The New Testament describes two offices within a local church: elder and deacon.
Elders (aka pastors/overseers/shepherds) are men of godly character who teach and direct the affairs of the church primarily by dedicating themselves to the Word of God and prayer. They must meet the qualifications laid out in scripture in (1 Tim. 3: 1-7, Titus 1: 5-9). We believe the bible permits only men to hold this office.
Deacons must also meet the character qualifications laid out in scripture for the office, primarily in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. We believe this office is open to both men and women (see this article for more on our stance on female deacons). The biblical role of deacons is to foster unity and service in the congregation in a way that frees up the elders for Word ministry. Deacons at Mount Pleasant are given a narrow mandate, and do not meet together as a board.
Elders lead ministry, deacons facilitate ministry, the congregation does ministry.
At this time, the congregation has three elders and three deacons.
Elders/Pastors
John Bell
John Bell is an elder and full-time staff pastor of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. He founded New City Baptist Church in 2009 and led the congregation 15-years until the merger with Mount Pleasant Road. He’s been married to his lovely wife, Jill, since 2012, and they have one son.
Originally from the Thousand Islands, John graduated from Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College.
An avid reader, John is also a film buff. When not indulging in procrastination, he’s trying to write a screenplay. We may yet see his name in lights!
Pastor John can be reached by email: john@newcitybaptist.ca
Alex Bloomfield
Alex serves as an elder and part-time staff pastor. In the spring of 2022, he took part in the pastoral internship program at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. Alex hails from Ilderton, Ontario and was raised at Stoney Creek Baptist Church. He's been married to Jessie since 2016 and they have three daughters.
Pastor Alex can be reached by email: alexbloomfield27@gmail.com
Quinn Clement-Schlimm
Quinn Clement-Schlimm serves as an elder. He’s been married to his wife Phoebe since 2020 and they have two sons.
Quinn works as a corporate commercial lawyer and holds a JD/MBA from the University of Toronto. He enjoys reading and playing board games in his free time.
Deacons
Phoebe Clement-Schlimm
Phoebe Clement-Schlimm is the deacon of benevolence. She oversees the church's benevolence fund and certain programmatic acts of service, such as meal trains.
Phoebe was born to Christian missionary parents in Singapore and moved to Canada in her early teen years. In 2013, she came to faith in Christ and was baptized. She is married to her husband, Quinn, and they have two sons.
Phoebe holds a Master of Theology and a Graduate Certificate in Biblical Care & Counselling from Heritage College and Seminary. She has completed an MA in Counselling Psychology and is registered in Ontario as a psychotherapist (qualifying).
Rodolfo Prata
Rodolfo Prata is the deacon of Sunday morning operations. He facilitates the schedules and protocols for many areas of service (setup, sound, etc.) on Sunday mornings.
Originally from São Paulo City, Brazil, Rodolfo and his wife Ana moved to Canada in 2014. They have two daughters.
Rodolfo is deeply passionate about User Experience Design, continuously seeking innovative ways to enhance user interactions for products and services. Despite his professional career in the tech industry, Rodolfo is an old-school-black-and-white photography enthusiast!
Nathalie Beattie
Nathalie Beattie is our deacon of children's programming. She oversees curriculum execution, scheduling, and related children's policies.
Born and raised in Venezuela, Nathalie came to Canada in 2017 and was baptized the following spring. She married her husband, Josh, in 2022.
She holds a Masters in Engineering from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) and a Bachelor of Engineering in Venezuela. She is passionate about seeing children grow in their knowledge and love for the Lord - including her own young son!