Deacons

The New Testament describes two offices within the church: elder and deacon.

Deacons carry out their ministry under the oversight of the elders and are called upon to carry out the ministries that tend to distract the elders from their God-given calling to devote themselves to the ministry of the Word and to prayer. Deacons are therefore responsible for administering the benevolent concerns of the church along with many of its business affairs. At this time Grace Fellowship Church has five deacons.

Thushara Chandrasena

Biography coming.

Ryan Freeman

Biography coming. 

Steve Funston

Steve was born and raised in rural southwestern Ontario where he spent his childhood. After high school he pursued a post secondary education in business, but unknown to him at the time, God had other plans for his life. After one and a half semesters he left the program to pursue a career in aviation which took him not only out of the area, but out of the country for a period of two years. It was around this time in his life that God called him, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, to be a child of God.

After returning to Canada he spent just over a year in Toronto firing up his career, which required him to leave southern Ontario for Thunder Bay, with a short stint in Sioux Lookout, and finally returned to Toronto in the fall of 2006.

It's after returning to the city when, for the first time, he attended a service at Grace Fellowship Church. Steve said that he "fell in love with the biblical preaching, the people, and the passion of the people to see God glorified," which he said made his decision to stay "quick and easy." And for the first time since leaving high school he was grateful to be in a position to put some roots down.

Since joining Grace Fellowship, Steve has found many ways to serve. He has been a greeter, a cleaner, led GraceKids classes, and currently serves the church by doing the bookkeeping. Steve was set apart to be a deacon by an unanimous vote of the membership in March, 2009.

Dani Glatter

As one of our deacons since 2009, Dani actively serves in facilities at our church, which include clean-up, some administration, and various service aspects.   When you run into Dani in the hallway, you can be sure to be greeted with a smile, and you will enjoy his humorous and easygoing personality.

What he appreciates the most about Grace Fellowship Church is the openness and willing attitude that he often sees in many brothers and sisters—they are eager to demonstrate the reality of Christianity and to reflect the image of Christ more and more closely.

After a hard day’s work, Dani looks forward to his Etobicoke home, seeing his beautiful daughter Sophia, and enjoying a playtime with her.  

Jason Wagler

Jason was born and raised in the Kitchener-Waterloo region of Ontario and lived there until he finished his degree at the University of Waterloo. He then, with his wife, Rebecca, moved to Toronto to begin his career.

Once they started attending Grace Fellowship, they quickly became a part of the family and the ministry. Jason began to serve as a deacon in 2006. He and Becky teach one of our GraceKids classes every Wednesday night. Jason is best known for his hard-working, quick-to-serve attitude, which results in him doing most of the work in cleaning up on Sundays, whether it is his job that night or not.

Jason and Becky have been blessed with three beautiful daughters, Brennah, Leah, and Olivia.