Creekside Church - Leadership Team

Alice Lee Ministry Assistant | x266
Alice joined our staff team in February of 2007. She currently serves in three roles: Elders' Assistant, Finance/HR Assistant and Clerk. Her favourite authors are Francine Rivers, Max Lucado, and John Grisham. She enjoys "geocaching" with her family - which involves using a GPS and multi-billion dollar military satellites to find Tupperware containers filled with trinkets hidden in forests! If you want to have a chat with Alice, don't forget your Earl Grey Tea and Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips. alee@creeksidechurch.ca

Amy Wilson Ministry Assistant | x256
Amy joined the Creekside team in 2009 as a Ministry Assistant to our Kids and Youth/Young Adults Pastors. She loves her job, especially when she can unleash her creative side! Amy is married to her best friend, and is blessed with 3 amazing kids. She is still (yes still) watching Survivor, loves to read, wishes she loved to run, and has a weakness for warm brownies with ice cream. A bit of a clean freak, Amy has been known to waste a good Friday night Norwexing. She lives for Family Camp in the summer, and is passionate about spending time with her family and friends!
awilson@creeksidechurch.ca

Carolyn Burge Kids Pastor | x230
Carolyn joined the Creekside Team in June of 2012. She is passionate about Kids Ministry and watching kids connect with Jesus and growing in a relationship with Him. Carolyn is married to Chris and has 2 amazing kids. In her spare moments she likes to scrapbook and ride horses, although not at the same time. She is a huge Disney fan, and loves to go visit Minnie as often as possible!
carolyn.burge@creeksidechurch.ca

Chris Burge Executive Pastor | x234
Chris joined our staff team in November of 2011. He enjoys the opportunity to empower and equip people in their areas of giftedness to build the church. A couple of his favorite books include Bill Hybels' Axiom, Peacemaker by Ken Sande, and anything written by John Maxwell. He is an avid football fan and enjoys anything related to the Chicago Bears. Chris also loves anything Disney and if you can't find him at church or watching football then he is spending time with Mickey and his family in Florida! cburge@creeksidechurch.ca

Deb Jones Director of Celebrate Recovery | x225
Deb officially joined the team September, 2007. Her passion is seeing the life changing power of Jesus heal and provide freedom from all kinds of hurts, habits and hang ups. She loves serving the God of the impossible and enjoys seeing how he comforts us so that we can provide that same comfort to others. Deb is married to Rick and they have 2 adult sons. She loves to read, spend time with family and build relationships. Deb admits she is a "little" hung up on the colour blue & dark chocolate, but doesn't want to change either. djones@creeksidechurch.ca

Jeff Austen Adults & LifeGroups Pastor | x224
Jeff joined Creekside in this role in February 2000. He loves when others catch the vision that God wants to use them to change lives. Just like when LifeGroup leaders begin to discover God's plan to use them to effect life change in others! Jeff's favourite TV show is Bugs Bunny and Tweety. Jeff identifies with Bugs - he is witty, funny, brightens others' world and likes carrots! jausten@creeksidechurch.ca

Jen Taylor Hospitality & Integration Director | x254
Jen returned to Creekside in the Fall of 2011 after several years of ministry in the US. Jen is passionate about people! She loves meeting new people and helping them feel comfortable and included. This makes her job as Director of Hospitality and Integration a perfect fit. Aside from ministry Jen loves spending time with her husband and two little boys doing any and all things adventurous. Jen also loves to travel, run and has recently become a self proclaimed DIY addict. jtaylor@creeksidechurch.ca

Jeff Austen Jen Warkentin Celebrate Recovery Creekside Ministry Leader | x255
Jennifer joined the Creekside Team the summer of 2012, after having been involved in Celebrate Recovery at Lincoln Road Chapel. She now balances her time between Celebrate Recovery at Creekside and her Massage Therapy business. She finds so much joy watching others experience freedom in Christ as they experience spiritual, physical, and emotional health. When work is done for the day, Jennifer loves to get outside to go for a run, a bike ride, to play soccer or baseball, or enjoy a nice walk. Gardening has also become a passion over the years and she finds much delight in canning all the stuff she's grown. She also loves spending time with her family and thinks that being "Aunt Jen" is the best job in the whole world. jwarkentin@creeksidechurch.ca

Ken Taylor Lead Pastor | x222
Ken was here "in the beginning" . . . no not that beginning! We're talking about when Creekside began some twenty years ago. And the way he tells it the Creekside experience has been a great ride. He and Carol have five adult children and three grandchildren. Ken is passionate about leading and teaching and is fired up when people begin a relationship with God through Jesus and experience God's power and joy in their lives. His favourite verse in the Bible is Zephaniah 3:17 which reads, ""The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." ktaylor@creeksidechurch.ca

Kyla Arsenault Director of Care | x239
Kyla has been a part of the Creekside family for many years. She joined our staff in January 2010. Kyla has a heart for connecting people, helping them find their passions, and caring for those in need. Kyla is married to Paul, and together they have two growing teenagers. Some of her passions include cycling, writing, reading, friendship, learning new things, and encouraging others to grow deeper in their faith. care@creeksidechurch.ca

Laura Moyer Ministry Support Office Assistant | x221
Laura is the friendly voice you hear when you call Creekside. She joined our Creekside staff in 2007. Laura loves to hang out with her family, including her new grandson. She enjoys various sports and activities including camping, and vacationing with her husband. Her favourite foods are corn on the cob and delicious desserts. lmoyer@creeksidechurch.ca

