NATHAN HOOPER
Congregational Care PastorNathan spent the early years of his life in Papua New Guinea where his parents were serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators. He lived in a wonderful missionary community surrounded by people who had committed their lives to serving God. At the age of seven, he received Christ as his Lord and Saviour and for the next several years he grew spiritually under the guidance of his parents and other godly men and women. In 1987 his family returned to Canada and settled down in southern Etobicoke just as he was entering high school. Although Nathan would attend church and youth group regularly throughout his teen years, it wasn’t until his university years that he would truly begin to understand God’s love for him and to accept that his identity was found in Christ. Nathan attended York University where he earned a BA in Psychology. While there, he got involved with the York Varsity Christian Fellowship where he was surrounded by a group of Christian friends who encouraged him in his faith. (One of these friends would become his wife!).
Nathan and Carol were married in February of 1999 and began to raise a family that would eventually include Caleb, Miriam, Hannah and Zachary. During this period, Nathan held jobs with Christian Horizons and the Peel District School Board, where he worked with individuals with a variety of special needs and behavioural concerns. While working in these positions, he attended Tyndale Seminary part-time and graduated in 2012 with a Master of Theological Studies. In 2013, Nathan and his family were called to serve as lay leaders at a church “re-plant” in Etobicoke. This was a great experience that provided many opportunities for service and growth. Nathan stayed there until 2018 when he felt the call to serve as the Pastor of Youth and Student Ministries at Mississauga City Baptist Church, where he served until August 2022.
Nathan has a strong desire to serve God and to see the church community growing in mutual care and service as we reflect the love of Christ to the world around us. A passage that has challenged him over the years is Philippians 2:1-11, where Paul encourages the church to follow Christ’s example of humility and servanthood.
In his free time, Nathan likes to hang out with his family, read novels, watch movies and listen to the music of Bob Dylan among others. He is also painfully dedicated to many of Toronto’s sports franchises.
