Deep Water started with the idea of a church that connected with people who weren't into church as usual, a community where people with little or no religious background could explore what it means to follow Jesus. Over 2007 a group of committed individuals gathered regularly to pray, dream, and plan, and on Nov 4th 2007 the adventure went live with our first worship gathering at Empire 8 Park Lane. In the time since then we have continued to grow and develop with ministries like Small Groups, the Foundations Courses, luvHAITI, and luvHALI, and we continue to pursue our mission to help people become passionate followers of Jesus Christ.

Pastor

AJ Thomas

AJ Thomas grew up in small town (Sussex) New Brunswick where he played some very poor basketball and ran around in the woods a lot. His favorite color is grey, which makes him sound boring but he is really a pretty fun guy. He is married to Kelly and they have two sons, Micah and Isaac and a cat named Princess Sophie von Fuzzybuttons who, AJ is ashamed to admit, has turned him into a cat person. AJ likes pretty much anything that has to do with acoustic guitars, loves a good laugh, and is always up for an adventure.
Fun Fact: AJ was a vegetarian for 2.5 years and it started with a dare.

Ministry Assistant to the Pastor

Jen Ochej

Jen is a self-described military brat who grew up all over Canada, and thus officially has no place to call home. This has created a fascinating dichotomy in which she hates change, but gets restless when she's in one place for too long. Passionate about grammar and following Jesus, Jen did a six-month internship at Deep Water in the summer and fall of 2009, and jumped at the chance to come on staff in the fall of 2010. Jen loves coffee, kids, coiling mic cables, jaywalking, and reading.
Fun fact: Jen wants to write the MCAT and go to med school, but has no desire to become a doctor-- she's just fascinated by science and medicine (and loves House, MD :)

Leadership Team

Philip Bain

Philip is married to Amy and they have two daughters, Abbie and Molly. He is an occupational therapist who loves to spend time on the water rowing anything that floats. He leads our ministry with children – Upstream Kids.
Fun Fact: Phil prefers to be called Philip. No one knows why.

Carolyn Fifield

Carolyn is married to Geoff and they have a daughter, Annika. She is an oncology nurse and is involved with our medical work in Haiti. Carolyn serves as our treasurer and oversees the financial side of the church.
Fun Fact: Carolyn is a Newfoundlander but sadly, has no accent.

Chris Jones

Bio coming soon...

Andrew Pepper

Andrew is a store manager for a concrete company. He is an avid runner and competed in cross-country when he was in college. Andrew leads the team that makes sure everyone who comes to Deep Water feels loved and welcomed. We call it the Connection Team.
Fun Fact: Pepper actually likes soccer, no really. He has a favorite team and everything.

Bryan Wiens

Bryan works as a manager in the marketing department of a major telecommunications firm. He is a big sports fan and firmly believes that U2 is the greatest band in the history of the world. He leads everything we do with luvHALI and luvHAITI.
Fun Fact: Bryan has seen U2 in concert 8 times.

Josh Wong

Josh is married to Deb and they have two children, Abel (who is in Heaven) and Mischaela. Josh is a leader of the operations team in a missions organization where he is the resident expert on social media. Josh leads our small groups ministry.
Fun Fact: Josh is a massive board game enthusiast and Kung-Fu master.

Deep Water's mission is to help people become passionate followers of Jesus Christ. Everything we do is to help us accomplish that mission.

We believe that God is Holy (Good, Perfect, and True)
We believe that Jesus is God.
We believe that people were created to have a relationship with God.
We believe that people do things which go against God’s holiness (sin).
We believe that sin breaks our relationship with God.
We believe that Jesus died in our place so that our sins can be forgiven and then rose from the dead proving his power over sin and death.
We believe that because of this we can have a new life and the relationship with God that we were created for.
We believe that if you accept this as true then the appropriate response is to admit your sin to God, accept His forgiveness and become a passionate follower of Jesus Christ.
We believe following Jesus includes getting to know Him, becoming like Him, developing meaningful relationships with other followers, serving in the mission to share His story with others, and showing His love in tangible ways to the world around us.
For a detailed theological statement, please click here.

Anybody and everybody. Deep Water is people who are rich, people who are poor, people with careers and kids and mortgages and people who are still in school or living with their parents, hardcore sports people and artsy creative types, people who look like they just stepped out of a Sears catalogue and people with all sorts of tattoos and piercings, people who have been followers of Jesus their whole lives, and people who are just starting to check Him out. Whoever you are and wherever you are in your spiritual journey you can feel comfortable at Deep Water.