Allison serves as our Pastor of Discipleship at Kortright and is passionate about helping our congregation to live faith more fully as a community and in each person’s particular context.
Allison worked for over a decade in campus ministry with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Toronto and more broadly across SW Ontario before joining the staff at Kortright. Allison is “bi-vocational” meaning that she keeps one foot in church ministry and another foot in “the marketplace.” Allison works as a researcher for the Apostrophe Podcast Company working on a book and two shows including CBC’s Under the Influence.
Originally from Vancouver, Allison and her husband Jordan and daughter Zoe have lived in Guelph for 7 years. Allison loves to travel and spent a year living in Germany. Closer to home Allison enjoys walking by the river, doing art projects with her daughter and hanging out with her adorable nephew. Her favourite place to be is behind a boat on a waterski and she once got her head stuck in the gates at Buckingham palace.
Justin has served as Kortright’s Pastor of Worship and Outreach since 2019 and loves focusing on two of his greatest passions: Seeing a church full of vibrancy in our gathered worship, and seeing a church sent out to be the hands and feet of Jesus across our neighbourhood and city.
Justin has previously worked as a pastor in youth ministry, young adult ministry, and as the site pastor at Lakeside Downtown, in Guelph’s downtown core. Justin comes from more Wesleyan theological roots, with a Master’s degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky. However, he is a happy “newbie” Presbyterian. Justin also works part-time as a music teacher.
Justin is married to Lindsay (also a Bible teacher and theologian!) and they have a daughter, Iris. Justin enjoys debating theology on Twitter, cooking outlandish recipes he finds on YouTube, spending summers by the pool, and the occasional video game.
Alyssa has served as Kortright’s Youth Ministries Coordinator on an interim basis since 2021 and has a passion for building relationships with and helping youth develop their walk with Christ and discover what it means to live a Christ-centered life.
Alyssa previously worked at Intervarsity Pioneer Camp Ontario for several years and is still involved in Intervarsity campus ministry at the University of Guelph. She also works part time at Starbucks and is very passionate about coffee.
Alyssa is married to Jacob and they enjoy all of the trails and local gems that downtown Guelph has to offer. Alyssa enjoys camping, being outdoors, and has been known to impulsively buy plane tickets for a last minute vacation.
Kiera serves as Kortright’s Children’s Ministry Coordinator. Kiera has been attending Kortright for eight years, and has always had a heart for children’s ministry and helping kids grow and develop in their relationship with Jesus. She brings a combination of formal education and practical experience to her role as Children’s Ministry Coordinator.
Kiera recently graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Child, Youth, and Family Studies. She will be continuing her education at Redeemer University in September 2022 to pursue a Bachelor of Education.
Kiera has worked with children in many different capacities, including camp, classroom, and church settings. She loves helping children grow and develop emotionally, socially, spiritually, and intellectually.
Kiera enjoys watching sports (especially hockey!), spending time with friends and family, and playing with her cat Marley.
Chelsea Decoster serves as our current office administrator. She was born in Belgium, and lived there for 15 years before moving to Hamilton, Ont. Chelsea is really passionate about soccer, art and food. In December, she graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Science. For the past 2.5 years, Chelsea have been on the Executive team of InterVarsity Undergraduates at Guelph, helping out with the administrative work.
Gabriel Lopez
Church Custodian