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 and serving in various churches and ministries there.
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 serves behind the scenes to help our church run smoothly and stay focused on what really matters: connecting people to the love of Jesus. She leads our volunteer teams, plans and coordinates events, and manages communication touchpoints across email, social media, and Sunday gatherings.
Rachel believes clarity, consistency, and care aren’t just admin goals — they’re forms of hospitality. Whether it’s a spreadsheet, an onboarding process, or a social post, her heart is to remove barriers so people can experience authentic community and spiritual growth.
She has been the Church Administrator since early 2023. She continues to find new ways to serve the church in her leadership role!
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.
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.
The Elders can be reached by email at: elders@thegatheringottawa.com
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.
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.
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.
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!
Jeremy and his wife Mila have attended the Gathering since 2022. They have three children, Grace, Ellie and Jordan. They grew up in Ottawa and both attended St Mark HS.
Jeremy was born in Malaysia and his parents immigrated with three small children on a cold January in 1989. He studied Engineering at Carleton University and works as a Project Scheduler.
He grew up in a Christian home where prayer and worship were regular habits and served at his previous church playing guitar and piano with Mila on drums.
In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball and soccer and playing baseball with his kids.
His hope is to make more opportunities for people to be with Jesus through prayer and worship at the Gathering.
Noah has been part of The Gathering since 2013 and is grateful for the opportunity to serve as an Elder. Raised in a Christ-centered home, he has been following Jesus since childhood. His faith has deepened over the years through life’s ups and downs, and he has loved being part of The Gathering's church community.
Over the years, Noah has served in a variety of roles—including on the Set Up/Tear Down team, as a youth leader, a member of the worship band, and even as Board Chair. The Gathering has played a significant role in his life, and he’s excited to see how God continues to work in and through the church in Riverside South and beyond. He’s especially passionate about how initiatives like The Community Table are opening doors to make a difference in the city.
During the week, Noah works in the High Tech industry. He also serves on the ONMB Conference Provincial Board and previously served with a board affiliated with One Hope Canada, partnering with Indigenous teens and young adults on Manitoulin Island—an experience that broadened his understanding of God’s work across the country.
At home, Noah and his wife Holly (married since 2012) are raising three energetic kids who keep life full and fun. When he’s not chasing them around or engaged in church life, you’ll likely find him in the backyard by the smoker, working on some BBQ and enjoying time with family and friends.
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