Youth
We want youth to know Jesus therefore,
Worker
we invest in equipping, empowering, and relationally supporting youth workers, so that,
Community
there is a family of youth workers commited to making an eternal difference in the lives of the youth they lead.
Our Story
Youth Worker Community exists to empower more youth workers to help the next generation follow Jesus. We do that through conferences, the Coalition, research, coaching, and resources for youth ministries.
It all started over 20 years ago as Truth Matters Ministries.
In 2002, Truth Matters Ministries partnered with the Evangelical Free Church of Lethbridge, AB, and for the next 11 years, Sid Koop was the Executive Director of Truth Matters Ministries, as well as the Director of Student Ministries for the E-Free Church of Lethbridge. In 2013, Sid Koop went full time with Truth Matters and moved the base of operations to Kelowna, BC, where he formed an informal partnership with Marv Penner and All About Youth.
Truth Matters took over the Canadian Youth Workers Conference in 2014, and changed what was a once a year national conference into 6 regional conferences for training youth workers that reached right across Canada.
In 2020, Truth Matters created Youth Worker Community to meet the specific needs of youth workers in helping youth follow Jesus. That same year The Coalition for Youth Ministry Excellence launched to meet the need for deeply equipped vocational youth workers.
Today, Youth Worker Community meets the unique and growing needs of youth workers across Canada and beyond.
Meet the Team
Youth Worker Community is run by a group of veteran youth workers.
Want to get in touch? Click on our photos to send us an email!
Sid Koop
Executive Director
Jeremy MacDonald
Director of Operations
Steve Zacharias
Director of Coalition
Dawn Gutek
Administrator
Ben Jepsen
Academic Coordinator
Melanie Friesen
Coalition Administrative Coordinator
Ben Woodman
Content Development Specialist
Explore our
Curriculum
Check out our
Conferences
Our
Values
We place ourselves under the authority of Christ and Scripture. We take the Bible seriously, and invite accountability into our lives to help us become more like Jesus.
We show up for people, celebrating their wins and supporting their struggles. We see each person for who they are, not what they do. We are committed to staying curious, always looking for new ways to serve our community better. We approach problems with an open mind, staying calm and asking “what if”, so that road blocks can be transformed into bridges.
We are committed to staying curious, always looking for new ways to serve our community better. We approach problems with an open mind, staying calm and asking “what if”, so that road blocks can be transformed into bridges.
We leave our personal agendas at the door, and seek to serve others first. We make it a priority to model this posture to those we lead.
Statement of Faith
The Youth Worker Community was launched while Sid Koop, our founder and Executive Director, was an ordained minister in the Evangelical Free Church of Canada. For that reason, our Statement of Faith mirrors that of the EFCC as well as the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
Click to read our full statement of faith.