Podcast Preview
In this episode of 12-Minute Convos with Jesus Believers, Engel Jones connects with Pastor Gary Janzen from Vancouver, Canada. Growing up in a Christian home in Winnipeg, Gary fondly recalls how his pastor's love for playing basketball helped shape his early faith journey before he eventually moved to the West Coast and met his wife.
Listen in as Pastor Gary opens up about the current realities of serving on the mission field. He discusses the significant cultural shifts taking place and the unique challenge of inspiring young men, women, and newly married couples to give their lives wholeheartedly to the Lord. If you are passionate about the next generation of believers, Gary's insights on reaching young people for Christ will deeply encourage your soul!
Guest's Bio
Gary Janzen is a lifelong minister, missionary, and servant leader whose career spans more than five decades of dedicated service to the Church and to communities around the world. Gary married his best friend Karen in 1977 and together have 4 children and 9 grandchildren. Rooted in faith and shaped by rigorous preparation, Gary's journey has taken him from the plains of Manitoba to the mountains of Rwanda and to nearly every continent in between.
Gary was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he completed his secondary education at Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute in 1974. Sensing a call to ministry from an early age, he went on to earn a two-year Bible College Diploma from Columbia Bible Institute in Abbotsford, British Columbia, in 1977. Recognizing the importance of practical leadership skills alongside theological training, he also completed a two-year Business Administration Diploma from Red River Community College in 1979 a combination of spiritual depth and administrative competence that would define his approach to ministry for decades to come.
While pursuing his education, Gary also began his professional life in the business world, managing an Olympic Sports Sporting Goods store from 1980 to 1985. This experience instilled in him a disciplined work ethic, an ability to lead teams, and a gift for connecting with people from all walks of life qualities that would prove invaluable in his pastoral and missionary endeavors.
In 1985, Gary answered a clear call to full-time ministry when he became Youth Pastor at Glad Tidings Fellowship in Chilliwack, British Columbia. Over the next fifteen years, he poured himself into the lives of young people, building vibrant programming, fostering deep discipleship, and igniting a passion for global mission in a new generation. A hallmark of his tenure was his partnership with Youth With A Mission (YWAM), through which he organized and led annual summer mission trips to Mexico from 1988 to 1999 introducing hundreds of young people to the transformative experience of cross-cultural service. He also served as the chairman of the school board for 3 years at the private school attached to the church, Highroad Academy. Rounding out his time in Chilliwack, he was an elder at the Church and head coach of the high-school basketball team that he initiated in 1985, for many years as well.
In 2001, Gary joined the pastoral staff at Southgate Church in Langley, British Columbia, where he would serve for a decade in a remarkable variety of roles. He served as director of the church's internship program, shaping the next generation of ministry leaders. He led Men's Ministry, creating spaces for spiritual growth, accountability, and community among men. And as Missions Pastor, he was part of an ambitious portfolio of church-planting and outreach initiatives spanning Jamaica, Japan, Taiwan, Spruce Grove (Alberta), the Philippines, and Peru reflecting his conviction that the local church exists not only for its own community, but for the world.
In 2011, Gary stepped into one of his most profound and personal assignments: serving as an independent missionary in Rwanda, Africa. For three years, he ministered directly in orphanages across the country, bringing hope, healing, and the love of Christ to children who had experienced unimaginable loss. This season deepened his heart for the vulnerable and reinforced his belief in the power of presence that showing up, consistently and sacrificially, changes lives.
Building on this foundation of hands-on global ministry, Gary was appointed Part-time Executive Director of International Christian Mission Services (ICMS) in 2013, assuming the role on a full-time basis in 2016 a position he continues to hold today. In this capacity, he provides strategic leadership for a mission organization dedicated to advancing the gospel and serving communities around the globe. Under his leadership, ICMS has deepened its field operations, expanded its network of partners, and sustained a long-term commitment to both evangelism and compassionate service.
Throughout his career, Gary Janzen has demonstrated that faithful ministry is not confined to a single role, a single country, or a single season of life. From the youth room in Chilliwack to the orphanages of Rwanda; from church boardrooms in Langley to mission fields in Peru and the Philippines, he has followed God's call with consistency, courage, and compassion. His life stands as a testimony to the enduring power of servant leadership and to what is possible when a person commits, decade after decade, to showing up for others.
Website: www.icms.org