Slate Church exists to make
disciples of all of Ontario.

Our Story

2017

Build Deep, Reach Wide

Slate Church was launched in Sept. 2017 by Lead Pastors Brandon & Emma Richardson and Luke & Victoria Boettger.

The four of them, alongside a group of young adults, all shared a vision to plant church roots in Waterloo, ON and saw this vision become a reality with a 4PM and 6PM service at Maxwell's Concerts and Events on Sunday nights.

2018

Small Town,
Big Vision

Still in the early months as a church, it was a strong vision and heart for revival in Waterloo that continued to see the launch of new initiatives. 2018 marked the first youth nights, Sisterhood events, and morning service. Slate’s heart for reaching small towns was seen in action with the launch of our Elmira Location. Slate’s christmas production A Classic Christmas: Thrill of Hope capped off what was an exciting first calendar year as a church

2019

Fan into Flame

What started as a student church with the dream to become an intergenerational church continued to become a reality in 2019. God continued to bring people through the doors of Slate church and with that, the need for additional expansion services and larger venues became bigger.

Slate Kids was reaching full capacity and was a top priority when looking for new spaces for Sunday services. In the fall of 2019, Slate Church launched morning services at the Inn of Waterloo and we continued to witness God’s faithfulness.

2020

Pandemic Shifts

Being flexible in our methods and steadfast in our mission was put to the test in 2020. Slate launched a new morning location at Maureen Forrester Recital Hall, and the next week the entire world was launched into the COVID-19 pandemic.

A quick pivot to building church online was supported by strong leadership, dedicated volunteers, and useful technology (anyone miss Zoom?).

By God’s provision and a crew of dedicated volunteers, Slate Church built a studio that was used to film Sunday services. New segments such as The Pre-Roll, The Interview, Word-of-the-Week, and The Debrief became quick favourites. In the fall of 2020, Watch Parties launched in Waterloo and Slate could gather once again in the same room to worship God and watch the pre-recorded service.

2021

Revival Rumblings

Still in the midst of a global pandemic, the Slate Studio became a hub for building content for church online. God continued to build the local church in KW through Slate while also reaching all corners of the earth with viewers from Africa and Europe tuning in each week. Slate Worship released its first single, Revival Rumblings. It was made in house by our church and for our church to mark a shift towards a deeper reliance on the Holy Spirit. 2021 also saw the launch of LOCALs, smaller communities within Slate Church that are following Jesus together and our (re)launch back into live in-person sunday services! The on-going pandemic could have made 2021 a year to forget, but God’s faithfulness made it a year we will always want to remember.

2022

Building a Healthy Home

In October 2021, Pastor Emma received a prophecy that with the birth of their baby that was due in April 2022, Slate would be blessed with a building. In April 2022, a proposal for the purchase of Emmanuel Bible College’s property was approved. We witnessed God orchestrate a Kingdom win-win, as Slate acquired its first property and EBC could continue its operations on site.

New and familiar faces continued to walk through the doors of Slate Church as Ontario loosened up restrictions on in-person gatherings. With high expectations and anticipation for the fall, which would see 100,000 students returning to Waterloo, Summer 2022 was focused on Building a Healthy Home at Slate. What marks a healthy home? A family unit that spends time together, makes memories together, and is vulnerable with one another.

Meet our Pastors

Brandon and Emma are passionate about making disciples of Jesus. They have had the privilege of serving together with their four kids in Waterloo, Ontario since 2014.

Since planting Slate Church, countless lives have been transformed by the love of Jesus and they continue to pray for renewal of the church in Ontario.

Our Staff Team

Slate Church isn’t built off of the talents of a few but off of the sacrifices of many. Alongside each of our staff are incredible teams of volunteers that pour into the mission of what God is doing at Slate. We are so thankful for everyone that serves at Slate and invite you to be a part of it too.

Jared Moore

Associate Pastor

Micayla Wikkerink

Communications Director

Ben Jantzi, CPA

Executive Pastor

Sarah-Ruth McCracken

Families Pastor

Nathan Lambert

Growth & Discipleship Pastor

Brandon & Emma Richardson

Lead Pastors

Our Values

humble

missional

faithful

unified

audacious

spirit-filled

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.

Matthew 23: 11-12

NIV

“The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Generosity is not based on comfort, but on conviction.

Luke 4:18-19

NIV

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Following the words and the way of Jesus.

Matthew 5:17

NIV

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.”

A house divided cannot stand.

John 13:34

NIV

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Ask God to give you a vision so big it's impossible without him.

Matthew 28:19

NIV

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”

We won't go if He's not with us.

Exodus 33:15

NIV

“If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”