IMPACTING PEOPLE FOR CHRIST
Brian Magnus
Senior Pastor
Brian is the Senior Pastor at Parkwood Gardens Church. Before coming to Guelph he pastored churches in Fort Erie, ON and Toronto. His gifts include teaching and leadership, but he also enjoys worship and music.
Brian has been married to Lynette since 1982 and they have five fantastic children: David (wife Amanda), Heather (husband Shawn Thompson), Holly (husband John Ziedins), Wendy (husband Mark Banks) and Christopher. They have eleven grandchildren.
Born into a pastoral family, Brian grew up in the Niagara Region and Detroit, Michigan. He received Christ in Stevensville, ON at a young age, and has enjoyed learning to follow Jesus and lead God’s people in the years since then.
Brian holds a Bachelor of Theology degree from Emmanuel Bible College and a Masters degree from Huntington University.
Brian has spoken at conferences and seminars in Canada, the U.S. and other locales as far-flung as Thailand, the Philippines, Israel, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Jamaica, Mexico, Haiti and Honduras. He is also the Bishop of The United Brethren Church in Canada and also the Chairman of the United Brethren in Christ, International’s Executive Committee (the Cabinet of Bishops).
Mike Mackneer
Discipleship Pastor
Mike joined the staff at Parkwood Gardens Church after serving for 9 years in Children and Youth ministry roles in Brampton and Toronto. Previous to beginning in ministry Mike completed a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Tyndale University College. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in Pastoral Ministries from Huntington University in Indiana. He has had valuable experience developing collaborative outreach partnerships, which have included sports leagues, worship events, and various missions opportunities. Mike was born and raised in the Salvation Army where he developed a passion for the Word of God and a desire to love the Lord and love people well.
His role as the Discipleship Pastor at Parkwood Gardens Church includes preaching, outreach, leadership and support to small group leaders, various discipleship and prayer initiatives, and much more.
In his spare time Mike enjoys playing sports, especially basketball, reading, spending time with family, and updating his twitter account. He is also a big fan of power naps. Mike and his wife Ashlee were married in Guelph in 2006 and have thre beautiful children, son Cody and daughters Tessa and Paige.
Cheyenne Geense
Youth Pastor
Cheyenne Geense joined Parkwood Gardens as Youth Pastor in January of 2016.
He loves: laughing more than anything, television shows, movies, sailing, almost any game you could imagine, sports, computers, photography/art, and is proud to be Dutch. He is outgoing, loves relationships, questions, thinking, communication, is easy going, and is very difficult to offend.
Cheyenne received his Bachelor of Theology degree in Youth Ministry from Emmanuel Bible College and has a passion for youth ministries. It is his ambition to be active in the lives of young people and have an influence on all three dimensions of their growth (body, spirit, mind). His plan is to use interpersonal skills to develop strong relationships with both churched and un-churched students in the community.
He believes there is great value in a stable and reliable figure in a young person’s unstable and unpredictable life. He wants to be that person for young people in the community wherever they may be in their spiritual journey and assist them in their development. His overall goal is to bring people into God’s agenda for their lives.
Lynette Magnus
Worship & Music Pastor
Lynette has been a Worship and Music Director at Parkwood Gardens since 1999. She enjoys using music, drama, scripture, prayer, visual arts and testimonies to praise and worship God while building up the people of God. Music speaks into the secret places of the heart.
Lynette is married to Brian and they have five wonderful children: David, Heather, Holly, Wendy and Christopher.
Lynette was born and raised in a small town in Indiana where she received Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour at a young age. Her love of music was fostered by her mother who was and is a church pianist. Lynette studied piano for 9 years and flute for 7 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Huntington University in Indiana, with a minor in music.
Lynette also teaches the “Circle of Friends” Tuesday morning ladies bible study. Her passion is seeing the Word of God empower, heal and build up the lives of women.
Shelby Schwind
Children’s Ministry Pastor
shelby.schwind@parkwoodgardens.ca
Bio coming soon
Ricki Lee Bristow
Administrative Assistant
Ricki has been attending Parkwood Gardens with her husband and 3 sons since 2012. She attended Trinity Western University, Redeemer Christian University and Humber College for studies in religion, biology and paramedicine. She served as a paramedic and supervisor for 10 years then choose to stay home with her young children. Her mixed background with administrative experience gives her a unique skill set to serve as Administrative Assistant.
Ricki grew up in a Christian home but personally came to know Jesus at the age of 9. Watching the faith of her parents gave her a deep appreciation for God’s providence and the value of Christ centered education in the home.
She and her family started attending Parkwood Gardens Church in 2012 and Ricki quickly became involved in the Music ministry and Childrens’ ministry. She currently facilitates the Mamas ‘n Chicks group for new moms and serves on the worship team.
In her spare time she enjoys music, sewing and teaching first aid classes to new parents.
Neil and Liz Cudney
Pastors of Mill Crossing, our Church Plant in Cambridge
The Mill Crossing church plant is a compassionate community that walks in the way of Christ in Hespeler, ON. Their desire is “to love God with our whole hearts, love others as ourselves and prove it with our lives!”
They currently meet on Sunday mornings at 11 am at 1725 Beaverdale Rd.(RR #21), Cambridge, ON N3C 2V3. www.millcrossing.ca
Pastors Nguyen and Hong Tran
Pastors of Guelph Vietnamese Community Church, a church planting partnership between The United Brethren Church in Canada and the Christian & Missionary Alliance denominations.
Nguyen Tran has been married to Hong Cao since 1975 and they have two daughters. Daughter Mary Tran and her husband have been missionaries with C&MA of the USA in Taiwan and have three children. Also daughter Sarah and her husband, who is a pharmacist for CVS pharmacy in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They have two children and are planning to go to Cambodia in summer 2019 with the USA World Team as missionaries.
Pastor Nguyen Tran had been a Worship Pastor for the Brampton Vietnamese Alliance Church over fourteen years before he and his wife went to Siem Reap, Cambodia as volunteer missionaries with the C&MA of Canada in 2014. They first joined the Guelph Vietnamese Community Church in May 2018.
Jim and Bonnie Tice
Pastors of Diaspora Church
jim@diaspora.church bonnietice@rogers.com
As a home based church plant of Parkwood Gardens, Diaspora can be described as church around the kitchen table or in the living room.
The church is made up of multiplying communities of Jesus followers who engage in a monthly rhythm of life together that includes eating, worshipping, serving, laughing, learning from the Bible, praying, fun, spiritual formation practices and life! We reach out by inviting others to walk with us in relationship as we journey with Christ.
Follow us at diaspora.holyimagination.com