Staff Profile and Bio -
Rev. Joe Elkerton
Joe Elkerton is the founder and Executive Director of Ekklesia Inner City Ministries and Project417. A graduate of Ontario Bible College [now Tyndale Seminary], he and several alumni partnered over ten years ago to establish a dynamic, people oriented ministry to serve the needs of the homeless and socially isolated people living in poverty. Joe has a long history of ministering to the homeless in Toronto going back over twenty years, especially to the First Nations people of Canada - his own people. Joe is First Nations, Ojibway-Chippewa. The First Nations people are sadly over-represented among the street homeless. More than 10% of the street homeless in the GTA are First Nations in origin. More than 50% of the population of Canada's jails and prisons are First Nations people. Ekklesia Inner City Ministries Project417 represent Joe's dream to redress the injustice of poverty and homelessness.
In addition to Ekklesia Project417, Joe, formerly the Director of Community Services for the Salvation Army in Regent Park, Corps 614, is currently the Senior Pastor of Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship, an inner city church located in Toronto's Bloor west neighborhood. Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship just celebrated their 70th Anniversary at the Bloor Street location. There's more to be added to this profile soon... but if you haven't seen the video interview of Joe Elkerton click here.
