About

Our Story

When Andy Steiger and his wife, Nancy founded Apologetics Canada in 2010, they were motivated to stop the exodus of young people leaving the church. God however had much more in store. This generation of young people both Christians and non-Christians alike have questions and are seeking truth. The challenge in Western culture is communicating the message of Jesus in a way that people can understand and appreciate. Sharing the gospel requires us all to understand and speak the language of culture and address the questions being asked with intellectual honesty, gentleness and respect. When we do this in the love and winsomeness of Christ Jesus, lives are impacted and culture is changed.

OUR TEAM

Andy Steiger, PhD

President
Itinerant Speaker

Andy is the founder and president of Apologetics Canada, dedicated to helping Christian communities grow in their faith and share their hope.

Currently, Andy is working on a new video series, Branded: Rethinking Identity, that addresses our personal, communal, and spiritual identity. He is also the author of Reclaimed: How Jesus Restores Our Humanity in a Dehumanized World released in 2020, which was awarded runner up to evangelistic resource of the year. This book was preceded by The Human Project video series. In 2018, The Human Project debuted at film festivals around the world and won a number of awards including Best Short Film and People's Choice. Andy also created and hosted The Thinking Series and is the author of Thinking? Answering Life’s Five Biggest Questions. Andy speaks on these topics internationally at universities, conferences, churches, prisons, and coffee shops. Between his 20 years of experience as a pastor and the completion of a PhD at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, Andy brings both experience and research to his work. Andy is originally from Portland, Oregon and currently lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia with his wife, Nancy, and their boys.

Steve Kim

Alberta Director
Itinerant Speaker

Steve is a follower of Christ with a heart for apologetics which he views as the "intellectual care of the soul." He serves from the Edmonton area.

In his early 20s, Steve experienced a faith crisis due to intellectual undernourishment. Through this experience, he has come to see apologetics as the “intellectual care of the soul” and now feels a personal burden to walk with others who may be struggling with doubt and/or seeking sincerely. Steve holds a diploma in Worship Arts and a BA in Biblical Studies from Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, BC. He has completed a master’s degree in Christian Apologetics through Biola University in La Mirada, CA.

Troy Lydiate

Creative Director &
Youth Engagement

Troy is a recording artist and public speaker. He joins Apologetics Canada as the Creative Director, Podcast Host and oversees Youth Engagement

Troy Lydiate is a Jamaican-born recording artist, speaker and mentor living in the Greater Vancouver area of Canada. With a BA in Social Sciences from Providence University, his professional background is Youth Support Working and thus, naturally finds himself working with youth, young adults and college ages in ministry. Troy is working as the Creative Director and oversees Youth Engagement with Apologetics Canada. He can also be heard weekly as one of the hosts of the AC Podcast. Troy has a background of speaking at conferences, concerts and schools as well as preaching or teaching at ministerial events.

Under the moniker of "Scribe Music," he has released 3 studio albums and a variety of songs which he uses as a bridge to minister the gospel. His music production has found him awarded and nominated for several GMA (Covenant Awards), numerous blog features and placements on Canadian Christian radio. This has lead to a variety of concerts, and speaking engagements ranging from talks on the music industry, artist accountability and identity. When not creating and performing music, Troy’s first passion is soccer which he still plays and in the height of his pursuit brought him to a Real Madrid summer academy and University in both Canada and the US. Adopted as a toddler by Pastors Bob and Gwen Lydiate, Troy’s early years would be spent on the prairies of Canada in Regina, Saskatchewan. His experience in Western Canada would have him spending a lot of his ministry experience within the Indigenous community. He is a father of two and husband to Jasmine of 7 years. Troy is passionate about building and serving in the local church. He is member of his church leadership and serves on the worship team. He seeks to live a lifestyle of influencing cultural and global transformation, rooted in love, releasing hope while loving God and loving people.

Wesley Huff, PhD(c)

Central Canada Director
Itinerant Speaker

Wesley is a New Testament PhD student. He is experienced in public speaking.

Wesley Huff was born in Multan, Pakistan and spent a portion of his childhood in the Middle East. After being diagnosed with a rare neurological condition at the age of 11 that left him paralyzed from the waist down he experienced a miraculous recovery that the doctors themselves said they had no medical explanation for. This experience, along with a great deal of study and soul searching in his later teens helped his interest in the subjects of faith, and engaging the beliefs and worldview perspectives of others. Wesley holds a BA in sociology from York University, a Masters of Theological Studies from Tyndale Seminary, and is currently a PhD student in New Testament at the University of Toronto's Wycliffe College. He has participated in numerous talks and interfaith dialogue events at universities across Canada and has been participating in public dialogues on issues of faith, belief, and religion for the last ten years. He enjoys canoeing, archery, and cats (although not all three at the same time). Wes lives in Toronto with his wife Melissa, their son Eli, and their daughter Everly.

