Staff

Rev. Joe Boot is the senior pastor of Westminster Chapel in Toronto and founder of the Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christianity. He and his wife are originally from England, having come to Canada to work in Christian apologetics, worldview education and evangelism, focusing on students and those that shape the ideas of culture. He served with Ravi Zacharias for seven years as an apologist in the U.K. and Canada, working for five years as Canadian Director of RZIM. Prior to this, he served as an associate pastor with Christ Church in Fulham, London U.K. In his first ministry role, he travelled extensively as National Evangelist for Saltmine Trust in the U.K.

Joe has spoken all over the world in 25 countries, in numerous universities, seminaries, churches, colleges, and conferences, including venues like Eton College Windsor, Oxford University, the University of Western Ontario, Ottawa University, London School of Theology, Virginia Tech, and Forman University in Lahore, Pakistan. He has regularly addressed business leaders and professionals in North America and the Middle East and has publically debated leading atheistic thinkers and philosophers in Canada and the USA.

Joe did his undergraduate studies in theology at Birmingham Christian College, England, and earned his Master's Degree from the University of Manchester for his research in the field of missiology which focused on 'Christian Apologetics' and the 'Cultural Mandate.' As well as being a contributing author to Thomas Nelson's major apologetics volume, Beyond Opinion, Joe's own apologetic works include, Searching for Truth, Why I Still Believe, and his latest volume, How Then Shall We Answer, which have been published in Europe and North America. His new work on biblical missiology, The Mission of God, is soon to be released. In 2011, Joe was recognized by Toronto's Centre for Mentorship and Theological Reflection as 'Best Preacher Apologist' for his contribution to apologetic and expository preaching. He is general editor of the EICC's journal, Jubilee, and can be regularly seen on the Michael Coren Show or heard on the John Oakley morning show for "Culture Wars." Joe lives in Toronto with his wife, Jenny, and their three children, Naomi, Hannah, and Isaac.

Jennifer Forbes, Director of Development

Jennifer spent her early years as a missionary kid in Zambia and then grew up in London, Ontario. She moved to Toronto for university, earning a BA in International Development at York University. She has spent a lot of time abroad, studying Spanish in Guatemala and working with two orphan-care ministries: Kids Alive International in Zambia and Peru, and the Casa Viva Initiative in Costa Rica.

During her studies in Toronto, Jennifer began attending Westminster Chapel and has since been actively involved in the Covenant community there. In fall of 2009, Westminster did a teaching series on the book of Amos and covered, in detail, the justice and compassion of God and his care and concern for the fatherless, the brokenhearted and the poor. As a result of this series and much prayer, Jennifer approached the church with a proposal to start the Safe Families for Children ministry and shortly thereafter was asked to join the staff team as the Director of Justice and Compassion ministries with a mandate to launch the Safe Families ministry. Safe Families Canada is now an incorporated entity providing local churches with a platform to serve families-in-crisis in their communities and Jenny continues to direct its activities.

In October of 2012, Jenny joined the Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christianity part-time as the Director of Development. In this role she oversees the development of new training initiatives and resources, edits the Jubilee journal, and does research and writing. She is committed to the belief that every part of our lives is to come under the Lordship of Christ and his Word and is passionate about the EICC’s mission to equip Christians for God-glorifying cultural engagement.

Jenny is an avid reader, and loves the outdoors especially when camping, canoeing, hiking, boating or surfing. She is a classical pianist and a lifelong soccer player. Her favourite art form is cooking and her dream hobby is to learn to fly small airplanes.