Our Pastors
Pastor John and Linde Feakes
John became the Lead Pastor at New Life Sanctuary Church in 2014. Along with his many pastoral duties, teaching and speaking commitments, he leads CARE Ministries of Winnipeg.
John was raised in a non-Christian home but was converted to Christianity at age 20 through the witness of a gym mate. He went on to earn an MA in Religion from Columbia Evangelical Seminary under the mentorship of Dr. Phil Fernandes. John began speaking publicly in defense of the Christian faith in 2000 and since then, he and his wife, Linde, have laboured in inner-city and camp ministries along with much conference speaking.
Since 2008, John has been serving as adjunct professor of Theology, Apologetics, and World Religions at Millar College of the Bible. In 2014, John became the Lead Pastor of New Life Sanctuary Church. Along with his many pastor duties, John sits as the executive director of C.A.R.E. Ministries of Winnipeg, and acts as the curator of C.A.R.E.’s Bible Evidence Museum, which is in the lower level of the New Life Sanctuary Church building.
Currently, John and Linde lead weekly Bible studies at the House of Hesed (an HIV/AIDS transition house in Winnipeg) while John continues to minister regularly at the Union Gospel Mission and the Family Life Centre. John and Linde have four grown children on the earth and one in heaven whom they are looking forward to reuniting with one day.
Pastor Gilbert and Laurie Plante
Gilbert was ordained as Associate Pastor in 2009 and called by God to work in Winnipeg’s North End. In addition to pastoring, he manages Family Life Ministries (Union Gospel Mission).
Gilbert was born in Winnipeg and married his wife Laurie in 1982. Together they have three sons and eight grandchildren. After 25 years of drug addiction, Gilbert gave his heart to the Lord. When Laurie saw a real transformation in Gilbert’s life, it wasn’t long after that she too became a born-again believer.
In 2007, Gilbert was asked to share his testimony at New Life Sanctuary Church and has attended and taught there ever since. With much studying and hard work, Gilbert was ordained as Associate Pastor in 2009.
After a series of events, God called Gilbert to minister in the North End of Winnipeg. In 2011, he was hired as Manager of Family Ministries with Union Gospel Mission alongside his role as Associate Pastor at NLSC.
Gilbert’s philosophy is, “It’s not when you start your walk with the Lord, it’s about finishing well.”
Our Church Governance
New Life Sanctuary Church (NLSC) is governed by the New Testament model. That is, we recognize Elders as those who rule, and Deacons as those who serve. In keeping with the New Testament teaching on church governance, NLSC recognizes the Pastors as Elders and Overseers. That is to say, the Elders/Overseers are recognized as the undershepherds (i.e. Pastors) serving God’s people in the local assembly (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Peter 5:1-3). Also in keeping with New Testament teaching, NSLC has a plurality of Pastors. Currently, our church has two pastors and five deacons.
Because NLSC is a recognized Canadian charity operating in conformity with CRA regulations, our church is governed by a Board of Directors. Our Board is comprised of exclusively of qualified, New Testament office holders (i.e. Pastors and Deacons).
