Canadian Church Leader's Podcast

Episode 61 | Vijay Krishnan, Pastor of The Well Church in Toronto, joins Jason this week for a discussion on what the church might look like coming out of the pandemic, his personal ministry journey, and the development challenges pastors are facing these days.  Vijay’s journey into ministry was not a straight path, but instead included multiple years working in marketing for a large food retail brand before stepping into the lead pastor role of the church plant he was a part of. The tension he experienced of loving and giving his all to the church plant, but then heading to work on Mondays struggling to find motivation, eventually pushed him to make the change. The church had struggled a bit since inception, however Vijay felt a strong sense of calling to stay and build into the community.  About Vijay Krishnan is the Lead Pastor of The Well, one church with 3 congregations in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. Vijay began his career working in the Toronto business community for 10 years doing CPG a

Episode 60 | John Mark Comer joins Jason for the second time on our podcast to share his reflections and learnings from this past year and what his future looks like as he transitions out of his pastoral role at Bridgetown.  They start off reviewing the ways this past year has caused trauma, hurt, fatigue and division in the church and what the pastoral task is in the midst of this. In the last few years, John Mark highlights how he has felt a distinct shift in people’s expectations of him and the increased criticisms pastors are receiving. No longer is enough nuance, a relaxed presentation, and deep cultural analysis and study enough to avoid attacks being hurled at teachers and churches. In light of this, pastors need a deeper conviction than ever on what Jesus has called them to, not just what people want from them; John Mark sees this as primarily centering around a sort of spiritual director and shepherd for people.  Jason asks what the role is of the church amidst these cultural conversations.

Episode 59 | John and Helen Burns joined Jason to share about their life, ministry, and the wisdom they have learned as spouses and parents after 35 years in ministry together. Anne Miranda, Women’s Pastor at Village Church, also joined the conversation as she was impacted in special ways by their ministry years ago. She shared the story of coming back to church as a teenager and experiencing healing one night as John preached at Victory Christian Centre (later renamed to Relate Church).  John and Helen talk about their time at Relate Church as lead pastors and their recent transition to become the founding and teaching pastors as they turned the reins over to new leadership. Throughout their 35 years at Relate, they have learned the importance of fighting bitterness and journeying with the right people around you. One of their unique giftings as a couple has been to connect with and care for younger people, no matter what the age gap is. John muses that he is basically a teenager, but in all seriousness

Episode 58 | Jason had the privilege of sitting down on this week’s episode with Pastor Drew Hyun who oversees a family of churches called Hope Church NYC. Drew is a kind and committed leader to the mission of God and shares vulnerably about his life, faith, and leadership with us. Drew worked at New Life Church under Pete Scazzero for many years before eventually realizing the need to resign to pursue what God was beginning to form in his heart. The transition was difficult though as not everyone understood why he would leave when he and Rich Villodas were in line to step in after Pete. He shared about these moments of reflection and how he came to realize his only reasons for staying were really about ego and fear. If he left this well-known church, he would be a nobody. If he quit, he would be left without a job in one of the most expensive global cities. Neither of these he realized, were a good reason for staying though, so he left and began to pursue what God might have next. Jason ends the conversatio

Episode 57 | This week, Jason connects with Charles Price, Pastor-at-Large with The Peoples Church in Toronto. They talk about Charles’ decades of ministry experience and leadership and what some of his lessons and convictions are after all those years. Charles became a Christian through a Billy Graham film as a child and quickly moved towards pursuing a calling into ministry. He shared about having opportunities to preach at small churches around England and how thankful he was for the hundreds of opportunities he had before eventually deciding to step into pastoral ministry. It was not always a clear or direct path forward though. Charles at a young age had many options he considered, from churches and evangelistic organizations to camps and bible schools, the decisions were not easy. Jason asks about preaching as well, what convictions he has about it and how young communicators can find their voice. Charles talks about the importance of leaving people dependent on God when you preach and how to think abou

