About the Tyndale Centre for Pastoral Imagination

About Us

Tyndale Centre for Pastoral Imagination

What is Pastoral Imagination

Pastoral imagination is an individual’s capacity for entering diverse situations, whether full of joy or tension, and responding with wise action. Pastoral imagination provides a way of seeing and interpreting that shapes the thoughts and actions of pastors, guiding them in and through every season of pastoral life and ministry. It is another way to describe a pastor who is in tune with the imaginative Spirit of God and “really gets it!”

Who We Are

The Tyndale Centre for Pastoral Imagination is a collaborative initiative that works with churches to discern, equip, and support pastors. We provide practical and relevant resources and relationships that help pastors navigate the changing contexts and challenges of pastoral ministry. Our vision is to foster a vibrant and diverse community of new and emerging pastors who are faithful to God’s mission and who serve with renewed imaginations as they effectively lead the churches of today and tomorrow.

Our Team

Dr. Sarah Han

Rev. Dr. Sarah Han

Director

Sarah is an ordained minister/church planter, wife to a church-planter catalyst/ordained minister, mom to three rambunctious kids, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry at Tyndale Seminary, and Director of the Tyndale Centre for Pastoral Imagination. She has provided leadership in the Canadian immigrant church context for over a decade and has diverse experience in the Canadian public and private sectors.

Sarah is a Korean-Chinese-Canadian third-culture pastor's kid turned missionary's kid and much of her formative theology was shaped on the mission field abroad. She is a foodie who loves to hike, and she and her family live in rural Ontario amongst trees and chickens. 

Laura Alexander

Laura Alexander, MDiv

Coordinator

Laura brings over 15 years of practical experience serving the local Canadian church in both traditional and non-traditional contexts, as well as diverse experience in the Canadian public sector.

She is a wife, mom to three, friend and neighbour. Laura has lived in the GTA for over 30 years, and she and her family currently live in community in the suburbs. As an Irish-born Canadian settler, Laura's passion is to see reconciliation and compassion in action through the Canadian church and to support pastors as they engage with the contextual challenges of their communities. Laura holds an MDiv in the Church in the City concentration from Tyndale Seminary. 

Research Hubs

The Tyndale research hubs are the backbone of all the TCPI offerings. The hubs bring together experts and researchers who explore specific topics related to theology, culture, spirituality, and personhood. Their goal is to address important questions that might otherwise be unanswered, helping to reshape the Church’s capacity to participate in God's Mission. The hubs also provide the theological foundation for creating practical and relevant resources that develop and support pastors in ministry.

Women in Ministry

The goal of the Women in Ministry Hub is to prepare a larger number of women for pastoral ministry.

The Women in Ministry Hub is breaking new ground with research tailored specifically to the diverse landscape of the Canadian church.

New Generations, Multicultural Church

Over 120,000 new immigrants to Canada settle in the Greater Golden Horseshoe every year. This represents one-third of all immigrants to Canada annually; 15% are refugees.

The goal of the New Generations, Multicultural Church Hub is to connect second-generation immigrant leaders and leaders of diaspora communities to resources and relationships that speak to their unique experience and to raise up the next generation of diaspora pastors in Canada.

Wellness

In partnership with the Tyndale Wellness Centre, the goal of the Wellness Hub is to strengthen pastoral imagination for counselling in low-income, immigrant/refugee or Indigenous congregational settings, as well as to support pastors as they navigate grief and bereavement within their communities.

Learn more about the Tyndale Wellness Centre