Associate Pastor of Discipleship

Blessed with a rich heritage of those who loved the Lord and served the church at home and around the world, Dave Roberts was born into the family of a Fellowship Baptist pastor. He accepted Jesus as his Saviour at the age of 8, led by his mother, and two years later was baptized by his father, a meaningful and cherished experience. The teen years, however, brought a struggle of faith, spurred on by disillusionment with the church, and Dave decided the family heritage path was not the one he would take.

God, however, did not let him go, and during his first year of university at McMaster, he attended Urbana, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's student world mission conference. There he had a significant encounter with God, understanding the depth of His great love and grace in a new way, resulting in a commitment of his life to Christian service. This decision led to enrolling at Ontario Bible College (now Tyndale) and completing a BRE degree in Pastoral Studies. It was here that he would meet Sandy, whom he married in 1983, and together sensed God's leading toward serving in full-time missions.

Dave went on to complete a Master's degree in Missiology/Intercultural Studies at Columbia International University as preparation for overseas ministry. In 1989, he and Sandy were accepted by the Africa Evangelical Fellowship (now part of SIM) to serve in Zambia, working with local churches and Bible Schools to prepare leadership for the church through discipleship and training. They served for 12 years in this capacity while raising their three children in the African context, a hard yet rich experience. After returning to Canada, Dave served as the Associate Dean of Students for Intercultural Initiatives at Tyndale University College & Seminary, caring for International Students and providing opportunities and leadership for student mission team partnerships and international internships. He also facilitated cross-cultural intensive courses for orienting new missionaries with MissionPrep and taught the ‘Christian Community Development’ class for Perspectives, both of these ongoing since 2004. Dave began his role as Pastor at West Highland Baptist Church in the summer of 2012, overseeing the Pastoral Care and Discipleship ministries until 2018. He and Sandy then returned to Zambia with SIM where he served for four years as the Director for SIM Zambia.

West Highland is glad to welcome Pastor Dave back to serve as Associate Pastor of Discipleship in support of ongoing work in this division under Pastor Jamie Strickland.

His joys include walking with others in discipleship and mentoring relationships, hanging out with his wife and kids/grandkids, and canoeing/fishing/photography in Canadian or African wilderness settings.