Lake Park Church Staff
Pastoral and Support Staff
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Ian Smith
Senior Pastor
Pastor Ian and his family moved to Birch Hills in November 2023 so he could serve as Lake Park’s Senior Pastor. Ian has served in pastoral ministry for the last 23 years but was most recently serving in Romania on a one-year missions’ assignment. Ian loves hunting, fishing, camping and spending time with Karen, his wife. Karen and Ian have two teens and together this family is excited to be serving the Lord in Saskatchewan.
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James Banman
Pastor of Leadership Development
Pastor James and his family have lived in Birch Hills for the past 12 years where he and his wife are raising their 4 children (Leah, Jesse, Eve, Micah). James has been on staff as Youth Pastor for a total of 7 years, transitioning this fall to Pastor of Leadership Development. This new role focuses on overseeing Youth and Music ministries, developing staff and volunteers under these umbrellas, as well as to preach and teach among the wider congregation.
James has a Bachelor of Christian Ministry (2009) and Master of Biblical Studies (2023) degrees from the Canadian Baptist Theological Seminary and College.
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Karen Smith
Children’s Ministry Director
Karen Smith and her husband, Ian, have served together in church ministry for over 24 years. They moved to the Birch Hills area in November of 2023, along with their two teenagers. Karen grew up in Alberta and enjoys reading, outdoor activities, playing games and cooking. She is a Bible School graduate and has over 30 years of volunteer experience working with children and youth. Karen is excited to be working with the children and preteens at LPBC. Recently, they have been learning how God has shown Himself and His good news through the narrative of the whole Bible.
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Billie-Jean Thompson
Office Administrator
Billie-Jean has attended Lake Park Baptist Church since she was 16, and has been in the administrative role for the past 2 years. She also leads a ladies Bible Study, and is excited to grow together with the ladies that attend in understanding the Bible, how to apply it to our lives today, and to grow in a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.
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Spencer Penner
Intern
Spencer grew up in Calgary, Alberta with his family. They moved to Mayerthorpe, Alberta in 2014. Spencer has been involved in various volunteer positions in the church since moving to Mayerthorpe, but mostly in youth ministry for the past three years. Spencer has also spent the past two summers at Sunnybrae Bible Camp as a leader in their wilderness camp program. His desire to work with youth in a church context came while completing his Bachelor's in Biblical Studies through Millar College of the Bible over the past three years. Spencer is excited to work with the youth this year, and study God's ultimate plan for salvation and how it affects them in their everyday lives.
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Miriam Modi
Intern
Miriam grew up in a small village in Romania, and has always enjoyed languages, sport activities, studying and spending time with her friends. Lately Miriam has been working with Hungarian speaking churches and Christian orginizations in Romania given the fact that she is ethnically Hungarian. After completing two years of Bible school and earning a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, Miriam is now pursuing a Master of Divinity at Kairos University. She is looking forward to working at Lake Park Baptist Church as an intern until January 2025, continuing in her passion for the local body of Christ in a very different context now.
Board of Elders
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Tim Thompson
Board Moderator
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Orvin Opseth
Board Secretary
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Darrin Rask
Treasurer/Board Member
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Kevin Hawreschuk
Board Member
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Jerome Linnell
Board Member
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Ian Smith
Board Member
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Marv Penner
Board Member