is the National Director for Leading Influence and serves as a Chaplain on Parliament Hill. While his primary career focus has been in faith-based ministry, he has extensive experience as a community leader, a life/leadership coach and a business owner. In the summer of 2020, ‘just for fun,’ he envisioned and led ‘The Big Spend’ campaign to support locally owned businesses seeking recovery after the initial COVID lockdown. The project generated nearly $90 Million in economic activity across Canada and attracted national news attention.
AUBREY TOZER
The BAM Canada Network
After recognizing the need to connect individuals and organizations who are passionate about bridging the gap between the sacred and the secular, Aubrey founded BAM Canada Network. The BAM Canada Network offers a one-of-a-kind collaborative space where you can develop and access the resources required to leverage the power of business and the quadruple bottom line (people, planet, profit and purpose). The goals are to help believers meaningfully integrate the Mission of God into everyday work and life, and to stimulate collaboration opportunities for each member. Of the BAM Canada Network, Aubrey Tozer said, “I know that there is some great Business as Mission work happening both in Canada and abroad, but we have no way of connecting like-minded people, businesses and organizations across this vast country, until now.” For more information, please visit the BAM Canada Network website at network.bamcanada.net
HAILEY ARMOOGAN
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
Hailey is the President of the Sub Arctic Leadership Training College and the Director of Northern Initiatives and Church Partnerships for the ABNWT District of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.
Bob Jones
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
Bob Jones is the founder of REVwords.com, an author, blogger, and coach with 39 years of pastoral experience. Bob is also an Advance Coach with the ABNWT Resource Centre.
PATTI MILLER
Evangel Church, Montreal
Born and raised in small-town life, Patti pastored in urban settings in Ontario for 21 years before moving to become the Lead Pastor of Evangel Church in downtown Montreal in 2015. Having previously completed a Sociology degree, she is now working towards an MTS at Masters Pentecostal Seminary. She serves on the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada General Executive. She and her trucker-husband, Jeff, have been happily married for almost three decades. Patti is a storyteller who loves Jesus, local churches, and her next-door neighbours.
DAVE WELLS
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
Dave has served as general superintendent of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) since May 2008. The PAOC has over 1,100 affiliated churches and 3,500 credentialed ministers with a constituency of close to 250,000 people across Canada. Internationally, the organization has over 300 global workers serving in more than 50 nations. Dave serves as the vice-chair of the Pentecostal World Fellowship and on the executives of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship and the Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of North America.
TREVOR SCOTT
Living Streams Church, Rocky Mountain House
In 2003, Trevor became a pastor of a small church in a rural town. Since then, God continuously stirred his heart towards evangelism. An ambassador is one that is sent from one kingdom into another to give the message of the king. It is Trevor’s desire to be a voice that calls to the church to once again take the steps of an ambassador in every situation and circumstance, sharing the message of Christ.