About Us

What we're about

The Life Centre is an intentionally inter-cultural church in the heart of west Abbotsford seeking to make disciples of Jesus Christ of all nations.

We are a diverse group of people on a journey, growing and changing together. We long to be anchored by the truth of Jesus and to see things in a new way, through the lens of the Bible. To see people as Jesus sees them. You don’t have to leave part of yourself at the door; you are welcome here exactly as you are in this moment. We all are.

Thanks for checking us out; we’re glad you’re here.

The Life Centre is a part of the BCMB Conference of British Columbia. To see our statement of faith please visit our conference website at www.bcmb.org.

Our Mission

"Sharing the love of Jesus to make Christ-followers of all nations"

Our Vision

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, TLC aspires to be a multicultural, diverse church family where all people are welcomed and invited to be transformed into Christ followers by the good news of Jesus Christ. Our aim is that the gifts and abilities God has given us will bless our neighbourhood and celebrate the nations, as we further God's Kingdom in Abbotsford and beyond.

Our Values

• We value seeking God’s kingdom first in all we do
• We value knowing and following Jesus Christ through the Scriptures and prayer
• We value the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit
• We value seeing all people transformed by the good news of Jesus Christ
• We value cultural, generational, and socio-economic diversity, being a place of belonging for everyone
• We value authentic and vibrant worship
• We value sharing life together
• We value living out our faith in our community and world
• We value seeking justice and reconciliation in the way of Jesus
• We value walking alongside people who are marginalized

Our journey

To understand who we are and where we are going, we must first understand where we came from. In June 2006, Bindu and Trish Sidhu brought six years of college and career ministry at South Abbotsford Church to a close and began to lay the foundation for a new church, under the auspices of the BC Mennonite Brethren Conference of Churches.

The early days of The Life Centre (TLC) involved asking God for people who shared the Sidhu’s dream of an intentionally intercultural church in Abbotsford. Thirty adults, with their sixteen children, responded to the dream. A summer and fall of shared meals, probing conversations, and heartfelt worship times resulted in the group forming a consensus around its values, purpose, and vision. The Life Centre was born.

Intentionality marks TLC. We don’t believe Abbotsford needs another church, just for the sake of having another church. But we do have the conviction that Abbotsford does need another intentionally intercultural church, where women and men from the many nations represented in our city can come together to discover and celebrate the shared life that is ours in Jesus Christ.

Spiritual leadership team

The Spiritual Leadership Team (SLT) provides overall leadership and vision at TLC.
SLT Members:

• Gary Toews (SLT Chair)
• Erica Wall (Secretary)
• Orlando Schmidt (Treasurer)
• Brian Stewart (Lead Pastor)
• Philemon Ilyihamije
• Alison Williams
• Ryan Schultz
• Jay Lee

Looking to join the SLT?

Learn more about what it means to be a Spiritual Leader, what your role would be, and how TLC does life!

Brian Stewart

Lead Pastor

I was born in Toronto and spent the first thirty years living there. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour when I was ten years old. I graduated from York University with a B.A. in Economics, received my Masters of Divinity from Tyndale Seminary and my Doctorate of Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Carol and I were married in 1986 and we have two adult children: Mark and Rachel. I have served as the Associate Pastor at Alta Vista Baptist Church in Ottawa, Ontario for eight years, the Lead Pastor at Oxford Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ontario for nine years, and the Lead Pastor at Parkland Fellowship in Surrey, B.C. for eight years. I have been teaching homiletics (preaching) at Seminaries and Bible Colleges since 2002. I also enjoy running, playing tennis, reading, traveling and eating out with my wife Carol.

I believe that the local church is God’s means for accomplishing His purposes in the world today. I love our mission of going and making disciples of all nations. I am also passionate about communicating God’s Word that brings about life transformation.

Jo Hildebrand

Kids Community Coordinator

I was born in England and lived there until I was 20. I grew up in a Christian home, with Christian parents. I was always surrounded by Christian friends and families as I grew up. This gave me a strong grounding as I entered my teenage years, helping me to make wise decisions and then causing me to really make my faith my own as I became an adult and moved away to university. Here I became a lot more independent as my family were now not just 4 hours away but a 9 hour flight away, here in Canada. I learnt to trust and live for God through all of those changes. I would travel in the holidays on my own, a time I actually quite enjoyed – allowing me the time to think, pray, read as I sat in airports and flew across the world! It was on one of those trips while visiting my family in Canada that I met Dillon. In 2008 we started dating and then in 2012 we got married.

As soon as I could, I was babysitting, helping at the kids club and in the nursery at church. I continued to help in nurseries and Kid’s clubs through university. This changed to more of a supervising role in the Sunday School Preschool at Central Heights Church when I volunteered to help my friend who is the supervisor. I became her other half and we co-lead there until I applied for this job at The Life Centre. I love children and have a huge passion to help them grow in their journey with God. I love watching, and helping them learn things and encouraging them while they walk through this life. I also love working with the adult and youth volunteers and helping them to lead. This is something I haven’t done as much of before.

Crystal Hicks

Worship Coordinator

I’m originally from the Bahamas, I came to Canada in 1978 to attend college, first in Moncton, NB and then to Langley, BC where I attended Trinity Western University. Upon graduation, I married my greatest supporter and best friend, Kirk. Our anniversary this year will mark 33 years married. We have 2 sons, Kyle, 28 and Kent, 19. Other things that occupy my time are my work as office manager at Henderson’s Fraser Valley Funeral Home, singing opportunities as a soloist and with various groups and the occasional speaking engagement, mainly with Christian Women’s Clubs. I became a follower of Christ at the age of 12 and what I love about my relationship with the Lord is that He has been faithful through everything, unchanging, unshakeable, never letting me go. I know He’s always with me, just as He promises.

I have been leading worship for the past 20 years and I absolutely love it! I count it a privilege to use the gifts God has given me to worship Him and to lead others to do the same. It never ceases to amaze me how God ministers to His people through me, in spite of me. It’s easy to make worship about music, technique, songs and methods and while these things are a part of it, worship is primarily about who and what we love. It is my desire to inspire and encourage others in their walk with Christ to :…love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” (Matthew 22:37 NIV), which is the heart of worship and to challenge them to develop their God-given talents and use them to glorify God.

Chris Karema

Director of Student Ministries

I was born in RDC (Congo) and relocated to New Brunswick, Canada, in November of 2006. I lived in Fredericton, NB, for 7 years, where I graduated from high school and found my sweetheart, now wife, Vanessa Karema. I love her so much, but even more so now since she gave birth to our baby boy, Joseph.

I grew up in church, and for that, I'm thankful to my parents. I love Jesus. From a young age, I knew that God had called me into the ministry; hence, I completed a BA in Pastoral Leadership and Biblical Studies, and I am currently pursuing an Mdiv degree through Acts Seminary. The purpose of my life is to love God so much and, in doing so, contaminate those around me.

When I am not at church, I love spending time with my little family, playing soccer, and caring for the homeless community in the Whalley area.

Tanya & Mary-Lynn

Administrative Assistants