Q: Jon, how did you first learn that Wycliffe Canada was looking for a president? And what were your thoughts when you came across the job posting?
A: Well, at the time I was the lead pastor at Pacific Community Church, we had been there for a little over three years. We’d been through the COVID years with the church and had been through a process of putting in place a new vision, mission and strategic plan for the church. I'd also been through a process of building up a team around me. And it very much felt like a lot of the reason I had been called there by the Lord was done. It just had this sense, like I was supposed to build up this new direction and this new team, and then let this new team take it over. And the associate pastor is an excellent person, and was ready to go. And I thought, I'm either going to lose this person, to go be a lead pastor somewhere else, or he could be the new lead here. And so I kind of had that sense on the one hand, and on the other hand, was, you know, is the Lord calling me to something else? And I was open to that. And that's pretty much as far as I got with it. I was not expecting to leave. But I was open to that if the Lord led.
I had heard about a number of different opportunities for executive level leadership in organizations in Canada. None of them really resonated with me. But Wycliffe did because of my passion for the Scriptures, and the important role that Scriptures played in my family's life history. Also, my 10 years with AWANA was all about an organization that's devoted to getting the Scriptures into the hearts of kids and youth and families. So there were so many things about Wycliffe’s Bible-focused ministry that resonated with me that I thought, “You know what, I’m going to go online, and I'm going to click on the ‘apply for this position’ button, and I'm just going to leave it in God's hands and see where it goes.” And I thought, I'm going to pray, “Lord, if this is of you I pray you’ll keep opening doors and close doors at the church. And if it's not, that you would make it clear.” And the doors kept opening at Wycliffe. . . . and I kept praying all along the way.
Q: How much did you know about Wycliffe at that point?
A: I had no history with Wycliffe. I haven't done any work in Bible translation or with Wycliffe, but I certainly knew a lot about Wycliffe through growing up in the church. Going to Moody Bible Institute, there was a real strong connection with MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) and with missions work in general, including Wycliffe. Definitely. And just through my experience in being a pastor for so many years . . . I had a good understanding of what it was all about. But in many ways it was accepting a calling to leadership, which I know a lot about, and to leading a Christian organization, which I know a lot about and leading a Christian organization that's all about the Scriptures, which I know a lot about. That said, I've been upfront from the beginning, that there's going to be a huge learning curve for me. But, I’m a good study. I learn pretty well, I’m pretty fast. And so . . . there's plenty more for me to learn, yet I do have a sense that I have a voice in this already, and I’m getting my legs under me pretty well.
Q: You mentioned your leadership role with AWANA. Can you think of some ways your time with them helped prepare you for your new role with Wycliffe?
A: One way is that a lot of my role with AWANA was international in focus. I was . . . helping them develop and grow in different countries around the world like Cuba, Paraguay, Ukraine, Nepal, Rwanda, Burundi, and France. So there were a lot of different countries that I was involved with, and getting AWANA going in those countries. In many cases, they included translations of AWANA materials. So that prepared me, I think, in many ways.
Also, lots of experience with a national Canadian organization, connecting with donors, key stakeholders, the church in Canada, especially. One of the primary stakeholders for Awana is the church. And of course, working with missionaries. At AWANA, we had a group of missionaries within Canada that I was working with.
Additionally, I think I was being prepared by learning how to bring about changes in an organization in positive ways, to ministries that have been around for a long time. AWANA has been in existence for more than 80 years. Wycliffe has also been around for a long time. And the world is changing significantly, and has changed. We were able to implement a lot of different changes for AWANA that were needed, and I think that there are changes happening for Wycliffe, and probably more changes that need to happen, that I hope I've been prepared in advance to be able to help with.
Q. Do you think being a newcomer to Wycliffe gives you some advantages? And perhaps some disadvantages?
A: An outside perspective is going to be a big advantage. An outside perspective is able to ask the “why” question a lot. And sometimes when you're inside for too long, you forget to ask the why questions. And I think those “why” questions are essential right now, for Wycliffe. So I think it's a big advantage for me to come in and, and ask, “Why do we do it this way? Why are we not doing this other thing?” So that's a big help. I think my years in the church, in my pastoral role, as well as an executive role, is an advantage. Because hopefully I’m better able to understand what pastors and what the church in Canada is thinking, and what their needs are, and where that's ebbing and flowing, where the church is ebbing and flowing. And, what it takes to be a viable and enduring organization in Canada right now. I think I have a good idea and understanding of what that is, and hopefully we’re able to implement that.