Episode 56 | Moving to Canada with twelve young adults to plant a church, while not having your Visa secured, takes faith. That is the beginning of Ben & Emma Narayanan’s story of moving to North Vancouver from Australia to begin what would become Avant Life Church. In this week’s conversation with Jason, they share about the journey over the last 4 years and how they have seen God’s goodness through it all. Pastors Ben and Emma Narayanan are the Lead Pastors of Avant Life Church. As leaders, both Ps Ben and Ps Emma are passionate about sharing the message of Christ through boldness, innovation and creativity. After hearing the clear call from God, they moved to North Vancouver Canada with their three amazing children Levi, Alice and Eden from Canberra, Australia to pioneer Avant Life Church. Their hearts for people, leadership development and community engagement has helped establish Avant Life Church as a thriving, relevant and transformational Christ-centred community. Blog | www.ccln.ca/episodes/epis

Today’s episode is from a webinar hosted by Worship Central Canada. Brooke Ligertwood of Hillsong Worship sat down with Darrell Johnson to continue the conversations they have been having on worship and theology. Covering an assortment of topics, they share with each other what they have seen and are learning about worship in our modern churches. Some of the topics they dive into are around the essentials of worship and what we do not want to lose in the future, along with some of the things they are okay to see fade out (mullets?!). They look at what has changed this past year for both congregations and their worship leaders as many churches have had to move online or have very limited gatherings. Darrell talks about what it means to live in both the seen and unseen when it comes to worship and the importance of remembering we are joining into an already ongoing worship service. Brooke also expresses what she has learned about calling and how we can confuse a calling to lead others into worship with the meth

Sam Picken joined Jason for this week’s episode to share about planting C3 Church Toronto with his wife, Jess, and to talk about all things ministry and discipleship. Sam is originally from Australia, but moved to Canada in 2008 and joined the team at C3 Calgary, helping with their Saskatoon location as well. Their conversation includes Sam's vision for serving the city during COVID-19 and his reflections on foundational values and practices he wants to grow in to be able to pastor for the long haul. Sam and his wife Jess are the Lead Pastors of C3 Church Toronto, Canada. They relocated from Australia in 2008 to follow God's call to ministry in Canada, and in 2012 planted C3 Toronto. C3 Toronto's main purpose as a church is to connect people to God. The church is known for its strong community and outward focus on mission through 'Love Toronto'. Sam and Jess reside in the west end of Toronto with their three kids. They lead their church with a strong emphasis on discipleship and developing leaders, and nothi

Father Justin Huang grew up in Richmond, British Columbia, the third of three brothers. Though not raised Catholic, he started going to Mass when he was 13. After a powerful experience of God’s love through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, he felt called to the Holy priesthood at the age of 16. He is the appointed pastor of St. Anthony of Padua, Vancouver. Matt Menzel is the Lead Pastor of Westside Church in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. He and his wife Melissa are passionate about calling and equipping Jesus' people to 'Make Him Known' through the ordinary, Spirit-empowered rhythms of following Jesus in everyday life. They're thrilled and beyond blessed to be part of what Jesus' Spirit is doing in the city. In their conversation, they discuss the reality of not seeing eye to eye on everything and the challenges of working alongside those in the church you disagree with, especially theologically. However, they express their unity in Christ and friendship that makes for meaningful and thoughtful discus

Jono Zantingh is a Canadian Pastor, Church Planter and Worship Leader.  He has been married to Nicole for 20 years.  Together, they have 3 children; Julia, Riley and Kaleb. In 2018, Jono & Nicole moved to Edmonton, AB from Winnipeg, MB to plant Evolve Church in South Edmonton with their ARC Canada Family. In 2020, Jono began serving as a coach to other church planters in Canada through the ARC. He is passionate about the local church and seeing others grow in their surrender of learning to trust and follow Jesus. The emotions, he shares, of both being excited about the journey, but also grieving the past were challenging to navigate. He says that it was important to feel both, allowing themselves to be sad about leaving friends, family, and their church and also excited for the vision God had given them for Evolve Church. The call to plant was discerned over a few years where both Jono and his wife, Nicole, sensed God’s leading to a new place. Edmonton was somewhat of a surprise, but they soon h

