Good News Stories

Dr. Ken Shigematsu has been the Senior Pastor of Tenth Church in downtown Vancouver since 1996. He is all about using props in his sermons, from a hamburger under a napkin to a music stand as a javelin. Originally from Japan, before full-time ministry began, Dr. Shigematsu worked for Sony in Tokyo. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College, M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a doctorate from San Francisco Theological Seminary.

Rev. Prince Thomas is from the twin island state of Antigua and Barbuda, located in the Caribbean and presently serving in Surrey, British Columbia as an ordained associate pastor at Pacific Community Church, a Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) congregation. He enjoys playing sports, watching Netflix, and connecting with people from various sociocultural backgrounds. He has a Master of Divinity degree from Ambrose Seminary and a bachelor's degree in accounting from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

Charis Goh has been with InterVarsity, a well-known parachurch organization, since 2009. After several years serving in Montreal, she has landed back in Vancouver as the region’s Staff Director, which is a coming home for her since it is where she from and her family remains. In her role, she oversees campus ministries in British Columbia by resourcing campus staff members and developing relationships with local churches and organizations.

Dr. Jeffrey P. Greenman has been the President and Professor of Theology and Ethics at Regent College in Vancouver since 2015. Prior to that, he was their Academic Dean and Executive Vice President. He has a rich, diverse background, having worked at Wheaton College and Tyndale Seminary as well as had leadership roles in the U.S. government around education and juvenile justice. He is a Regent College alumnus of the M.Div. program and went on to earn his Ph.D. in religious ethics at the University of Virginia. Dr. Greenman has authored and contributed to a bevy of books, including Understanding Jacques Ellul, The Decalogue Through the Centuries, and The Pedagogy of Praise to name a few.

Rev. Dr. Timothy Tennent began in 2009 as the President (and Professor of World Christianity) of Asbury Theological Seminary, located in beautiful Wilmore, Kentucky, after serving as the Professor of World Missions and Indian Studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Ordained in the United Methodist Church since 1984, he has pastored in Georgia and New England. As a skilled missiologist with a heart for true Kingdom diversity, he has written a number of books, such as Building Christianity on Indian Foundations, Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing the Way We Think about and Discuss Theology, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the 21st Century, and Christianity at the Religious Roundtable: Evangelicalism in Conversation with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. His most recent book is For the Body: Recovering a Theology of Gender, Sexuality, and the Human Body.

Ray Chang is the President of the Asian American Christian Collaborative and a Ministry Associate for Discipleship at Wheaton College (where he completed his undergraduate degree) in the Chaplain’s Office. Though in the Chicagoland area now, he has lived in Korea, Guatemala, Panama, Spain, and China. Prior to vocational ministry, he worked in for-profit and non-profit sectors, and served in the Peace Corps in Panama. Ray and his wife, Jessica, are on a mission to one day see a narwhal (also known as a narwhale), the “unicorn of the sea” that lives year-round in the Arctic waters around Greenland, Canada, and Russia. He has master’s degrees from Biola University and Trinity International University, and is in the process of completing his Ph.D. in Higher Education at Azuza Pacific University.

Rev. John Snow is an Indigenous Minister serving the Pacific Mountain Regional Council of the United Church, supporting 200 congregations, and providing reconciliation efforts. With a master’s degree in public policy, law, and administration from the University of Calgary, previously through the years he was employed as an oil/gas consultant and contract instructor. Rev. Snow is a member of the Stoney Nakoda Tribe of Treaty 7, where he is a pipe holder and sun dancer.

Rev. Dr. Steve Norman is the author of The Preacher As Sermon: How Who You Are Shapes What They Hear. Though based on the west side of Michigan now, he is a Chicagoland native who for many years served in pastoral ministry in Detroit and Grand Rapids. Having served as a church planter, lead pastor, teaching pastor, and writer, he has a heart to help the people of God deepen their transformation in Christ. He completed his bachelor’s degree at Taylor University and then graduated twice from Fuller Theological Seminary with a master’s degree and doctorate in intercultural/multicultural and diversity studies.

Cellus Hamilton is a Christian rapper based in NYC, but who hails from Atlanta and spent time in Washington, DC attending Howard University. He and his wife, Denya, have their own branding/marketing endeavor called Sow and Tell as well as a podcast. Washing Her Feet is Cellus’ 2019 album and he is also the author of a book, If Jesus Was a Rapper.

Jason VanDyck has been the Athletic Facilities Manager at Trinity Western University for 11 years. Born and raised in the lower mainland of B.C., he attended both the University of the Fraser Valley and TWU (where he played soccer for two years) for undergraduate studies before landing at the University of Victoria to complete his teaching certificate. He then went on to become a high school teacher.