Our Team


Southland Church
Love God. Love People.
Be discipled. Make Disciples.
Pastors & Directors


Stefan Duerksen
Lead Pastor
Pastor Stefan has been serving in various positions and ministries at Southland since 2009. He began ministry in Four Winds, a ministry to support people with life-controlling behaviors, and since then has had roles as Discipleship Pastor, Executive Pastor, and Associate Pastor. He has led many workshops and retreats over the years, such as Hearing God, Set Free!, and Empower Ministers Retreat. He has also worked as a Coach for Church Renewal. In 2022, he said yes to the Lord’s call for him and his wife, Louise, to step into the role of Lead Pastor.
They have one son, Austin, married to Luella, and three daughters, Keanna, Katelyn, and Sarah. Stefan loves hunting, camping, holidays in Tobermory, anything fitness, and is known to be a little obsessive about cats.


Lorne Pearson
Interim Executive Pastor
Lorne has been on staff since 2019. He has been married to his wife, Jennifer, since 1979. They have 2 adult children and 5 grandchildren. Lorne is the Seniors Pastor and is also a part of our care team and is one of our teaching pastors. Before joining the southland team, he was a lead pastor in the Winnipeg area for 20 years. Lorne enjoys fishing and being out on the water with his wife, Jenny. He was also a farmer for many years and can be seen carrying his cow mug around the office.


Grace Fast
Pastor of Prayer & Prophecy
Grace started attending Southland in January 1996 with her family and started serving in the prayer ministry in 1999 as a volunteer. In 2004, she was hired by the church. For the last 16 years she has been serving the church as the pastor of prayer and prophecy. Before ministry, Grace and her late husband were in business, primarily in the aviation industry, in beautiful Northern Manitoba. She loves spending time with her three adult children and their spouses. And her favourites……her six grandkids.


Eunice McAllister
Executive Director of Finance and Operations
Eunice and her family began attending Southland in 1990 and she has been on staff since 2001. She has been married to her husband Ken for 36 years and has 4 married children and 7 wonderful grandchildren! Eunice is the Director of Finance & Operations and is passionate about God & this local church! She enjoys spending time with her family, travelling, walking and reading great books!


Dana Loewen
Cell Ministry Pastor
Dana started attending Southland Church with her husband Mark in 2001 and joined the staff in 2010. She is currently the Adult Cell Ministry Pastor. Before joining the Southland team Dana worked for two other Christian organizations in the education field. Dana married Mark in 1995 and they have 2 adult children. Mark and Dana enjoy travelling together and exploring new places. Dana also enjoys landscape gardening, board games, escape rooms, jigsaw puzzles, and classic murder mystery or lawyer-themed TV shows.


Martin Gunter
Adult Ministry Pastor
Martin has been on staff since 2006. He has been married to his wife, Andrea, since 2008 and has 2 children, Gideon & Isabelle. Martin is our Family Ministry pastor and has a passion to help couples with their marriages. He enjoys playing Lego with his kids and doing archery with his wife Andrea, and looks forward to a chance to do fieldwork on a tractor.


Chris Carr
Youth & Young Adults Pastor
Chris has been on staff at Southland since 2018. He has been married to his wife, Elly, since 2012 and they have four children – all boys! Chris is our Youth & Young Adult and Young Marrieds Pastor. He completed all three years of the School of Ministers program here at Southland, and his role includes oversight for various cell groups and RxP worship nights within the YYA/YM demographic, pre-marriage and lots of weddings! He enjoys basketball, music, being taller than Kyle, and road trips with his family!


Teena Cole
Pastor of Prayer and Prophecy
Teena has been attending Southland since 2007 and has joyfully volunteered in various ministries, including Worship and Prayer & Prophecy. When Four Winds House was opened, Teena was of the first volunteer mentors to join the ministry, and has been faithfully serving in the various capacities of Care Ministry ever since, coming on staff in 2016! Teena and her husband, Mark, have 3 married children, and a growing number of grandchildren. Prior to working at Southland, many people recognize her from her 15 years working as an Optician in Steinbach.


Monique Desorcy
Family Ministry Director
Monique has been on staff since 2006 working on our Family Ministries team. She has been married to her husband, Ron, since 1994. They have 2 kids and 7 grandkids. Monique most enjoys visiting friends with Chai tea in hand and a blanket on her lap. Remember God’s with me! God loves me! No matter what He’s good!


Brock Peters
Family Ministry Director
Brock has been on staff since 2012 and is on the Family Ministries team. Currently, he runs a community home for young adult men and enjoys connecting with people of all ages. His humour and crazy acting skills are loved by those who experienced him at camp, Midweek, Kids Church Online videos and of course weekend services.


