Staff Bio’s
SENIOR PASTOR
Phil Tadros
Phil Tadros is an Egyptian native who immigrated to Canada when he was 16. Shortly thereafter, he came to know the Lord through the preaching of a faithful minister. He was given a Bible and began to grow in a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Phil has been in the Hamilton area since attending McMaster University in 2004, where he earned a degree in Political Science. Phil met his wife Lindsay in 2010 and they got married in 2011. Together they prioritized membership at a healthy gospel-centered church. Since 2014, Phil sensed a call to plant a church, noticing the scarcity of churches committed to sound doctrine and evangelism. His commitment to church planting led him to the pursuit of theological studies at Regent College in Vancouver. He has a strong focus on Scripture and is grounded in the Reformed tradition.
Phil’s wife, Lindsay, was born and raised in Canada. She has a Bachelor of Education and spent 13 years teaching in a private school setting before deciding to stay home to pursue homeschooling their 4 children. They’ve been married for over 12 years and they love books, visiting parks, squash, biking, board games and doing all these things with friends and family. They love hosting, and if you stick around long enough you’ll probably be invited to dinner, a campfire, or get roped into a hike.
In 2023, Phil was commissioned by New City Church downtown Hamilton (PCA) to lay the groundwork for a church plant in Stoney Creek. In the fall of 2024 they began to gather a group of Christian disciples with the goal of forming a gospel community in this area. Since then, God has added to their number those exploring the gospel of Jesus or returning to the faith. On May 31, 2024, Sojourn Community Church was established as a mission church under Phil’s leadership.
PASTORAL INTERN
Hobbe Smit
Born in The Netherlands, Hobbe spent 7 years moving across Canada with his family until settling down in Hamilton, where he got his B.Sc. in Computer Science at Redeemer University in 2004. Shortly after he got his MMath (Computer Science) from the University of Waterloo, where he got involved with the student ministry of Power to Change (P2C). He fell in love with sharing Jesus with students and joined staff with P2C at McMaster University in 2010 and has served with them ever since. Soon after that he fell in love with his now-wife Heather. Together they love shaping and forming their 2 kids, Noelle and Davin, as they explore God’s creation, board games, and the international food scene in Hamilton. Hobbe serves on staff part-time as a pastoral candidate with Sojourn Community Church (PCA), applying his ministry experience and Masters of Divinity (2022) degree.
PASTORAL INTERN
Simon Mischuk
Originally from Victoria BC, Simon moved to Hamilton in 2021 to attend Redeemer University. Having just graduated from Redeemer in May (majoring in theology and history), Simon has been immensely grateful to have been able to call New City Church, and now Sojourn Community Church his home churches over the last few years. Recently married, he and his wonderful wife, Rieneke, are members at Sojourn Community Church and are thankful for the ways in which they have been able to serve and be served by the congregation here. Simon, a lover of theology, travel, sports, and the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), serves on staff at Sojourn as the Pastoral Intern and is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Heritage College and Seminary.