Jane Twohey

Community Engagement Manager

Jane works with ministry partners, coordinating events, and managing donor relations.

Jane discovered her faith in the tragedy of 9/11 and immediately joined an Alpha course. She then organized and facilitated Alpha in her community for several years.

Prior to joining AC, Jane was the Events Manager for RZIM Canada and she has a deep passion for apologetics, evangelism, and intercession.

Jane also organized events for two amazing Canadian not-for-profits: The Word Guild, a community of Canadian writers, editors, speakers, and publishers who are Christian, and Room 217, a music-based health arts organization that provides an innovative approach to health and well-being called music care. She also worked for secular Silicon Valley software companies in sales and marketing.

Jane lives in a small rural town in Ontario with her family and her rescue dog, Coco.

Nancy Steiger

Office Manager

As Andy Steiger’s wife, Nancy has been with Apologetics Canada right from the start. Together they make a great team.

Julie Hong

Media Producer

Julie has a passion for storytelling and appreciates the power of using diverse forms of media to elevate the impact of the story.

For years, Julie worked in fashion and creative Media Production before she started using this calling and passion for God's church. She pursued B.A. and M.A. in Media Production in Toronto, spent a few years in and out of several studios and agencies, as well as a couple of years assisting professors and teaching seminars at Ryerson University. Julie currently works as a freelance media producer, and some of her clients and publications in recent years include Elle Magazine, Municipal Region of Peel, and Mango Studios. Prior to joining the AC team, she worked as the Media Associate of RZIM Canada.

Julie loves to worship the Lord through serving in multiple worship ministry teams as a pianist/keyboardist. She believes in giving back to and nurturing the next generation, which led her to serve for multiple years as a bible study leader for the youth at her home church, and as a piano teacher outside of the church.

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ADJUNCT SPEAKERS

Andy Bannister, PhD

Director
Solas Centre for Public Christianity

Andy is the Director of the Solas Centre for Public Christianity and is an experienced international speaker. He has authored many books and other resources.

Andy holds a PhD in Islamic studies and has taught extensively at universities across Canada, the USA, the UK and further afield on both Islam and philosophy. He is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology and is also Adjunct Faculty at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto.

He is also a co-presenter of Pod of the Gaps, a popular podcast that combines theology, culture and humour, and aims to help Christians explore the challenges (and opportunities!) of living in the 21st century.

When not travelling, speaking, or writing, Andy is a keen hiker, mountain climber and photographer. He is married to Astrid and they have two children, Caitriona and Christopher, and live in Dundee in Scotland.

Rachel Bodea, PhD(c)

English Literature
Simon Fraser University

Rachel is passionate about speaking and teaching on what past and present philosophers and theologians can teach us about the contours of religion and the nature of belief.

Rachel Bodea was born in Romania and she, her husband, and her son are part of a growing Romanian community in the Lower Mainland of BC. Rachel is also an English PhD student and her doctoral work focuses on applying a postsecular literary framework - a framework that allows for the study of religion and literature - to nineteenth-century American and British fiction. Some of her favourite novelists are Charlotte Bronte, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, George MacDonald, and Marilynne Robinson. Rachel is passionate about speaking and teaching on what past and present philosophers and theologians can teach us about the contours of religion and the nature of belief. In her scholarly work, she studies fictional works by analyzing their theological architecture with sensitivity to their historical, philosophical, and doctrinal contexts.

Mike Hiscock

Former Pilot
Christian Apologist

Mike is a retired pilot. Ever since he's had a taste of it, he has come to appreciate the value and the role of apologetics in Christian discipleship and faith formation.

Mike came to faith through the apologetics ministry of Lee Strobel. He now has a passion to bring apologetics to the larger Church because he has seen firsthand how it changes lives. Mike is a former Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, holds a BSc from the Royal Military College of Canada, and holds a master’s degree in Christian Apologetics from Columbia Evangelical Seminary. Mike lives in Victoria, BC with his wife Shirley.

Priyan (Max) Jeganathan, PhD(c)

Director - Thinking Faith

Max is an international speaker who is passionate about helping people make sense of current issues and life’s big questions through the lens of the Christian message.