Darren Rouanzoin from Garden Church in Long Beach, California joins Jason this week on the podcast. They begin by Darren sharing his journey of growing up and not believing in the gifts of the Spirit until visiting a church where the supernatural seemed natural; atheists accepted Jesus, the sick were healed, and prophecy was spoken. He resolved to experience this in his own life and to build a church that would be empowered by the Spirit. This led him and his wife to begin a church community of small groups that eventually turned into services, serving their city, loving the poor, and raising up staff. What sets Garden Church apart is that it’s not a church born from a vision just for a church, but from a vision for the city. Darren’s heart is that in a diverse, economically unequal city like Long Beach, they could serve and disciple both the CEO and the single mom, which doesn’t always fit in certain models or strategies of the church. Darren unpacks the importance of mentors in his life and gives advice on

For this episode, Jason is joined by Anne Miranda, Pastor of Women’s Ministries at Village Church Canada. In this conversation, Anne shares vulnerably about past trauma and the influence of her childhood on her work life and eventual journey into church ministry. She also gives insights on what has helped her lead great teams and to empower and release people, especially young adults, into serving roles. Jason and her take the time to explore how important it is for the church to be a safe place for conversations and how investing in young people wrestling with doubts is often a long game requiring perseverance. Anne is a first-generation Canadian, born to Lebanese parents who Immigrated when she was young. As the eldest child, success and achievement in school and activities were essential, which led her to pursue multiple degrees and be extensively involved in social justice organizations as a youth. Blog | www.ccln.ca/season2/episode50 Website | www.ccln.ca

Father Simon is a priest at Saint Benedict Parish in Halifax, Nova Scotia and a member of Companions of the Cross. He started at St. Benedict in 2015 as they were experiencing parish renewal and moving their congregation from “maintenance to mission”. With that came a changing of leadership skills required for Father Simon as their team grew to include other priests and deacons who he was now leading and supporting. The moments of sitting with someone, praying, visiting them in the hospital, and anointing with oil are close to his heart, though he has also appreciated the focus he can now have as a leader of leaders to invest in those who can in turn multiply his efforts. He references Tim Keller’s “Leadership and Church Size Dynamics” article where it breaks down how different sizes of congregations require different leadership styles and bring new challenges. Another dynamic Father Simon has learned over the years is the importance of relationships and friendships with others to find companionship and avoid

Pastors Damian & Julie Bassett are passionate followers of Jesus and have committed their lives to helping build His Church. Together they are the Lead Pastors of Hillsong Canada. With a heart that extends toward all people, they desire to lead others to a genuine relationship with Jesus, empowering them to realize their full potential in Christ. They are proud parents of three beautiful daughters, ages 17, 14 and 10, and have been married for 20 years. Julie and Damian join Jason for Episode 48 to talk about their journey of moving to Canada, planting a church in Toronto, becoming a part of Hillsong, and their learnings along the way. Julie shares about them growing as leaders and learning they don’t have to be great at everything. They were both worship leaders before planting and never expected to be communicators or managers of budgets. The beautiful part of that though is that it teaches us to rely on God and others and to learn to be comfortable with the way God has made us. Jason asks what it’s lik

In this episode, Miles Toulmin, Executive Director of Alpha Asia Pacific and Vicar of Holy Trinity Bukit Bintang (HTBB), sits down with Jason for an insightful and rich discussion on church planting and leadership. His church is a plant of Holy Trinity Brompton, where he served under Nicky Gumbel for seven years. He shares with Jason the differences of moving to Kuala Lumpur and leading in a predominately Muslim nation. The church started like many, as thirty people in a home, but grew to now meet on top of a mall in the center of the city. Miles’ heart for the church is to truly be a resourcing centre for the city, which he explains often means giving away your best leaders and sacrificially serving others. Jason also asks Miles about dealing with the weight of responsibility as a leader, what he looks for in young leaders, and how to be content in the season you are in as a leader. Miles shares his thoughts on the joy and peace we can find as we take the right heart postures in regards to these areas. We ho