Jireh Martiniano
Worship Ministry Director
Jireh started attending Southland Church in the summer of 2013 and joined on staff in 2022 as the Worship Director. He has been married to his wife Daenica since 2018 and has a son, Manoah. In 2014, Jireh started serving in the Worship Ministry. He has led worship in various areas at Southland Church including Family Ministries, the prayer room, Prayer Summits, and weekend retreats and services. Before joining the Southland Staff Team, Jireh was a High School Math Teacher at the SRSS for 5 years. He enjoys playing board games with family and friends; cooking and eating food; watching and playing various sports.


Joel Wiebe
Director of Facilities
Joel has been attending Southland Church since 2005 and on staff since 2013. He and his lovely wife Candace have been married for 8 years and have 3 beautiful daughters. Joel takes care of and gives oversight to the maintenance of all church facilities including the church itself and the Camp. He is sometimes seen alongside Brock on Kids Church Online as well. When not working he enjoys good movies with good friends, working out, playing with LEGO and travelling with his family.


Steve Bergman
Camp Director
Steve Bergman is a dedicated family man who is married to Vally and has three sons and one daughter. He has worked at different camps as Program Director and has had a passion for camp ministry since he was 15 years old. With a background in teaching and trades, Steve has honed his skills in varied ways. He has now taken up the position of the Camp Director of Bird River Bible Camp. Steve's passion for education and experience in diverse fields make him a valuable addition to the camp community. He is committed to providing a positive and enriching experience for all campers, staff, and volunteers.
Ministry Staff


Al Toews
Properties


Anita Auch
Kitchen Coordinator


Candy Dyck
Worship Ministry Coordinator


Christine Gerbrandt
Executive Assistant


Claire Funk
Properties


Cynthia Falk
Administration Assistant


Grace Plett
Welcome Ministry Assistant


Heather Bergen
Family Ministries Assistant


Jesse Loewen
Videographer and Multimedia Editor


Jocelyn Broesky
Family Ministries Coordinator


John Abrams
Properties and Distribution Centre


Mallory Edwards
Adult Ministry Administrator


Mark Bergen
IT/AV Systems Administrator


Matthew Peters
Production Coordinator


Tanya Warkentin
Accounting Assistant


Terry Schellenberg
Front Desk Supervisor


Victoria Lepp
Seniors & Care Ministry Assistant


Wes Friesen
Properties
Board Elders


Irv Funk
Board Elder Chair
Irvin, and his wife Marilyn, have attended Southland since 2004. They have 3 married children and 8 grandchildren. Irvin is a business owner and is actively engaged in Marketplace Leaders and Cell Ministry at Southland. Irvin has been on the board of elders since 2013 and currently serves as the board chair. Irvin enjoys the outdoors, specifically hunting, fishing, camping, snowmobiling.


Len Neufeld
Board Elder
Len Neufeld has attended Southland since 1989 and joined the Southland Board in 1993. He and Tilly were married in 1978 and have three children together. All of their children are married and live in Steinbach and are members of Southland Church. One of their great joys is their 12 grandchildren and the regular family get-togethers. Len is a partner in a local construction company.


Eric Klippenstein
Board Elder
Eric has been on the board since 2017. Eric, and his wife Angela, have attended Southland since 2001. They have 3 adult children and 3 grandchildren. Eric is the Manager of Corporate Lending for the Steinbach Credit Union and has been actively engaged in leading Marketplace Leaders Cell at Southland since 2012. In his “spare time” (which is rare) Eric can be found engaged in some building project or tinkering on yet another motorcycle project.


Brad Squires
Board Elder
Brad has been on the board of elders since 1997. Brad and his wife Ruth, have attended Southland since 1995. They have 3 adult children and 2 granddaughters. Brad does bookkeeping for Proline Pork Marketing in Steinbach. He has been actively engaged over the years in cell ministry, ushering and financial matters at Southland. He enjoys hiking with his wife, reading and playing baseball on a Southland slow pitch team.


Kevin Plett
Board Elder
Kevin has been on the board since 2017. He has been married to his wife Connie since 2006 and God has blessed them with five children. He enjoys being used by God, being involved on the prophetic team and leading a cell. He enjoys connecting with people one on one. Not only is he a dairy farmer by profession but he enjoys empowering his children with their various birds, animals and pets that they have in their yard. Kevin has found that Jesus is a true and good Father, who is willing to be engaged in all areas of life including marriage, parenting, work and recreation. Jesus has given him meaning, purpose and hope, what a wonderful God we serve.