Our former Pastor of Church Care:

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 2 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, didn't let him go, and during his first year of university at McMaster, he attended Urbana, Inter Varsity 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 for 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, who he married in 1983, and together sensed God's leading toward serving in fulltime missions.

Dave went on to complete a Masters 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 3 children in the African context, a hard yet rich experience. Since returning to Canada Dave has been the Associate Dean of Students for Intercultural Initiatives back at Tyndale University College & Seminary, caring for International Students, and providing opportunities and leadership for student mission team partnerships and international internships. He also facilitates cross-cultural intensive courses for orienting new missionaries with MissionPrep and teaches the ‘Christian Community Development’ class for Perspectives, both of these ongoing since 2004. Dave joined the West Highland Ministry Team in the role of Pastoral Care and Discipleship in the summer of 2012 until December 2018.  Dave now has the ministry of leading SIM in Zambia.

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