At the Gathering, our Board of Elders are the glue that keep everything together. They work behind-the-scenes with the Lead Pastor to provide a spiritual & theological covering, as well as accountability and protection to our church community both organizationally & relationally.
Jeff Jantzi
Lead Pastor
Married to Kim, Jeff is the proud father of three teenagers: Brendan, Dylan and Leah. Jeff came to The Gathering in the summer of 2014 after living his whole life in the Niagara area.
Jeff loves people; connecting people to the love of Jesus so that they would follow Jesus. Jeff's prayer for The Gathering is that it would grow to look more and more like the church in the book of Acts; a church that is committed to following Jesus by 'Being with Jesus', 'Becoming Like Jesus', and 'Doing What Jesus Said' together.
Jeff preaches most Sundays and is responsible for the day-to-day ministry of the church. If you're curious to learn more about the church and what we're all about...then Jeff is your guy. Feel free to give him a call or to drop him a line anytime.
Rachel McGregor
Church Administrator
Rachel is the mother of London, Cole, and Jude. Rachel and her family first came to The Gathering Ottawa in 2022, and has been a valued member of the church family ever since.
She has been the Church Administrator since early 2023. She continues to find new ways to serve the church in her new leadership role!
Dan Chook Reid
Church Planter, Bytown Community Church
Dan is married to Melody and is the father to two growing boys, Marcus and Elliott. They live downtown in the Glebe and love community engagement and exploring the city on their bicycles.
Dan grew up in Niagara and first moved to Ottawa to restart the ministry at uOttawa with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. After serving at University of Ottawa for four years, Dan joined the Mennonite Brethren denomination through a church plant called the Journey.
Dan joined the Gathering team in January of 2018 and served as a Church Planting Apprentice. Dan is now planting a church, supported by The Gathering, in his neighbourhood.
Dan loves helping people figure out how to follow Jesus in whatever setting they find themselves in. He can regularly be found facilitating scripture discussions or in coffee shops working through the nitty gritty of people's lives and what it means to follow Jesus.
When the world is not in the midst of a pandemic, Dan can also be found blasting the tunes on top of a bike in a spin studio. He volunteers at a variety of places including the YMCA, Jericho Road and the Glebe Community Association.
Colin Miller
Elder & Chair
Colin, his wife Michelle, and their children, Laura and Daniel, have attended The Gathering since 2012, shortly after their arrival from the Halifax area. Upon their arrival, they tried a few local churches and decided on The Gathering due to its sound doctrine, friendly atmosphere, and commitment to the community.
Colin was born and raised in the Halifax area, attending both Saint Mary’s and Dalhousie University for his post-secondary education. After graduating, Colin joined the RCMP, serving in various roles and is currently an adjudicator in its internal discipline regime.
Colin is a sports enthusiast; he loves playing, watching and conversing about various sports and looks forward to the time when he can spend most of his days golfing. Colin also has a strong interest in the development of our youth and has combined these two passions for many years, coaching soccer and basketball through local community organizations.
Colin was raised in a Christian home, regularly attending church with his family and attending various youth groups. During his time at The Gathering, he has volunteered his time fulfilling a variety of roles and has taken an interest in men’s ministry.
Like all of us, Colin has experienced his share of highs and lows in life in general and in his walk with Christ. However, he has come to realize that God uses the low moments to draw him closer, build his reliance upon God and then use those experiences to achieve His purpose.
Colin looks forward to sharing his experience, engaging the local community and contributing to The Gathering’s goal to build a diverse and inclusive church, where everyone can experience the overwhelming love of God.
Rebecca Bussey
Elder
Rebecca and her husband Paul have attended the Gathering since 2008. They have 3 children Ethan, Charlotte and Ryan. Rebecca grew up in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She and Paul moved to Ottawa in 1998 and to Riverside South in 2001.
Rebecca is a Registered Nurse and has worked in the Intensive Care unit at the General Hospital for the past 22 years.
Rebecca grew up in a Christian family, attending the Anglican Church. Rebecca likes to spend her days off walking in the woods with her dog, sewing, making soap, attending her children’s games and competitions, and camping with her family in the summer.
Rebecca joined the board in 2022 and is excited to be a greater support to the people of The Gathering as a Church Elder.
Craig Cudmore
Elder & Secretary
Craig, along with his wife Linda, have attended The Gathering for 9 years. They have three children, Colin, Leah and Dylan. He grew up in and around London, Ontario and attended the University of Waterloo, studying Computer Science and Business.
When Craig moved to Riverside South 20+ years ago there were only 5 streets. He has worked with the Riverside South Community Association in a variety of roles and served as president for two years.
Craig volunteers his time doing sound, lighting and audio-visual work for churches, charities and theatre groups in the city. He can often be found running sound for shows at Centrepointe Theatre, as well as at our Sunday services.
Craig likes to spend his free time reading, canoeing, camping and generally enjoying the outdoors.
Craig grew up in a church with a vibrant youth group which, along with his parents’ strong faith, he credits as the foundation of his commitment to Christ. He and Linda lead a home church group and have facilitated The Marriage Course.
Michael Kirkwood
Elder & Treasurer
Michael, his wife Brenda, and their daughters Maija and Emily have been attending The Gathering since moving to Ottawa in the fall of 2014. Michael became an Elder in February 2017.
Initially, what drew the Kirkwoods to The Gathering was strong sense of community and the Christ-centred teachings that were real, honest and relevant while remaining rooted in scripture. Michael believes in the value of small groups to strengthen and encourage one another in our faith and has been helping lead a Home Church for the past couple years.
Michael and Brenda feel a strong sense of God’s direction in coming to Ottawa and The Gathering and they look forward to serving in whatever ways God might equip and lead them to further His church.
Moti Nano
Elder
BIO COMING SOON
Jason Pierosara
Elder
Jason, his wife Natalie, and their two children, Nathan and Emily, have attended The Gathering since Christmas Eve, 2010. He has a BA in Psychology from Western University, and an MBA from McMaster University. He is a Sr. Business Development Manager and Client Relationship Leader at the National Research Council of Canada.
Jason grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario and was raised in a Catholic home. His family and religious experience growing up gave him a foundation in the teachings of Jesus Christ, but it wasn’t until he became a father that he felt a strong calling to develop a real and intimate relationship with Jesus. It was through the support of his family and his relationships with the amazing church community at The Gathering that Jason developed this relationship, learned to truly accept Jesus’ incredible free gift of Grace, and to accept Jesus as his Saviour.
Jason loves spending time with his family and friends. He enjoys laughing, hiking, biking and skateboarding (yes, he knows how old he is), drumming (worship!), drawing, and volunteering.
Jason is eager to continue his journey in faith alongside all attendees of The Gathering, and is honoured to be considered for the role of Church Elder. He is very excited to use his spiritual gifts to help our church family and our community to connect to the Love of Jesus, so that they too would follow Him!
