JV Canada Board

Mel Ellenwood serves as the Executive Vice President of Josiah Venture. Prior to joining JV, Mel served as youth pastor for churches in Peoria, IL and Three Lakes, WI for 10 years. Mel, along with his wife Amy and their three children, moved to the Czech Republic and became missionaries with Josiah Venture in 1998. Since then, Mel has worked in various roles throughout JV, developing a model youth ministry in Czech, leading the camp ministry, and shepherding national teams across the organization.

Jay Sandiford is the Lead Pastor at Willow Creek Baptist Church in Midhurst, Ontario, where he serves with his wife Mandy and his two children Hayden and Parker. Before moving to Midhurst in May 2012, Jay served as the Youth and Associate Pastor at Springvale Baptist Church in Stouffville, Ontario, for 13 years. He is a graduate of Lexington Baptist College (now Boyce College of Louisville, Kentucky) and Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, Ontario. Jay was first introduced to Josiah Venture when taking a team from Springvale to Poland in 2009 to lead an English camp. It was here that he felt an instant connection with the vision, mission, and people of JV.

Gord Jackson serves as a Director of the Josiah Venture CA board and has served as both a volunteer and a staff member of various organizations and ministries in Ontario’s Region of Waterloo, since 2004. Prior to that, Gord, along with Liz and their children, served with Josiah Venture in Poland in the early days of JV’s ministry. Gord currently serves as the Coordinator of Volunteer Engagement for a local non-profit charity, as well as being very involved as an elder and ministry leader in his local church in Kitchener, ON. The Jackson’s eldest daughter, a JV Kids alumnus, currently serves on the JV/Fala team in Poland, continuing the Jackson’s commitment to supporting the cause of equipping young leaders to fulfill Christ’s commission through the local church.