Lead Pastor Glenn DeSilva
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astor Glenn DeSilva was born and raised in the beautiful island of Bermuda. Most of his adult life has been lived in Durham Region, Canada. He is an Ordained Minister who has served in the Ontario Conference of Seventh Day Adventist for the past thirty-two years as a Pastor, School Chaplain, Teacher, Camp Director, and Conference Ministry Director. Presently he is our Lead Pastor here at College Park. He is a graduate of Andrews University, where he received both his Bachelor of Theology and Master of Divinity degrees.
Pastor Glenn is married to Michelle, Principal at College Park Elementary School. He has three children, Amairis, a graduate of Andrews University, Ethan a sophomore at Southern Adventist University, and Mackenzie a grade 11 student at Kingsway College.
Pastor Glenn is a strong believer and supporter of Adventist Christian Education.
Pastor Glenn loves meeting people and networking with the global Adventist family. He loves to sample foods from every culture and country and is a fan of Indian and Mediterranean cuisine. His favourite meal is a fish, chips and coleslaw dinner followed by a freshly baked warm piece of apple pie. He is a sports enthusiast and enjoys the outdoors. He loves to garden in the backyard, giving back to the community of chipmunks and rabbits (no skunks please) that live in his neighbourhood. Pastor Glenn loves to travel, especially long road trips with his family.
Pastor Glenn is a passionate Biblical preacher who loves to tell the story of Jesus. He is excited about mentoring young, discipling members and spending time with seniors. Pastor Glenn’s favorite scripture is, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose.”
Associate Pastor Rui de Oliveira
Born Rui de São Jose Gonçalves de Oliveira, Pastor Rui was born in the Western European country of Portugal, and at the age of thirteen he immigrated to Canada. He is married to Nancy Oliveira, and has four children named; Sarah, Lori-Ann, Jesse and Janai. While in College he graduated as a Journeyman Electrician working in Toronto and GTA. He later went back to school, and graduated in Theology from the Adventist University of São Paulo, UNASP, in the State of São Paulo, Brazil.
Being a man of character has always been a core value to him. He believe in the words of Jesus when presenting the Beatitudes, that a man of character has this quality found in Matthew 5:3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The Spirit in the Scriptures is sometimes represented as the wind, and as Jesus is saying this in a rural farming community, and in order to make a point, He likely pointed to the wheat chaff as it bends toward the wind.
Those that bend toward the Spirit are men of character. This is what he strives for.
He has always learned that personality traits are surface-level observations, while character traits are deep-seated, not immediately obvious, and developed over time. Character traits are like core values, and are guiding principles. He has had many achievements in life. The most recent that stands out is; putting together, along with committed church members and community volunteers, a Compassion/Evangelism ministry at the Niagara Falls Church that services the homeless and downtrodden of the city, using a truck, an SUV, and soon a Mini-Van. This ministry grows by leaps and knows no bounds, and now its budget is becoming larger that the church’s budget.
Outside of full-time ministry, he is someone who continues to do what he did before; helping people with their needs using his God-given talents and knowledge, whenever possible. His favorite things are; visiting historical places, learning their history, and possible relationship to Christianity. He loves blue and white, as well the sports teams, especially soccer, books, comedy, history movies, a good symphony, talk radio, and his favorite shows is Handel’s Messiah.
Assistant Pastor Martin M. Perez
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astor Martin M. Perez hails from the Windy City. He was born and raised in the Chicago metro area where his urban and ethnic experience has enriched his life and ministry. Through God’s leading, he attended Burman University when it was still called Canadian University College in Alberta where he studied Theology. There he met his better half Aimee and they have been happily married for over 20 years. They spent many fulfilling years between the west coast and the prairies where they started their family which now includes Hero, Sky, and Cassia. He has ministered as a bible worker and pastor in the Ontario Conference for over 5 years, The majority of which were dedicated to the Hispanic Adventist Community.
There he strived to bridge the gap between the English and Spanish speaking churches as well as create a unity within the Spanish community.
Pastor Martin is happy to be part of the College Park Family. His has a ministry passion for discipleship, mentoring, and helping people discover the joy of walking with Jesus. His greatest passion, however, is his wife and kids.
Pastor Martin loves to laugh, and his hobbies and creative outlet include prepping, art, and leathercraft. If you see him carrying a leather satchel, ask him how he made it.