Recently, Shaila Visser of Alpha Canada hosted a conversation for church leaders with the experienced panel of Dr. Charles Price, Dr. Darrell Johnson and Dr. Laurel Buckingham. The goal? To encourage pastors who are experiencing the unique pressure of this season to pause and not give up on the calling God has given them. Here’s a quick introduction to the panel: Charles is a passionate evangelist who has spoken in over 70 countries around the world. He is the former lead pastor of Peoples Church Toronto and was the host of the Television show “Living Truth.” Darrell has pastored in the Philippines, the U.S. and Canada. He is a brilliant preacher that has been on the faculty of Regent & Carey College and has written many books. Laurel pastored Moncton Wesleyan Church for 44 years between 1969 and 2013. Today he is the CEO of Buckingham Leadership Institute. Together these three have over 156 years of ministry experience. Shaila asks each of the panelists questions like - how would you encourage your young

In this episode, Mark Buchanan joins Jason for a profoundly helpful conversation on pastoral ministry. Today Mark is helping shape the thinking and perspectives of tomorrow’s church leaders at Ambrose University in Calgary. Though at this moment many look to Mark as a guide in Christian mysticism and thought, Mark starts by sharing that the first 20 some-odd years of his life were spent with no knowledge of the Christian God. He explains how Scripture was the one gateway to him coming to Christ, and that it left him trembling in awe and wonder. Incredibly enough, Mark does not seem to have lost that wonder, and so Jason asks him how to keep those embers aflame. The conversation's topics include: what needs to be foundational for young leaders to be faithful, how grief shaped a pastoral heart in Mark and how difficult it can be to pursue your convictions when you will inevitably fail to get it right. Through years of pastoring in the church, teaching on pastoral ministry in the classroom, and walking trails wi

In this episode, Jason sits down to talk with Phil Cann, Pastor of Pemberton Community Church and co-creator of the video series “Quest.” Jason and Phil begin by reflecting on the history of Quest, a resource Phil made alongside other pastors in the 90s and 2000s to help students explore questions of the Christian faith. Jason shares about how he discovered it at a youth group, loved it, and began running it in his high school. Later on, Jason shares how Quest became the inspiration for the Youth Alpha FIlm series that has now reached over 1.2 million students. Quest came out of Phil’s own journey of faith, where he grew up in the UK and began to follow Christ in his early twenties. A defining moment came at a summer campfire one night, realizing he had to lay down control if he was to follow God’s leading in his life. This led him to preach the Bible and eventually move to Canada where he has aimed to make the Bible accessible and powerful to youth all over the country. He reflects on the diversity of Canada

In this episode Jason dialogues with Tim Mackie, the co-creator of the popular BibleProject Series. Their conversation dives into one of Mackie’s favourite all-time topics — the scriptures. Mackie unpacks his prior hang-ups about the Bible, ranging from textual variants in manuscripts, the violent, off-putting nature of many of the sacred stories, and the sometimes strange, unsettling, hard-to-understand God portrayed therein. Scripture is not a tidy, prepackaged encyclopedia of answers freshly stamped with divine approval. According to Mackie, our sacred texts are more of a venue for wrestling with God. Like Jacob in Genesis, we are invited to tangle with our Creator in hopes of leaving the encounter — perhaps with a limp in our step — but also with a burning love in our hearts that renames us and makes us new by constantly pointing us towards the person of Jesus. www.ccln.ca

Darrell Johnson has been preaching Jesus Christ and His Gospel for over 50 years. He has served a number of Presbyterian congregations in California, Union Church of Manila in the Philippines, and the historic First Baptist Church in the heart of Vancouver, Canada. He has taught preaching for Fuller Theological Seminary, Carey Theological College in Vancouver, and Regent College in Vancouver. He has authored eight books, including The Glory of Preaching and Discipleship on the Edge: An Expository Journey Through Revelation. He is currently serving as Scholar-in-Residence for The Way Church and Canadian Church Leaders Network, and still serves Regent College part-time as Teaching Fellow. He and his wife Sharon have been married 49 years. Together they have raised four children adopted from four different countries of the world, and now enjoy loving 11 active grandchildren!