ELDERS & MINISTRY STAFF











Staff Elders

  • James Seward  

    Senior Pastor


    James Seward came to Maple Avenue in 2013 with a heart to allow God’s Word to transform the church and the community.


    James completed his undergraduate education at the University of Chicago, where he was also part of the founding core – and later a pastoral intern – at Holy Trinity Church. He went on to complete a master’s degree in Biblical Exegesis at Wheaton College where he also served on the pastoral staff at College Church under Kent Hughes. Prior to coming to Maple Avenue, James served for five years as the Associate Pastor of Education and Discipleship at First Baptist Church of Lindale, Texas. He has traveled to Vietnam to train pastors through Leadership Resources and also is a speaker at various Simeon Trust Workshops on Biblical Exposition

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    While James enjoys hearty competition, watching any sport but golf, and singing (which, he reminds people, isn’t dependent on skill); he most enjoys spending time with his wife, Karen and their five children: Charlie, Ann, Jonathan, Eva and Mercy. James and Karen share a heart for adoption, reaching at risk children, and exposing people to the life-changing power of God’s Word.


    CONTACT JAMES



  • Terry Laidlaw

    Associate Pastor


    Terry has always been in love with church. Being fourth generation on a family dairy farm, church was a constant in their lives. Three of those generations are still working together on their Brampton area farm and still very active in church life.


    It wasn’t until he was 28 years old though, that Terry fell in love with Jesus Christ. He is his Shepherd and Lord. He has cleansed him from much sin, guilt and shame. He, being the Word made flesh is my life, my all.


    Terry met an amazing young gal, beautifully named Barbara Grace Church who was on a similar spiritual journey. Married in 1985, they were baptized at MABC in the spring of 1986, alongside his father Gord, mother Rosemarie and brother Wayne. Terry immersed himself into the Christian teaching and culture at Maple Ave.


    In 2006 Terry accepted a call into pastoral ministry focusing on youth and seniors ministries. He enjoys contributing to the unity of our pastoral team and the oversight of our church family. His interests are reading, music and the movie classics.


    Terry & Barb have four sons ~ Tim, Matt, Peter and Seth ~ that continue to challenge their family spiritually and are also being blessed spiritually through the life of the church.


    CONTACT TERRY



ministry staff

  • JENNA IBRAHIM

    Children's Ministry Director


    Jenna was born and raised in Georgetown, attending Maple Avenue for most of her life. Through serving at the church, she felt God leading her into children’s ministry. With a passion for the next generation, Jenna’s prayer is to see children grow to love Jesus and live for Him. She has a Bachelors degree in Child, Youth and Family Studies and a diploma in Early Childhood Education from the University of Guelph. Furthering her love of children and teaching, she graduated with a Bachelors degree in Education from Wilfrid Laurier University.  


    She is married to her wonderful husband, Benjamin, and together they have a daughter, Maya.  She enjoys learning, being outside in God’s creation, playing sports and tinkling the ivories every once in a while. Jenna is grateful to be a part of the MABC team and thoroughly enjoys working alongside people to serve the church and Halton Hills community.


    CONTACT JENNA



  • yuta seki

    Youth Minister


    Yuta Seki moved to Georgetown at the beginning of 2017 in order to serve as the youth minister at Maple Avenue Baptist Church. In his role, Yuta primarily oversees and leads the junior and senior high ministries, though he is involved in other pastoral work at MABC as well. Yuta’s passion is for students to understand and see the wonders of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the significance of God’s Word for their lives.


    Having been born into and raised in a non-Christian home, Yuta did not grow up attending church or hearing the gospel. While in his final year of high school, some friends invited Yuta out to their youth group, and it was through that ministry that Yuta encountered both the loving warmth of the Christians there and the saving message of Christ. Within a few months of attending that youth group, Yuta was radically saved, and his life has never been the same since.


    After a “gap year” of being discipled and serving in that same local church, Yuta decided to attend the Canadian Southern Baptist College in Cochrane, Alberta. A year after graduating with his undergrad, Yuta moved down to Los Angeles, California, in order to attend the Master’s Seminary. During those college and seminary years, Yuta served in various capacities at several local churches, much of that being in the youth ministry of those churches.


    Yuta enjoys following southern hemisphere rugby (union); food and eating; travelling; and hanging out with family and friends. He is happily married to Alyssa, and together they have two sons, Noah and Luke.


    CONTACT YUTA



  • mitch hogeveen

    Ministry Intern


    Mitch was raised in a Christian home in Waterdown and then Cambridge. The Lord, in His grace, completely changed the direction he was headed as he graduated grade 12. God opened his eyes to the depth of his need for a Saviour and the greatness of the Saviour Jesus Christ. He completed a certificate program at Briercrest college and has continued to take various courses at Toronto Baptist Seminary and Heritage Bible College.


    Mitch lives in Acton with his wife Elisabeth. Together they have two children. Gracie, a beautiful little toddler and Ezra who was born Christmas Eve 2019. They enjoy going for walks as a family and spending lots of time at neighbourhood parks. Both Mitch and Elisabeth are very competitive so they enjoy any type of game, whether it be a sport or a board game, as long as it doesn’t end in a tie. 


    Mitch and Elisabeth have been attending MABC together since 2017. Since coming to the church, they have joyfully served in youth ministry and a variety of other areas. Their heart is for those who do not know Christ to see the glories of who He is and what He accomplished through His death and resurrection; as well as for those who are in Christ to find great joy in their relationship with Him and to keep their eyes fixed on things above! 


    CONTACT MITCH


  • matt laidlaw

    Ministry Intern


    Matt Laidlaw was born and raised in Brampton ON and attended Maple Avenue all his life. It wasn’t until God used a missions trip to Brazil to reveal himself through the Word to Matt at the age of 23. It was then that he wanted to read his Bible and know more about the Lord Jesus Christ. This desire led him to become more involved at Maple Avenue, attending and participating in various ministries like youth, seniors luncheon and C&C. He is now attending Heritage Seminary completing his Masters of Divinity. Matt wishes to serve God in any capacity He may put him in whether that is at a local church or in an unreached country.


    Matt has been married for 2 years to Noreen and they have a son, Hudson. Matt enjoys spending time with his wife and son, reading, randomly pointing out birds and their kind, as well as cooking. He also enjoys working part-time on his family farm alongside his dad, uncle and grandfather.


    CONTACT MATT

lay elders

Don Astill

Dave Chandu-Lall

Rick Dors

Stephen Jones

Jim McDonald (chair)

Tim Racinsky