Max has spoken around the world in banks, businesses, universities and political institutions, including Facebook, Google, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. He has also addressed advisors in Singapore’s Economic Development Board and Canada’s National Parliament. He regularly responds to invitations to speak at churches and conferences.

Born in Sri Lanka, Max’s family moved to Australia as refugees in the mid 1980s. He has worked as a lawyer and a political & policy adviser in the Australian National Parliament.

Max was educated at the Australian National University and the University of Oxford, and he is currently undertaking a PhD in Law. His research interests relate to the relationships between faith, politics, public policy, economics, and moral reasoning.

Max lives in Singapore with his wife, Fiona, and their two young children. He loves movies, watching basketball with friends and playing with his kids.

Rachel MacKenzie

Elementary School Teacher
Author

Rachel is an elementary school teacher who co-authors children's books with Andy Steiger, and helps produce children's resources for AC, including audio/video podcast.

Alanzo Paul

Christian Apologist

Alanzo is an international speaker with extensive public speaking experiences. He is passionate about making sense of life through the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Born and raised in Calgary, AB, Alanzo Julian Paul became a Christian in 2009 after wrestling with drug addiction (opiates) for over a decade.

Before full-time ministry Alanzo worked in the Oil & Gas sector. He held a corporate position for several years before entering the e-commerce world. In what was Alanzo’s first private sector venture as an entrepreneur, he and his wife founded a men’s grooming brand. Concurrently, Alanzo has always been particularly passionate about engaging with student’s questions about God. For over a decade he has spoken to crowds of youth around the world and mentored many over the years.

When Alanzo entered into full-time apologetics ministry in Oxford, he focused on speaking about the big questions of life like the existence of God, meaning, suffering/evil, and much more. Over the years he has spoken at prison, churches, universities, and schools all over Canada, the United Kingdom, and continental Europe.

Alanzo has a deep love of the arts. From childhood he has had a love for poetry. After his conversion to Christianity, he wrote a book of poetry called “An Ethereal Walk with God”. Alanzo is likewise passionate about cinema. He has done background acting in nearly a dozen films/T.V. shows and can be found on both Netflix and Apple T.V. (iTunes).

Alanzo has a degree in theology (BTh.) from the University of Oxford and is currently working on his MA in theology at the University of Toronto. He now lives in British Columbia with his wife Khadija.

Raphael Samuel, M.D.

Anesthesiologist
Christian Apologist

By presenting evidence for the coherence of the Christian worldview, Raphael aims to help both the believer and the skeptic.

Raphael Samuel is a Christian speaker, apologist and anesthesiologist. Born in Durban, South Africa, he obtained his medical degree and a Master’s degree in Medicine there. He further obtained Fellowships in Anesthesiology from the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He is currently completing his Master’s degree in Christian Apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, Southern California.

Having lived, worked and ministered in three different countries on three respective continents, he testifies to the transformative power of, and universal need for the Gospel of Jesus. By presenting evidence for the moral, logical, historical, and scientific coherence of the Christian worldview, he aims to help the fellow believer to love the Lord God with all his mind (Mk 12:30), as well as address barriers to belief faced by the skeptic.

Raphael lives in Hamilton, Canada with his wife, Reshmi, and two sons.

What is Apologetics?

Apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia, meaning to give an answer or reason, specifically for Christian truth claims. The Apostle Peter exhorts all Christians to be prepared to give answers and reasons for the hope we have in Christ and to do so with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). In other words, apologetics is about Christians understanding what they believe and why, and knowing how to communicate those beliefs effectively. We believe apologetics is a key task of discipleship and for the health and growth of the church. Apologetics is not a new trend but a Christian tradition. It has been a critical task of Christians for millennia and is as important today as ever before.

For answers to frequently asked questions about apologetics, click here.

How are we structured?

Apologetics Canada Ministries (ACM) is a registered non-profit society in British Columbia, Canada (#79927 1143 RR0001). Andy Steiger is the founder and president. The mission of ACM is to equip the Christian community with biblically sound, intellectually robust, and culturally engaged faith. ACM seeks to strengthen people’s faith in God through books and video resources, in-person and online events, and our weekly podcast.

All donations are tax deductible in Canada.

What do we Believe?

We recognize the 66 books of the Protestant canon of the Bible as the inspired word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. We also recognize these post-biblical creeds and confessions as valuable and faithful, though not infallible, expressions of Christian orthodoxy.

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