Staff Team
Below is a list of all the staff that serve at WMB Church. To learn more about one of the team, click on the link to be taken to their bio and contact information below.
Senior Leadership
Staff
Admin & Support
Dean Sherk
Pastor, Missional Communities
Dean is all about relationships. He and his wife Sharon have been an item for some time! They have 4 boys that keep them concurrently happy, busy and insane. Dean is on staff with the Navigators of Canada where he has worked in campus ministry, philanthropy and church partnerships. It is in the context of a unique church partnership between Navigators and WMB that Dean ministers here. In his roles as Pastor, Missional Communities and a member of the Senior Leadership Team, he longs to see and is intent on creating a climate where our WMB communities (small groups, neighbourhood groups & mid-size groups) actively incarnate the Gospel in the neighbourhood. Dean serves in the community as a coach at a “Running and Reading Club” and he is active in a local Hep C support group. He likes to read, watch movies and cheer for his beloved Maple Leafs (sigh…).
Duane Boles
Pastor, Worship & the Arts
Duane is a husband, father, son and servant of Jesus. He was born and raised in Kitchener and now lives in Waterloo with his wife Anita and their teenage son and daughter. They have been attending WMB since 1995 and have served in children’s ministry, worship teams and marriage ministry. Duane loves music, movies, good coffee, smart humour, and telemarketers (ask him!). When he has the time, he can easily lose hours creating and recording music. Before joining the WMB staff team and Senior Leadership Team in 2007, Duane worked with young offenders and families with children at risk. In his role today, he oversees the people, planning and implementation of worship and arts activities both inside and outside the church. Duane's vision for ministry is to see people engaged with God and others around them in ways that reflect God’s heart and the way He has wired them up!
Karen West
Pastor, Missional Initiatives
Karen and her husband, Bruce, live in Waterloo with their two adult 'kids', Braeden and Tara. She loves to see God at work in the lives of individuals, our city and world, and finds great meaning in helping others to discern God's activity in every circumstance of life. Karen serves on our Senior Leadership Team, overseeing missional strategies with our Lead Pastor. She preaches Sundays every 6-8 weeks and leads our manuscript bible study initiatives. Karen has been in a pastoral role at WMB since January, 1997, while also completing a Bachelor of Religious Education and a Masters of Divinity. In previous years, she owned a design business (and still loves to create floor plans!) Karen enjoys time at the cottage with family and friends, reading, walking their dog, Kendle, knitting striped socks, AND is a new cyclist!
Kim Knight
Director, Administrative Operations
Kim went to university to study Music, but got drawn into the restaurant business for 12 years – spending 10 of them as a manager and GM. In her role at WMB, and as part of the Senior Leadership Team, she is eager to put her management skills to use - overseeing the administrative and organizational aspects of the church and supervising the administrative and custodial team in this environment. A staff member since 2007, she is excited to see the amazing work of God in the people of WMB and their passion to change the world! Her music degree is not put to waste; Kim leads a WMB worship team, and also occasionally plays the saxophone, flute and piano. You may see Kim at the Kitchener Market on Saturdays, or at one of the annual local festivals or fair events like Bluesfest or Buskerfest with her husband John, and their black lab Boston.
Paul McIlwraith
Lead Pastor
Paul McIlwraith is our Lead Pastor - giving general oversight to all aspects of WMB Church, preaching, teaching and connecting with our broader community. Following a career as a high school teacher, Paul came to WMB to lead youth in 1997, and later, while he served in a Community Care Pastor role continued his studies to acquire a Masters of Theological Studies designation. Paul has a passion for scripture and a desire to see others grow in their relationship with Christ. He and his wife Carolyn have four teenage children, and are very active in the community through their teen’s school, sports and musical activities. As a family, they enjoy times together at their cottage where Paul can often be found reading and relaxing.
Pete Olsen
Pastor, Age Based Ministry
Pete began serving at WMB in 2008 as Pastor of Youth and Families, and is now moving into his new role as Pastor of Age Based Ministries overseeing the ministry areas of Children, Youth and Young Adults. Pete is also a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Pete and his wife Cindi live on the banks of the Grand River in the south end of town and enjoy nature, canoeing and fishing right in their backyard. In addition to his staff role, Pete is active in Missions to Nicaragua and also in serving the poor in our local communities and in Toronto. He loves to ride his motorcycle wherever and whenever he can, and photography has become a bit of a new passion. Pete's dream for people can be found in Deuteronomy 6:5. (The Message) "Love God, your God, with your whole heart; love Him with all that's in you, love Him with all you've got!"
