Eric Warren

Eric Warren pastors Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, a GCI congregation in Toronto, Ontario. He enjoys all-terrain biking in some of the more spectacular places in Canada. When he’s not out on his bike, he enjoys working around the house doing home renovation.

Eric grew up on a farm southwest of Regina, Saskatchewan. “I attended my first service at Regina WCG on May 8, 1976. My interest was sparked by my mother.” At that time, Eric never dreamed he would one day be pastoring the church in Regina. “Until I accepted Christ in the eleventh grade I was a quiet, bullied, social misfit with poor grades. It was far beyond my expectations that I would be in this role. The grace and gifting that flows from our Triune God is full of surprises!”

Eric went to Ambassador College in Pasadena and graduated in 1982. He met his wife Amy who was teaching third grade at Imperial Schools. “Amy Jordan and I married in August 1982. We have three children. Our son Brian (married to Melissa) is a high school art and music teacher. Our daughter Shannon is an ER and ICU nurse. Our youngest daughter Brittany is an esthetician. We have no grandchildren (yet!).

In 1982, Eric and Amy entered pastoral ministry in Halifax, Nova Scotia working with Jack and Betty Kost. “In 1986 I began pastoring churches in Moncton, New Brunswick and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. I believe the Spirit enabled these first stumbling steps into ministry and has been our increasing source of strength and direction since.” Eric also credits Amy as another Spirit-led source of strength and direction, saying, “Amy does a lot of volunteer work in the congregation and community and unofficially functions as an associate pastor.”

After serving in New Brunswick and Alberta, Eric and family moved to Regina to serve for 14 years at Pathway Community Church. This brings us to the present. “Amy and I felt led to move to Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Toronto in 2011 to succeed retiring Pastor Doug Smith. With his leadership, in 2007 the congregation purchased a building in the village of Mimico to passionately pursue community mission, to assist local businesses and help agencies in responding to diverse needs. Living within a kilometer of the church building allows us to experience these needs first-hand. Cornerstone is becoming a trusted member of the community and will receive an award for community service from the Business Improvement Association in July. There are an increasing number of people attending from the community, some of whom have been baptized.”

What Eric enjoys most about being a pastor is “the variety and challenge of assisting God in his redemption and development of people in the congregation and community.” Along with this, Eric shares what he enjoys most about being part of GCI: “GCI provides a basic orthodox statement of beliefs and a great deal of freedom for the congregation to customize itself for its context. It also provides significant resources and learning opportunities online.”

When asked about his passion, Eric referred to “all-age people development.” When asked about a most memorable moment, he referred to “performing our son’s wedding last year and performing those of our daughters within the next year.” Eric also refers to the value of mentoring by giving credit to pastor Dennis Lueck, a Lutheran pastor, “who walked with me in a mentoring relationship for 12 years; now retired and still a friend.”

Early Sunday mornings are among Eric’s favorite times. He calls these his “Sunday morning pre-service retreats” and says this is when he feels closest to God.