Elders at Redemption Olds

Pastor Jon Anderson

head pastor and Elder

Growing up in a Christian home I knew the gospel from an early age, served in the church and maintained an outwardly moralistic lifestyle. However, as I grew older I became increasingly aware of my sin and hypocrisy which fostered in my heart a bitterness and hatred toward God. It wasn’t until my later teen years that God used a fireside sermon at a summer camp to open my eyes to the riches of His grace to remove the guilt of my sin and the reality of Christ’s righteousness offered to me. God radically changed my heart and my desire was no longer to live moralistically for my own glory, but to give myself fully to the work of the Lord and see Him glorified in everything. From that day on I pursued a life of ministry. I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in Youth Ministry and served as a youth pastor for four years where I discovered my passion and love for the preaching of God’s Word. That desire took me to a lead pastor position for two years and then to pursue further training and earning a Master Divinity from Southern Seminary. Since graduating in May of 2015 the Lord has paved the way for me to serve an elder at Redemption Church Calgary North and then as head pastor of Redemption Church Olds. There have been many bumps and sacrifices along the way, but in all these things God has made us more than conquerors through Him who loves us and gave Himself up for us.  Looking back we can say with confidence that He is good and He does good; blessed be the Name of the Lord. He has blessed me with Bethany, a wife of noble character and my greatest earthly joy, and four children; Ezra, Madelynn, Gideon and Elijah. We are excited together for what God is doing through Redemption Church and the GCC and look forward with anticipation for what He has planned for the church in Olds.

Kyle Kuzek

Elder

Kyle Kuzek has been a follower of Jesus for 15+ years. His profession of faith in Christ came while traveling and exploring Australia in 2009. It happened after an Easter service, during a potluck event, where an elderly man spoke to him quoting Matthew 11: 28-30. The Word pierced his tired, broken heart of stone. This began his walk towards Jesus our Savior.

Kyle Kuzek now faithfully serves as an Elder at Redemption Church Olds and leads a small discipleship group. Kyle has been married to his amazing wife Kristen for 15 years and is blessed with four children. As a paid occupation, Kyle works for the City of Calgary as a Fire Fighter. This occupation allows him the means and flexibility to pursue his primary passions which are to serve Christ, his family, and the Church. 

A particular area that Kyle is zealous for is seeing marriages supported and thriving. He desires to see Christ glorified in marriage. See spouses put Christ first and love each other passionately, as they praise God through the joys and challenges that life presents.

Kyle and his family wrote a family mission statement this year which is: 

"We are united in mind & spirit with Christ Jesus, to bring glory to God, to serve God and to obey God, by prayer, learning His word and living out His will for us, all by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Kevin Chester

Elder

In high school I met my wife, and my plans were ruined, but little did I know that God was establishing my steps (Prov 16:9) and would eventually provide what I dreamed of, but in a different way .. a better way.  Nina and I dated for most of our university years, with her and her family introducing me to an evangelical church after her cousin suddenly died in his sleep at age 17 and the family shared his testimony at the funeral.  These were formative years, as Small Group leaders, Pastors, Elders, and other Godly men and women pursued us, prayed with us, and discipled us for God's glory and our good.  I got my accounting designation just after our first child was born, I was baptized, and served in group and finance ministry, as well as an Elder.  Then in a step of faith, I resigned my corporate accounting and Elder positions to come on staff as an Executive Pastor.  It was here where God taught me, much about how church and business could come together, a lot about people, and even more about myself!

Through some more faithful steps, God took our family of six to Kelowna where I spent most of the time working as a Controller for a construction company and serving again in roles such as elder, and on building, finance, and small group ministry teams within the church.  Through prayer and discussion my family joined Hope Bible Church Kelowna 7 Years ago, and I’ve served as Elder there for the last 3 years, helping organize and lead staff, elder training, finance and building teams.

This spring in another step of faith, I quit my job as a controller job and started my own accounting firm.  Mostly, to spend more time with people; my wife and kids first of all, then people in my small group, church and neighbourhood, and secondly so I’d have more time to serve the local Church.

Nina and I have been married 23 years, have been blessed with ‘4 kids’; one who is now 20, and three teens 17, 15, and 13.  God continues to provide and has used many scriptures, prayers, and people to bring me to this point in life.  Most prevalent has been the one that I shared at my baptism in 1999, 2Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God breathed, useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."  That hands-down is my favourite scripture because it points me back to God and His word.