Our People

Rev. Dr. Joseph Boot (M.A., Ph.D.) is a Christian thinker and cultural apologist, Founder and President of the Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christianity. He is adjunct instructor for culture and apologetics at Bryan College, Tennessee. He also served as founding pastor of Westminster Chapel, Toronto for 14 years.

Now resident home in Great Britain, Joseph has worked in the fields of Christian apologetics, worldview education and church leadership for over twenty-five years on both sides of the Atlantic. He has spoken and guest lectured globally at numerous university events, seminaries, churches, colleges, and conferences. He regularly addresses pastors and Christian leaders as well as academic, medical, legal, and political professionals and has publicly debated leading atheistic thinkers and philosophers in Canada and the United States.

Rev. Nathanael Wright (B.A, MDiv.) is the Canadian Director of the Ezra Institute. He is a Christian leader, theologian and cultural apologist, and has worked in Christian ministry and church leadership in Canada for over fifteen years.

While acquiring a Bachelors degree in English Literature and minoring in Cultural Studies at Western, Ontario, he came to faith in Christ through campus outreach ministry where God birthed in him a great passion for evangelism and apologetics. Nathanael went on to work as a youth pastor while pursuing his theological studies at Emmanuel Bible College and McMaster University. After several years in this role, he was apprenticed at West London Alliance Church in Ontario and then accepted his first senior pastorate at Crossroads Bible Church in Ingersoll, Ontario, in 2013 which has grown to about 1,000 people under his care. He continues to serve at Crossroads in senior leadership.

Dr. Rev. Michael Thiessen has over 20 years of pastoral ministry experience, including international teaching, coaching, and consulting experience.

With a heart for training, and mentoring Christians through exegetical Bible teaching, Christian Worldview Training, and real life sound advice, Michael serves as the founding pastor at Royal Spring Chapel.

Michael earned his Master’s degree with a focus in New Testament and Ethics (Gordon Cornwell Theological Seminary), and holds a Doctor of Ministry Degree (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School). Michael’s D. Min major research project is entitled: Responding to our Hemorrhaging Faith by Exploring a Family-Integrated Church Model as a Solution.

Jordan is the Director of Content & Publishing at the Ezra Institute and is a graduate of Western University with a degree in Business. Jordan has worked in Marketing for over 10 years and has run a digital marketing consultancy since 2016. He has a passion for seeing Christ’s Kingdom advance in the world and has been active in street evangelism, apologetics and preaching for over a decade. He lives in Strathroy, Ontario, with his wife Melissa and their four children.

Bart DeVries has served on the boards of Christian organisations and schools in the evangelical reformed community for many years. He is the president of Kingdom Consulting, providing management consulting services to the Ezra Institute. In this capacity, he advises, strategizes and makes recommendations to the leadership team on the corporate administrative and executive affairs of the ministry internationally, and on the development and growth of the ministry in the USA. In addition to a Master’s degree from the University of Toronto, he is certified in project management (PMP) and in Lean methodologies. Residing in Tennessee, USA, he is married to Daniella and they have seven children.