Bonita Eby
Pastor, Care & Connecting
Bonita oversees volunteers of the WMB Care ministries– visitation, meals, prayer chain, etc., and also Connecting ministries – welcoming newcomers, helping individuals find a meaningful place to serve, connecting people to mission and relationship with others. Her passion is helping people connect with God, with people and with life transforming experiences. She loves to travel, and is also interested in photography, natural health, cooking, gardening, and reading. Bonita also volunteers at the kitchen of the Queen Street Commons, where the sales from the food prepared supports the work of the Working Centre. Bonita and her husband Jeff have attended WMB for 14 years, and she has been a staff member since 2003.
Darren DeMelo
Director, Young Adults
Now in his second year as Director of Young Adults, Darren is excited to be part of a diverse community that is constantly broadening, asking difficult questions, and taking risks. Darren lives in Uptown Waterloo with his wife Julie and a great host of friends. He spends much of his time eating, gardening, throwing a disc, playing games and making music. Darren loves figuring out what it means to follow Jesus in the tensions of life. He lives to see people make little and big decisions for the Kingdom of God that’s here and still coming.
Darryl Milne
Pastor, Youth & Families
Darryl joined the WMB staff team in spring 2011. With over 20 years of youth pastoring/coaching experience, Darryl is most excited about engaging teens in culture and discipling them for maximum Kingdom impact. It’s all about Jesus, baby! Darryl loves sports, and has coached basketball for many years at both the high school and rep level. He & his wife Carrie-Anne have a son and two daughters: they love watching movies and going out for dinner (who doesn’t). Oh, and he loves Braveheart…wait until you see his sword.
Michelle Knowles
Director, Global Outreach
Michelle started attending WMB as a WLU student when she became part of a young adult mission team to Pan de Vida Orphanage in Mexico. She has been a member since 2005, and joined our staff team in the summer of 2010 to cover a maternity leave. Passionate about equipping and mobilizing people in the church for God’s mission, training mission teams and developing kingdom leaders, Michelle recently completed an MA in Transformational Leadership from Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, MN. She and her husband Adam share a love of soccer, and together with Adam’s two kids, enjoy being active as a family in a variety of sports and activities. In the summer, their family leads the SOAR Montreal Families mission trip and serves at Ontario Pioneer Family Camp. Michelle believes that it is God’s plan to transform the world through the Church, as Jesus Christ invites individuals into the covenant community of faith. In her role as Director, Global Outreach, Michelle works with mission teams, long term missionaries and local organizations.
Rebecca Saunders
Director, Communication Resources
Rebecca spends as much time outdoors as possible: gardening or camping in the summer, shoveling snow in the winter, and taking many walks with her dog Havana. When not enjoying nature, she can often be found honing her culinary skills. Together with her husband Brad, she enjoys exploring our great country, reading, and being with family. After spending years as an administrator in corporate organizations and as a floral designer, Rebecca joined the WMB staff in 2004 and currently oversees and coordinates all aspects of WMB’s internal and external communications, including the website and Sunday mornings. It is her desire that people have access to the information and resources that will help them on their faith journey, drawing them into a closer relationship with God.
Sarah Whyte
Director, Kids Ministry
Sarah Whyte lives in Uptown Waterloo with her husband Bryant and son, Ashton. After working in International Relations, Sarah studied theology and began working at WMB in 2008, having attended the church regularly since 2005. An avid reader, Sarah also enjoys participating in local musical theatre productions as well as playing Ultimate Frisbee. Sarah's passion is teaching and speaking about God’s kingdom.
Stefanie MacGregor
Director, Barnabas Missions
Stefanie’s passion is to help people who struggle financially. She desires to help them know that they are loved and to see them succeed in their life goals through the love and commitment of God and His people. Her journey to joining the WMB staff team followed a degree and work in Kinesiology. An idea for a Church-wide Christmas program, later named ‘From Jesus With Love’, brought her to work as a WMB Intern in 2004. Now, in her role as Director, Barnabas Missions, she presents people with opportunities which may not otherwise be accessible: babysitting, first aid and parenting courses; homework club, after school programs, interest workshops, etc. Stefanie also connects with local service agencies to discover ways to work together to support and encourage struggling families in K-W. In her personal time, Stefanie enjoys being outside, going for walks, and spending time with her husband, Mark, and their two young boys, Owen and Liam.
