PASTORAL TEAM
Joel French
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Joel grew up in London, Ontario and served in a couple of part-time church music ministry roles before finishing a Master of Divinity degree from Briercrest Seminary. He and his wife Ashley moved to Stratford in 2008, where Joel served as both Associate and then Lead Pastor as part of a small church family. Along with their two boys, Joel and Ashley moved to Guelph in the summer of 2024 where Joel continues to have a passion to share the joy that can be found in living to love and serve God wholeheartedly!
Sam McCallum
PASTOR EMERITUS
Sam was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but was raised right here in Guelph. He has been on pastoral staff at Crestwicke since 2007 and serves as Pastor Emeritus. Throughout his ministry, Sam has pastored churches in both B.C. and Ontario. He also worked for the Fellowship and continues to support them as a member of their Chaplaincy steering committee. Sam’s primary responsibilities involve congregational care, seniors’ ministry, and counselling.
Click here to listen to sermons from Sam.
RJ Umandap
LEAD PASTOR
RJ has a passion to see God’s people grow in faith and be fit for purpose to serve each other and the world. Having grown up in Manila, Philippines, he sensed God’s call to pastoral ministry while working in industrial water treatment in Jamaica. He went to Toronto Baptist Seminary, where he graduated with a Master of Divinity in 2002. He subsequently served in various pastoral roles in Jamaica and Toronto. RJ also has a Doctor of Ministry from the Talbot School of Theology (Biola University) and is eager to find points of contact for the gospel in contemporary culture.
Click here to listen to sermons from RJ.
STAFF
STEPHANIE FERRIS
OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR & BOOKKEEPER
Born and raised in Guelph, Stephanie has been a part of Crestwicke’s ministries since she was 3 years old, from her time attending Crestwicke Christian Academy, to being baptized and joining the church as a regular attendee in 2006. Stephanie studied Studio Art and Art History at the University of Guelph. She is honoured to be able to serve her church family vocationally through her love of numbers and spreadsheets.
APRIL JANSSEN
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY ADMINISTRATOR
April started at Crestwicke in 2024, but has worked in childcare since she was 11 years old. She has worked as a RECE since 2013, and currently also works in a Christian childcare centre in the region. At Crestwicke, April coordinates volunteers and facilitates access to various learning resources and discipleship tools for children & families.
CHRIS McCARTNEY
CUSTODIAN & BUILDING MANAGER
A native of Orono, a small town east of Oshawa, Chris has been attending Crestwicke since 2017. A lover of art and deep thought, when not working Chris can often be seen playing bass or running the sound board for the music ministry (when not staring off into space in silent contemplation). Chris takes care of our church building, performing maintenance and custodial duties.
JESSKAH McCARTNEY
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Jesskah has been the Music Director at Crestwicke since 2010, and has been a member since 2006. She desires to facilitate sincere worship through music, prayer, and Scripture reading for both the congregation and the Music Ministry leaders.
ELDERS
Ainsley Archer
Matt Durkee
Joel French
Evert Grift
Sam McCallum
RJ Umandap
DEACONS
Mark Lodder
Board Chair; Children’s Ministry Leadership Group
Sarah Primmer
Board Vice-Chair; Missions Committee Chair
Shayne Love
Board Secretary; Property Committee Chair
Thomas Armstrong
Finance Committee
Dennis Fisher
Missions Committee & Tech Support Team
Danielle Gignac
Property Committee
Reid Gilmore
Rick Willis
Finance Committee; Investment Oversight Committee Chair
Cathy Wilson
Finance Committee Chair; Investment Oversight Committee
Michael Zwart
Property Committee Vice-Chair
TREASURER
Hugh Manary
Finance Committee
Please note that in each category of service above, our staff and leadership are listed alphabetically by last name, except for the 3 elected positions of the Deacons’ Board (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary), which are listed first for ease of reference.