Leadership Board
The WMB Leadership Board (LB) serves the church in a governance role to ensure that we fulfill our Mission and Vision statements, adhere to our operating by-laws and policies and to provide accountability on behalf of church members. The LB works co-operatively with the Lead Pastor to ensure we are financially viable, strategically oriented with our goals and striving towards the mission God has given us as a congregation.
Leadership Board members are first nominated by the congregation, then go through a selection process to confirm they have the required attributes. Finally, the LB is elected by members at our annual general meetings. Meet our current Board:
Carlos Velilla
Carlos is an Alternate Member of the Leadership Board. His term started in the Fall of 2011. Stay tuned for his bio!
Deb Dueck
Deb, and her husband Ted, have been members of WMB for 20+ years and have served in various capacities during that time. Deb’s passion is serving the frail elderly and she is able to live out this calling through her work as the Administrator of Parkwood Mennonite Home and Seniors’ Community. As empty nesters, Deb and Ted love to spend time at their cottage connecting with family and friends. Although new to the Leadership Board, Deb has served previously on the board of Bethesda Community Services (an MB Conference program in the Niagara Peninsula) and as the chair of Waterloo Region’s Sunnyside Home Foundation board. Deb is excited to see where God will lead WMB in the coming years.
Gord Bogart
Gord is a downtown guy who lives behind Victoria Park with his wife Janette and their three teenage boys. After one year on the Leadership Board, he feels like he is hitting his stride in this new role. Serving the church through youth and children’s ministries and small groups since the 1980’s has been important in his development. Gord works as a project manager in the process improvement department of a local manufacturing facility. Home improvement projects and sports taxi service for his kids keep him busy, but he still finds time to play men’s league basketball in his waning years. He also enjoys camping and reading.
Hart Wiens
Hart and his wife Ginny have been members at WMB since 1999. Before that, they spent 19 years with Wycliffe Bible Translators in the Philippines where their three children were born. Hart has been serving on the LB since 2000 with one year off in between. Following Jesus in Kingdom-building is at the core of Hart’s passion. In addition to service on the LB, Hart has enjoyed teaching in a variety of adult classes at WMB. Hart and Ginny find pleasure in spoiling their grandchildren and building relationships in their neighborhood. Hart serves as Director of Scripture Translations for the Canadian Bible Society and Board Chair for Wycliffe Canada. His hobbies include reading, travel and enjoying nature.
Josh Hill
Josh and his wife Andrea have been attending WMB since 1999. They have a passion for KW's refugee and new immigrant population, and are heavily involved with Mennonite Coalition for Refugee Support by hosting refugee families and coordinating the food for the annual MCRS Christmas Party. Josh and Andrea were very excited to welcome their daughter Amelia into the world on July 1, 2011, and have found parenthood to be an amazing, but also tiring adjustment to their lives.
Josh has been involved in many different ministry areas, but most significantly led one of the WMB worship teams for seven years. Passionate about seeing music positively impact the lives of young people, Josh is the Head of Music at Cameron Heights Collegiate in downtown Kitchener, where he teaches music and directs various ensembles. Also very involved in sports, Josh coaches volleyball, plays Ultimate Frisbee, and tries to get out on his road bike as much as possible. He feels very privileged to be a part of this amazing church community and is excited about what God continues to do in the life of WMB Church.
Krista O'Brien
Krista and her husband Kerry live very close to WMB – a two-minute walk – making it convenient for them to serve and participate in many activities at church. They have been blessed to serve together as part of a Worship Team, at From Jesus with Love, in Youth Ministry, and with Out of the Cold. Krista has been attending WMB since her second year at Wilfrid Laurier University (enticed by a free bus ride and Feed the Frosh lunch social after service), found challenge and belonging in the community, and became a member in 2010. Krista works for Christian Horizons Global running the Child Sponsorship Program. In her free time, she is a voracious reader, beginner gardener & canner, and adventurous do-it-yourself crafter. Krista is excited to be a part of the WMB faith community and the Leadership Board, and anticipates the movement of God amongst our local and global family.
Lisa Shuh
Secretary
Lisa lives on a beautiful farm just outside of Elmira with her husband Robert and their four teenagers! After serving as an alternate on the Board for one year, she is now continuing to serve as a voting member. Along with her family and other interested families at WMB, she is active in welcoming refugee families - which could involve anything from extending friendship to finding furniture and housing or helping with the formal aspects of legal settlement in Canada. Lisa is employed as a music teacher at St. Jacobs Public School and can be seen in local hockey arenas, high school sporting events and music concerts cheering on her busy family. Chronicling family memories finds Lisa making movies, creating scrapbooks and journaling in her spare moments.
Marv Franz
Marv Franz and his wife, Christine, and their three children, Jillian, Curtis and Braelyn have called Waterloo home for the last ten years. In fact, they moved to Waterloo when Marv began serving on staff as a pastor at WMB from 2001 to 2007. Marv has also worked in student ministry with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship for over twelve years and now works as a partner in a management consulting firm. He loves seeing people study the scriptures and come alive in following Jesus. You might spot Marv at the ice rink in winter, the ball diamond in summer or working on some kind of construction project when he gets the chance.
Paul Chin
Paul lives in the WMB neighbourhood with his wife, Jacqueline, and their two grade-school sons. They have been members since 1996 and have served in various ministries including worship, small groups, youth, children and women's ministries. Paul was a campus minister in the region with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship for 11 years and is now a Water Resources Engineer by day and an Inter-cultural/Diversity consultant by night. He has served in leadership capacities throughout his life and is currently the chair of the board of Laurentian Hills Christian School where his children attend. Paul is excited to be part of the WMB leadership team and to join in the discernment of God's desires for our community.
Paul Thompson
Chair
Paul and his wife, Gillian, and their four children – Jordan, Luke, Aaron and Sara – moved to Waterloo in 2005 and began attending WMB shortly thereafter. They enjoy the WMB community and appreciate its mission of discipleship and practical application in serving others and sharing the love of Jesus in our larger community. Paul believes that everyone has a role to serve in their local church and is happy to be serving with such a great group of people on the Leadership Board. Paul enjoys spending time with his family, working, traveling, golfing and wakeboarding. Paul is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the management board of an international, publicly-traded company. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Heritage College & Seminary.
Philip Serez
Philip loves Jesus, his family, and the Church. For the last 13 years he has been working for the Mennonite Brethren global mission agency, MBMSI. He and Robyn have been developing discipleship training mission programs across North America and calling out new mission workers into placements worldwide. Although Philip attended WMB in the late 80's during his time at Wilfrid Laurier, their family has made WMB their church home once again over the last 3 years. Philip is happiest with either a piano or chainsaw in his hands, and is eager to put this same passion into WMB.
