dan macdonald - chairman

Dan MacDonald is the senior pastor of Grace Toronto Church, a gospel-centered church in the heart of Toronto that seeks to see the city renewed and remade in the gospel. His passion has been to be a part of a movement of God to see people explore and grow in the gospel through church-planting. He grew up in Montreal, Canada, and attended McGill University and University of Western Ontario to study law. It was in his first year of law school that he was confronted with the gospel and it transformed his life. Having practiced law for a few years in the Toronto area, God called him into full-time missions with Campus Crusade for Christ, now Power to Change. He served with the senior leadership of the organization and then in the national leadership of the campus ministry. In 2000, having met John Smed, who was planting Grace Vancouver, and being a part of his launch team, Dan, along with his wife, Sue, felt the call to city-centered church planting. After completing his Master’s of Divinity at Reformed Theological Seminary and serving as an Associate pastor in Jacksonville, Florida, he and Sue were asked to come to Toronto and re-plant Grace Toronto Church in 2005. Dan and Sue have one child, Shaila.

john smed - prayer and network relations

John Smed has a passion for seeing Canada reached and transformed through church planting movements, prayer training, and prayer evangelism. He loves mobilizing leaders, church planters, and prayer missionaries. He planted Grace Vancouver Westside PCA in 2000 with his wife Caron. He founded and The Grace Project, a strategy that aims to start city churches, urban training centres and city ministries in every major city in Canada. John also has a heart for urban prayer and founded Prayer Current, which has trained hundreds of church planters and lay leaders and dozens of churches. John also served 7 years as the Church Planting Coordinator for Mission to North America for the PCA where he also directed dozens of Church Planting Leader Assessments. Prior to that he planted Woodgreen PCA in Calgary. John and Caron have four daughters and a son – Teresa, Elisa, Matthew, Erica and Jenn. They are enjoying a growing number of grandchildren.

connan kublik - coaching

Connan Kublik's calling is to help start gospel-centered churches that make and train disciples in the gospel of Jesus and its implications. He grew up sensing a strong call to missions, but never imagined it would be in his own country! He went seminary at Regent College in Vancouver, B.C. While there, he got involved as a staff intern in Grace Vancouver Church, a plant led by John Smed, who instilled in him a compelling vision for new churches in Canada. After seminary, Woodgreen Presbyterian Church in Calgary opened an opportunity for a church planting apprenticeship. Connan, his wife, Brenda, and family moved to Hamilton, Ontario (near Toronto) in 2007 to begin New City Church with a vision for a church that loves and serves the city and that is a safe place for people to explore and grow in the Christian faith. Connan and Brenda, have four children: Kira, Brysan, Evan, and Rylan.

bert gibson - finance

Bert Gibson spent his childhood and youth in Greensboro, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology. That is where he met Carole and they married in 1971. Upon graduation he worked in sales for several companies and traveled extensively for them throughout the Southeast United States. He joined his father-in-law in the retail floor covering business in Columbus, Georgia in 1978 prior to pursuing ministry full time. In 1987 he left the family business and attended Reformed Theological Seminary graduating from there in 1990 with a Masters of Divinity degree in Missiology. The Gibsons moved to Canberra, Australia with Mission to the World (Presbyterian Church in America) where they worked with Westminster Presbyterian Church (Australia) to plant a church in the community of Belconnen in the federal capital. Completing the work in 1995 they returned to the United States. After a brief stint in Statesville, North Carolina with Mission to North America, Bert received a call from Crestwood Presbyterian Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to be their pastor. He has served as Sr. Pastor at Crestwood since 1997, is presently the Chairman of the Western Canada Missions Committee and is a director on the board of Grace Network Canada.

tom wood - director

Dr. Tom Wood is President of Church Multiplication Ministries, in Atlanta, GA. Their mission is “Empowering Leaders To Multiply Gospel-Saturated Churches and Church Planting Networks.” He helped launch and currently serves as director of the North GA Church Planting Network, as well as facilitating the launching of church planting Networks in Birmingham, Nashville, London UK, and Toronto. He directs Church Planter Assessments for Mission to North America (PCA), coaches and consults with pastors and churches. Prior to starting CMM, he served as director of church planting for a church-based mission (PMI) in Atlanta. He has planted and pastored two churches. He earned his Doctorate from RTS(Orlando) and is the co-author of Gospel Coach: Shepherding Leaders to Glorify God. Tom and Rachel have been married for 34 years, have 3 daughters, two son-in-laws and two grandkids.

sue macdonald - managing coordinator

Sue MacDonald spent her growing up years overseas with her missionary parents. Having lived in India and the Philippines, she moved to the Portland, Oregon for her university. Soon after completing her Business Administration Degree, she met and married Dan MacDonald. She joined staff with Campus Crusade For Christ Canada (Power To Change) where she served on the Campus Ministry National Team as the Associate Regional Director for Western Canada. In 2000, she and Dan moved to Orlando, Florida, where she worked as a Marketing and Sales Manager for a start-up company. In 2005, she and Dan moved to Toronto to plant Grace Toronto Church. She has been and is actively involved in various capacities of the church. More recently she has been a full-time mom, while continuing to disciple and mentor women at Grace Toronto and church-planting wives. She has a passion to see people come to know the joy of Christ and to see vibrant gospel churches planted throughout Canada. Sue and Dan have a five year-old daughter, Shaila, who they believe is truly a gift of His amazing grace towards them.