James Ferguson - Lead Pastor

Pastor James grew up in North Canton and at one point in his life had a mullet and tried to shred on guitar like Eddie Van Halen.  He felt a calling to go into ministry in high school and it was there he also met his wife Tiffanie. They connected because of their love for God and people.  They have been married for over a decade and have a baby boy named Levi. James received a Bachelor's degree from Moody Bible Institute (Chicago) in Pastoral Studies and worked on his Master's degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

James served as a pastor at two churches in Chicago, one in the inner-city and one in the suburbs. He has been preaching and teaching regularly for 9 years, trained leaders for ministry, and has been leading praise and worship for over a decade. He is an ordained pastor and moved back to Ohio to start Ekklesia Church. His passion is helping younger people see relevancy of God and the Bible, as well as walking with people through their brokenness and skepticism towards Christianity to eventually fall in love with Jesus.

 

Chris Dewar - Associate Pastor

Pastor Chris was born in the outskirts of Pittsburgh, PA but didn't stay there long. He moved with his family to the small town of Manchester, OH when he was about 9. Toss in some ADHD, Ritalin, rebellion, and puberty, and you have a pretty good idea of his next few years. In his sophomore year of high school, a girl that Chris noticed invited him to a Bible study. Chris went because she was going and instead of winning the girl, Chris met Jesus.  He began attending church and God showed him what it meant to be a godly man. God began turning Chris' heart away from bitterness and began to show him that he was supposed to be a pastor. Chris, knowing the calling placed on his life by God, went to school in Youngstown… for engineering. He didn't want to be poor.  He eventually saw the error of his ways (God can be convincing when He wants to be) and moved back to Canton.  He went to Malone College and got his B.A. in Bible and Theology.  During this time he served with the young adult and youth ministry at his church and trained to be a pastor.  He met Pastor James and Tiff in August of 2006, and has been working with Ekklesia Church ever since.  Chris has a passion for teaching the Bible and helping other people know Jesus.  Chris is married to his wife Christy, and they live in Canton.

 

Tiffanie Ferguson - Administration and Women's Ministry 

Tiffanie was born in Canton, Ohio.  During her high school years, Tiffanie had a transformational encounter with Jesus where He called her to live for Him and felt a strong calling to full-time ministry.  After high school, Tiffanie went to Chicago to receive training at Moody Bible Institute. At Moody, Tiffanie earned a Bachelor's degree in Family Ministry and Counseling.  She is married to Pastor James and has a baby boy named Levi.

Over the years, Tiffanie has worked with her husband doing ministry, teaching Bible studies, leading small groups, and counseling.  She has spent considerable time working with people who have various challenges, including marriage problems, addictions, and abuse, and has seen peoples’ lives transformed by the power of God. Tiffanie has a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, where she studied the Bible, Theology, and Counseling. She is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Supervisor (PCC-S). She has counseled at Moody Bible Institute and Trinity International University's counseling centers. Currently, Tiffanie is working as a professional counselor in Akron, Ohio, where she works primarily with adolescents.  On occasion you can find her visiting kids in jail and helping teens in gangs, which she greatly enjoys.