Seeing Ndazkoh transformed by the love of Christ
Jon Wyminga & Shannon Bell
Jon and Shannon both grew up in Southern Ontario: Jon in the Toronto area and Shannon in Port Hope, a small town along Lake Ontario.
Jon first pursued a diploma in graphic design and during that time in college committed his life to Christ at a youth retreat. At the same weekend he sensed a call to missions. He went on to work in short-term missions in Holland and Toronto before going to Ontario Bible College, York University and eventually seminary. Shannon studied for a diploma from Ewart College in Christian Education and a degree in Religious Studies before she and Jon went to Knox College for ministry training.
Jon and Shannon dated while in university and were married in 1986. They each finished their degrees and entered Knox College together and were ordained together in 1991. Their ministry experience to that point had been focused on inner-city missions and they went on to share a position in Montreal in an inner-city ministry of the church. The call to the Cariboo and rural ministry was quite unexpected, but God always knows what is best for them. They have been truly blessed to labour in God’s vineyard in the Cariboo.
They have settled in the remote, predominantly Dakelh community of Ndazkoh where they are reaching out to their own village as well as other local villages and bands. Jon and Shannon have 2 daughters: Shelby is an actor, graduated with a BFA in acting from Trinity Western University. She is married to Tyler who has a BA in music from TWU. They are both pursuing their artist gifts in the Vancouver area. Joelle also earned a BFA in acting from TWU and works in Vancouver at various jobs including teaching theatre to children. Shelby and Joelle have formed their own theatre company called “Far From The Tree Productions”.
Jon and Shannon’s vision is to see Ndazkoh and the surrounding bands transformed by the love of Christ.
Mark and Alicia Carter
Mark grew up in the lower mainland and moved to the Cariboo in 2002 where he was introduced to house church at McLeese lake. Alicia grew up in Quesnel before moving to Langley to attend the Trinity Western University nursing program. They have both enjoyed worshiping in house churches and were part of a network of house churches in Vancouver while Mark was working on a Master of Divinity degree at Regent College. Their first boy (Micah) was born in March 2019 and they are enjoying their new life living in Williams Lake.
Growing disciples in the Cariboo/Chilcotin
Mark caught the vision for house church while attending the McLeese Lake church. After discerning the call to pastoral ministry he desires to serve the churches in the Cariboo and develop house church as a vibrant and growing form of the church in Canada.
Mark is a carpenter by trade and enjoys woodworking and home construction. He and Alicia enjoy hiking and exploring new places in BC. The Cariboo is a treasure of lakes and trails and they look forward to exploring the beautiful landscape of the Cariboo. Micah enjoys crawling, turning pages in his books, and grabbing things that he is not allowed to touch. In contrast to his insolent look in this picture, he is a good-natured treasure they adore. Their family grew by another son Elias in May 2021 and their busy household is a blessing to the ministry.
In 2020 Alicia joined the ministry in an official capacity as the Mission Administrator taking care of finances and other admin tasks.