The disadvantage is going to be the fact that there are a lot of nuances to the Bible translation movement. And I recognize it takes years to be able to uncover and understand all of those nuances. I'm praying for a quickening from the Lord on those things that are important for me to grasp, so that I don't step on anyone and hurt people. Change for no good reason is foolish, but so is holding on to something because we have always done it that way.
Q: What’s one of the “why” questions you’re asking?
A: For example, will we still be a sending organization in the future? The answer is yes! What will sending workers look like in the future? That’s a “why” question I will be open about, and I hope my openness encourages our people.
Q: You've been with us since October 2023. Has anything surprised you about Wycliffe Canada or about the Bible translation movement?
A: Yes, I think I've been pleasantly surprised by how exciting and how alive the Bible translation movement is. I don't see this at all as a movement that is waning or a movement that is concluding its importance and need, but I actually see it as one that's growing and one for which the need is growing. I really see the Lord and His hand in this movement. So that is very exciting.
I'm also pleasantly surprised by the amount of collaboration that's taking place. There seems to be an incredible humility and togetherness that I'm seeing among leaders and staff members across the movement, and that's essential for us to see the Lord do His kingdom work.
Q: What are some key partnerships that you would like to see strengthened going forward, with churches of course but also with other organizations?
A: For me, moving forward, I see Wycliffe Canada continuing to be a sending organization. Some might wonder, “Is the new president going to just send money and fuel projects from afar? Are we interested in sending workers at all? Yes! I'm still interested in sending, which means that partnerships with SIL (Wycliffe’s key field partner) and CanIL (Canada Institute of Linguistics) are strategically very, very important for us. I want Wycliffe Canada to be the best sending organization in Canada. Not to compete with anybody else who's doing it, but I want us to be the best that we can be. So SIL has been our number one partner and I think will continue to be. CanIL is a very close friend, a brother and sister of Wycliffe Canada and will continue to be. So I think those partnerships and our close relationship with OneBook are really important.
I think all the Wycliffe organizations around the world are facing the exact same issues. And all the Bible translation organizations are facing the same issues. We've got a changing global landscape and a shift in strategy to welcome and embrace localization (the increasing ownership of Bible translation by local churches and organizations in the language communities we serve around the world). We've got a shrinking workforce with attrition. We have a global geopolitical and religious reality that is against the church. So we've got a lot of work to do. There's a lot of good, hard work to do and it's not going to be easy.
A wise person once said that the loftier the hill, the higher the winds. So we've got some high winds that we're going to be facing. What will be the financial model for the future? How will we continue to recruit and send? How will we work with language projects in restricted-access countries? So all of it is a very lofty hill and very high wind. But the person who said that quote was John Wycliffe, in the 1300s. And the big lofty hill he had was translating into the vernacular. And that was just from Latin to his generation’s version of English. So imagine as we think about the loftiness of the remaining languages, and some of the most hard to reach people in the world, it’s going to be windy.
Q: You have spoken to Wycliffe staff in recent days about some of your priorities, like strengthening our funding model, our organizational culture, and our staffing and recruitment efforts. Are there any additional ones that you are thinking about?
A: Yes. As I picture Wycliffe five years from now, I pray that we will continue to endure and flourish in our calling. So organizationally, endure, but as people . . . you know, Wycliffe isn't the church, but it's made up of people who are part of the church. And so we must flourish in our calling. I really think Wycliffe can be the best sending organization in Canada, and recruiting and funding, all of that. I think we can be the best.
Another vital component for us is church engagement . . . they're all wrapped together, aren't they, the new staffing model, a way of funding the future, and engagement with the church in Canada—they're all kind of interconnected. So we want to move forward with all of them at once.
Q: You have also spoken to Wycliffe staff about a three-year plan. What will that look like?
A: I'm calling the strategic three-year plan “Target 2027.” And our spiritual theme is “Gathering the Leading Wind.” As in, where's the Holy Spirit leading us? We want to gather that wind of the Spirit and move in His direction. And so I believe He's leading us towards what we've written down in Target 2027. But we will hold that before the Lord and if it's His will to move us in in a new way, then we'll change the model.
You know, less than one year into this new role, I'm listening and I'm learning. We're going to continue to listen and learn from people in the field. From the global church. From the church in Canada. From Wycliffe staff. We're going to listen to them and we're going to learn about what the best staffing and funding models should be, and the best way forward to engage the church in Canada in Bible translation. And then we're going to move quickly into models that, we think, take those answers we're hearing into account.
So they're not going to just come out of my brain, because I went up on a mountain top and heard from Yahweh, although that would be cool! I really hope and pray that the way forward comes through a sense from our stakeholders of where we’re going.
