This past season, our Nominations Committee worked actively and prayerfully to receive and explore nominations from the congregation, to discern the character of those nominated, as well as the needs of our church and the Board of Elders in this season.  Thank you to everyone who prayed for our elder nomination process, and who took the time to submit nominations for eldership this September.  The Board of Elders play a vital role in the life of our church – prayerfully directing, protecting and overseeing the life and leadership of Lambrick. 

With this responsibility and authority in mind, we are committed to seeking individuals who are known for: a clear testimony of everyday faith in Jesus Christ, Christlike character, relational and leadership competency, gospel courage, and confidence in God’s calling.

As with every year, this process was approached with open hands, asking and trusting God to guide the process.  We were encouraged to receive a good number of nominations this year, men and women who embody many of the qualities we need in eldership. With a shared sense of God's invitation, the Board of Elders present Jonathan Cheng and Jamie Martens to the membership for your prayer, discernment, and affirmation to Eldership at the upcoming AGM (Jan 2027).

Please join us in prayer for Jonathan and Jamie and their callings to join the Board of Elders.  If you have any concerns or questions, we invite you to speak directly with them.  If your concerns are unresolved, we invite you to come speak with one of the elders. We also invite you to express your encouragement and affirmations to Jonathan and Jamie and about them to the Board.  

For those who don’t know one or either of them, here are their short bios:

 

Jonathan Cheng

Jonathan was born here in Victoria.  He was raised in a Christian family and as a third generation Chinese Christian, faith was very much tied to community and family.  His faith began to become stale and routine through his teenage years as many of his peers would begin to turn away from their own faith and many would end up leaving the church.

Jonathan began to find a renewed passion in following Christ as a young adult after attending a city-wide Christian Concert called Ignition in 2006.  This led him to begin attending the Victoria Chinese Alliance Church where he met many like-minded, similarly aged, passionate Christians.  Mentored by Pastor Darin Reimer, Jonathan would be baptised in Elk Lake in 2008 alongside Melissa, who would eventually become his wife. 

Jonathan served regularly on the worship team, later becoming the worship director for the English congregation of the church.  He also helped to build new college and career aged fellowship groups and mentoring many young Christians in their faith.  Following many years of fruitful growth, he entered a season that lead Jonathan and Melissa to seek God’s plan for them elsewhere.

God’s plan brought them to Lambrick Park Church in December of 2019.  A few months later they would have their first child, Aiden.  And then COVID happened.  Through the following year and a half of meal trains, attending remote services, and Zoom small groups (shout out to Jessie-Anne), God would continue to affirm their choice to make Lambrick home.  Jonathan and Melissa found ways to connect with many of the young families as well as serve the church.  They would soon be blessed with their second son, Micah. They proudly call Lambrick home.

Jamie Martens

Jamie was supremely blessed to grow up in a Christian family, with his dad even becoming a pastor when he was young. Since Jamie's dad was also a pastor, naturally he thought it was a family business. While that childhood calling never materialized, Jamie has always held church volunteering to be integral to the Christian experience. At his previous church in Manitoba he served in many fields, including the Audio-Visual team, church board, finance committee, and youth ministry. Through it all, he found a deeper understanding in how Christ loves the church as his bride; As Jamie serves and sacrifices, he found love and gratitude growing in him. While there are certainly times when serving feels dry, he generally find this to be true.

Jamie's relationship with God became his own as he went on mission trips and attended different youth and young adult groups outside of his own tradition. Eventually he attended Providence University College & Theological Seminary where his eyes were opened to many different aspects of faith. This is also where Jamie met Natasha, who he eventually married.  When they came to Lambrick Park Church in 2023, they fell in love with the non-denominational freedom it held. Coming off a season of heavy involvement at his previous church, Jamie was sensitive to his need for a break and took time before serving again, but he is now involved in a number of different roles and loves them all.

He brings a business degree, many years of customer service and operations experience, and volunteering know-how to the table. He hopes his experience in administration and church leadership will have it's value shown through his actions as a part of this already skilled team that Jamie is humbled to be a part of.