Grace Toronto. A church for the city in the city. Get to know us.

1. Where were you born?
Quito, Ecuador

2. Where did you grow up?
Quito, Toronto

3. Where were you educated?
Lawrence Park Collegiate, Toronto
Houghton College, N.Y. and McMaster University, Hamilton, B.Sc. Chemistry
Business courses at University of Toronto, York University
C.A. with Ernst and Young, Toronto

4. Can you tell us about your journey of faith?
I was born into a Christian family in Ecuador where my parents were medical missionaries. I received Christ as my saviour at the age of eight in Quito.

Upon moving to Toronto at the age of twelve, I no longer was surrounded by Christians and had a difficult time accepting a different culture. Throughout high school I was in quiet rebellion. Going to university helped me in my faith where I met other fellow Christians. I married upon graduation and started attending Spring Garden Baptist Church, Toronto where I was a deacon, led the College and Careers group and taught Sunday School.

My former wife started an advertising agency that required a lot of travel and she ended up having an affair. Our marriage broke down, I tried to reconcile but to no avail, and my two children, Ryan and Jody, went to live with her. The divorce was very difficult, but during that time I grew as a Christian in my faith and reliance on Jesus Christ as my Lord and saviour primarily through my personal Bible studies. Dan MacDonald and I discussed the biblical grounds for divorce based on adultery before I submitted my name as an elder nominee. My former wife eventually died of cancer.

B. How did you come to be a part of the Grace Toronto Church body, and how have your gotten involved since?
I learned about the old incarnation of Grace Toronto Church through a friend who was attending my Bible study group. After the second Sunday at Grace, Evelyn got up to say a prayer and after the service, I said, “Nice prayer; how about lunch?”. A year later we married at Grace Toronto Church.

At GTC, I led the weekly prayer group, led an Alpha Group, attended Grace gatherings, chaired the Board of Directors and I am currently the treasurer. Evelyn used to oversee the GTC Sunday operations in the mornings and was Eastern Canada’s Women in the Church president for our denomination.

My son Ryan is married to Trina and he is a real estate broker. Trina is working on her Ph.D. in oncology. Jody is an art teacher. All live in Toronto. Evelyn and I have been happily married for almost thirteen years, and somehow she still likes me!

Evelyn and I work with a company called HEIR that helps people build wealth through real estate. I am also applying to operate an Exempt Market Dealer selling real estate securities across Canada.