Paula McLeod-Smith Weekend Service Pastor | x231
Paula has been involved in Creekside Worship and Arts leadership in various capacities since 1991. Paula oversees our Weekend Service teams and helps them brainstorm, plan and execute highly effective services that enable people to take a step closer to Jesus. Paula is usually up to something but in her spare time she loves to ski, travel with friends and family, and lounge in a hammock on the side of a lake with a new book. She admits that her favourite sandwich, toasted bacon and jam, is a little odd but says it helps her fit in with those artists she spends so much time with. pmcleodsmith@creeksidechurch.ca

Raja Stone Youth & Young Adults Pastor | x227
Raja has been on staff at Creekside since December 2008. He is passionate about the Bible and what it has to say to us today. He loves that the first thing we learn about God is that He is creative, and that God's creation reflects this in diversity and nature's beauty. Raja believes that to fully engage God we need to use our heart, mind and spirit. Raja lives in Waterloo and is married to his wife and best friend Sarah. He is the father of three girls who are not allowed to date until they are married. Raja is a big fan of all things Batman. He does not own a costume but his desk is officially over run with all things Batman and Batman related. Raja believes food can never be too spicy, that salt is not a spice, and that in heaven chicken wings will be served all the time. rstone@creeksidechurch.ca

Rob Gast Worship Pastor | x260
Rob joined the staff crew in February 2004. Work-wise, he's most passionate about the exciting things happening at Creekside these days that are making a difference not only locally but also around the world. Outside the office, Rob loves spending time with his wife and their two little girls, traveling, reading, movies, hiking, and, oh yeah, music! A Canadian by birth, Rob is an American Civil War buff, speaks fluent Spanish, and dreams of living in Ireland and Greece. How's that for being a multi-cultural kind of guy! rgast@creeksidechurch.ca

Wendy Martin Ministry Support Office Assistant | x238
Wendy Martin joined the Creekside team in November 2010 and for the first time in her working career can say she LOVES her job. She is currently working as a Ministry Assistant to our Adults & LifeGroups Pastor and also offers support to the Weekend Service Teams. She just recently discovered a passion for quilting and loves spending time with her 3 amazing kids and her 4 beautiful grandchildren hanging out at their farm or camping. Her favourite author is Nicholas Sparks. wmartin@creeksidechurch.ca

Deborah Snider Elder
Deborah joined the elders team in December 2008. One of Deb's desires for Creekside Church is that it will continue to mark a group of Jesus' followers that passionately love and follow him in every single aspect of life. Deb and her husband Steve are delightedly parenting their daughter, and sadly watching the last season of LOST. She's not into surprises (strange, considering her love of a tv series that hoards spoilers) so makes a habit of reading first the beginning of a book, then the end, so that she can comfortably enjoy the middle. deborahsnider@gmail.com

Jeff Witmer Elder
Jeff has been married to Annemarie for 20 years and together they have three kids - Jacob, Abigail and Liam. He enjoys cheering his kids on, whether at the hockey rink or soccer field, and considers any downtime with family to be time well spent.
Jeff has been part of the Creekside leadership team since 2004 and is fired up about Creekside's potential to influence Waterloo Region and beyond. He considers Creekside Church a growing community of imperfect people who aim to follow God and 'be real' wherever we find ourselves - at home, at work, in the neighbourhood or at play. jeff_witmer@wrdsb.on.ca

Laurie Starra Elder
Laurie began her role on the elders team in June 2006. Her passion for ministry involves caring for people, and seeing smaller communities blossom within the church. Book-wise, Laurie loves the vulnerability of authors who share from their hearts about their own faith journey. Habit-wise, Laurie admits to a slight Sudoku puzzle addiction. Seems she likes the repetition of filling those nine numbers into all those little boxes! lstarra@creeksidechurch.ca

Phil Baker Elder
I am fired up about being a part of Christ's Church that is truly passionate about its mission. As a family, we have commited to transparent corporate worship, learning deeper truths of our faith and how to live them out, serving God in practical ways, being integrated in our neighbourhood, and supporting a church where authenticity is key and everyone is welcome. It is an honour to serve God as a member of the Elders Team. I continually see evidence of the team's passion for God and His leading of Creekside. I look forward to how God will continue to move within Creekside and how he will use our church to transform lives. Now that's exciting! pbaker@creeksidechurch.ca

Richard Magnussen Elder
Richard Magnussen is a family man with 3 children and 9 grandchildren. He runs an international furniture business that takes him around the globe for manufacturing and selling. His hobbies include boating, cars and golf. He enjoys news television to stay abreast of what is happening around the globe. Richard is passionate about people living the fullest life which includes a personal relationship with Jesus at the centre. His life manual is the Bible and he loves the wisdom from the book of Proverbs. Richard has been with Creekside since its inception. rmagnussen@magnussen.com

Shane Pegg Elder
Shane joined the Elder Team in June 2012. He indicates it's been incredible watching our church family grow over the years and looks forward to the amazing opportunity to do life together, to struggle and celebrate, to laugh and cry, to experience all that God has to offer us. Shane enjoys hockey, camping, ultimate frisbee, and other sports. spegg@creeksidechurch.ca

Jeremy McDonald Jeremy MacDonald Treasurer
Jeremy has been treasurer since September 2000. He is happy to serve in a position where God can use his abilities and gifts and really enjoys seeing God at work at Creekside. He loves watching sports, but for some reason this hasn't really happened much since his two children have come along. That's a trade off he's happy to accept! jmacdonald2@gmail.com

Mike Onotsky Director of Missions
Mike is passionate about missions, both global and local. He has, himself, served in a number of local outreach projects and is also actively involved with missions in Africa. He has a heart for seeing others seek out what God is asking of them when it comes to serving others in His kingdom. Mike loves to travel, read authors like Craig Groeschel and John Eldridge, and watch the TV show Doctor Who! missions@creeksidechurch.ca