Vicki Brown
Pastor, Prayer Initiatives
Vicki and her husband, Craig, have been members of WMB since 2006. They have four adult children who live in Kitchener, Ottawa, Trois-Rivieres, and Bristol, England. From their home in Kitchener, they enjoy overlooking the wetlands and forest of the Laurel Creek/Bechtel Park area. Vicki enjoys walking, gardening, reading, sewing, traveling and spending time with family, neighbours and friends. Vicki’s passion is to see the people of WMB connect more intimately with God. It is her belief that prayer should be at the foundation of who we are and what we do at WMB as we are used by God in His mission. In her staff role, Vicki is seeking to develop a Prayer Leadership Team to oversee WMB prayer initiatives and to develop training in prayer for all who are interested. In addition, Vicki is enrolled in the Tyndale Seminary Spiritual Direction practicum and offers spiritual direction by appointment.
Wayne Porty
Pastor, Barnabas Missions
Wayne served marginalized and at-risk people in Hamilton for 10 years before coming to WMB in 2008. He lives with his stunning wife, Sharon, and their infant son, whom we call "mini-Wayne"! Wayne loves the challenge of a strategy game such as Settlers, plays Ultimate Frisbee, and likes to spend time fishing and reading. In his role at WMB, Wayne walks alongside people who are experiencing financial difficulties in order to help facilitate movement to long-term well-being through financial assistance, connection to community resources, budget planning and prayer. He also coordinates our Christmas party and toy give-away, community kitchen, homework club and sports in the park. Wayne’s desire is to have more people from WMB involved in Barnabas initiatives so that their eyes can be opened to the struggles of many people in our cities, and so their faith and lives can be enriched through these interactions - just as his life is being transformed by them.
Claude Favron
Maintenance
We are thankful for Claude’s servant heart as he repairs and maintains our church building and grounds.
Ellen Barton
Administrative Assistant
Ellen, her husband Joe and their adult daughter live in Waterloo with their dog and rabbit. She loves to do crafts, is a self-professed sticker nut, adores “cute” things, and enjoys reading. Though not raised in a Christian home, Ellen was free to make her own choice. After a number of ups and downs in her journey, and a series of truly amazing encounters with God and with many devoted followers of Jesus who have shown her His love, Ellen came to WMB in March 2011. She very gratefully and joyfully joined the WMB staff in May. Ellen declares that God is faithful and embraces for herself and others Philippians 1:6 - “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Leonardo Garcia
Custodial Maintenance
Leonardo faithfully works to keep our buildings and grounds looking their best!
Lisa Matthews
Facility Bookings/ Administrative Assistant
Lisa and her husband, Brad, began attending WMB in 1990 when they were invited by friends. With great enthusiasm, Lisa sings on a WMB worship team, does life with her family and small group, and is the greatest cheerleader of her two teenage daughters. Her hobbies include reading, water skiing, swimming and enjoying family time at the cottage, as well as watching her daughters’ soccer and basketball teams from the sidelines. Lisa has been on staff as an Administrative Assistant since 2003, and currently handles all facility bookings, and assists Worship and the Arts and Age Based Ministries.
Nancy O'Neil
Reception
Nancy grew up in Boston and Cape Cod before moving to Canada 25 years ago. She is a “people person” and considers herself blessed to have the opportunity to meet and greet many people, listen to their stories, and learn how God is working in their lives. Her hobbies include year round camping, hand drumming, creative sewing, reading, and cooking for her friends, two daughters and two grandchildren. Before joining our staff team in 2010, Nancy worked for 16 years at the University of Waterloo, and has too much volunteer experience to talk about! Nancy desires to be the “Hands and Feet of Jesus” and loves to be a part of peace initiatives, the “Love KW” movement, and venues that promote simplicity and healthy living. Her favorite verse is Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Shirley Wesselson
Bookkeeper
Shirley loves being “Nana” to her three grandchildren, and is looking forward to the birth of a fourth! She has three married adult children, and enjoys cooking and entertaining, opening her home to be used as a place of hospitality – a passion God has placed on her heart. Shirley joined the WMB staff team in 2002 when she also became a member. She currently works part time administering the church finances, and part time as an independent bookkeeper. She enjoys physical exercise such as going to the gym, bike riding and cross country skiing. In the summer you may find her at her newest hobby – riding a motorcycle!
