Jason Ballard Biography: The Way Church, The Pastorate & Family
Jason Ballard is a Canadian pastor and church planter based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He leads The Way Church Vancouver and serves as Executive Director of The Pastorate, a ministry devoted to strengthening pastors across Canada. Before planting a church of his own, Ballard spent years helping build the Alpha Youth Series, a video-based evangelism resource used by churches worldwide.
[IMAGE: Jason Ballard preaching at The Way Church Vancouver]
| Personal | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Jason Ballard |
| Based in | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Spouse | Rachael Ballard |
| Children | Three: Hudson, Mary, and Millie |
| Ministry | |
| Title | Lead Pastor |
| Church | The Way Church, Vancouver |
| Denomination | Inter-denominational / trans-denominational |
| Also serves as | Executive Director, The Pastorate (formerly Canadian Church Leaders Network) |
| Previous role | Pastoral team, Christian Life Assembly, Langley, BC |
| Known for | Co-developing the Alpha Youth Series with Alpha International |
| Website | jasonballard.ca |
Early Ministry and the Alpha Years
Before Vancouver knew him as a church planter, Jason Ballard was already shaping how churches around the world talk to teenagers about faith. He worked with Alpha International to help create the Alpha Youth Series, a set of films built for young people exploring Christianity for the first time. That project didn’t stay small. It reached over a million teenagers across the globe, giving Ballard an early, unusual vantage point: he understood what it takes to hold a skeptical young person’s attention long before he ever stepped into a pulpit full-time.
He built much of that early ministry work from Christian Life Assembly in Langley, BC, where he served on the pastoral team. It gave him a base in local church life to go along with his growing national and international reach through Alpha.
[IMAGE: Jason Ballard hosting the Alpha Youth Series]
Planting The Way Church
Jason Ballard planted The Way Church in Vancouver in the middle of the pandemic, not exactly the easiest season to start gathering people in person. The church’s stated goal is simple: joining Jesus in the restoration of all things, for Vancouver and beyond.
The church grew past its own walls fast. Within a few years, The Way had planted new congregations in Strathcona, West Point Grey, and North Vancouver. One of those, in North Vancouver, came through what Ballard has described as a “marriage” with the existing Sutherland Church, a revitalization story built on humility rather than a hostile takeover of an aging congregation.
The Way is now also launching The Way College, a four-year accredited leadership and pastoral development program, extending the church’s reach from Sunday mornings into long-term ministry training.
“The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy… for the numerical growth of the Body of Christ in any city,” reads The Way Church’s own approach to ministry, a philosophy Ballard has built his entire pastoral career around.
The Pastorate: Serving Pastors, Not Just Congregations
Alongside his local church work, Ballard leads The Pastorate, a national ministry formerly known as the Canadian Church Leaders Network (CCLN). For over four years, CCLN served thousands of Canadian pastors through a podcast, a monthly newsletter, cohort-based programs, and retreats. Ballard was part of the decision to rename the organization The Pastorate, sharpening its focus on the wellbeing and development of pastors themselves.
Ballard hosts the organization’s podcast, where he interviews Canadian church leaders about pastoral burnout, friendship in ministry, and what healthy leadership actually looks like in a country where church attendance has been declining for decades. He’s been direct about the shortage of pastors in Canada, but just as direct about a countertrend he sees underneath it: a real hunger, especially among younger leaders, for depth and character over platform.
Ministry Philosophy
Ballard’s approach keeps circling back to one idea: ministry isn’t meant to be done alone. He talks often about the weight pastors carry and how friendship, not just theology or strategy, is what sustains people in that role long-term. It’s part of why he built an organization specifically to support pastors rather than just planting another church and moving on.
He’s also spoken about meeting a new kind of person in ministry today, people discovering Christianity with no biblical background at all. That reality has shaped how The Way Church approaches discipleship, starting further back than older models assumed was necessary.
[IMAGE: Jason Ballard recording The Pastorate podcast]
Personal Life
Jason Ballard and his wife, Rachael, live in Vancouver and are raising three children: Hudson, Mary, and Millie. Ballard has described his family life in simple terms elsewhere online: he loves preaching about Jesus, eating chocolate chip cookies, and posting pictures of his kids.
Influence and Legacy
Ballard’s influence runs on two tracks that rarely overlap for one person. Through the Alpha Youth Series, his work reached teenagers in churches he’ll never visit, across countries he may never see. Through The Way Church and The Pastorate, his influence is far more local and relational, one Vancouver neighborhood and one Canadian pastor at a time.
That combination, global resource-building paired with hands-on local pastoring, has made him a recognizable voice in conversations about the future of the Canadian church, from the Lausanne Movement podcast to the Canadian Bible Society’s own platform.
Interesting Facts
- Ballard helped build the Alpha Youth Series before he ever planted a church of his own.
- The Way Church was planted during the pandemic and has since planted three additional congregations.
- One of those plants grew out of a “marriage” with an existing, aging congregation, Sutherland Church in North Vancouver.
- He renamed the Canadian Church Leaders Network to The Pastorate to sharpen its focus on pastoral health.
- The Way Church is launching a four-year accredited college for leadership and pastoral training.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Jason Ballard?
Jason Ballard is a Canadian pastor based in Vancouver. He leads The Way Church and serves as Executive Director of The Pastorate, a ministry supporting pastors across Canada.
What church does Jason Ballard lead?
He is Lead Pastor of The Way Church in Vancouver, British Columbia, which he planted during the pandemic and which has since planted three additional congregations in the region.
What is The Pastorate?
The Pastorate, formerly the Canadian Church Leaders Network, is a ministry Ballard leads that supports Canadian pastors through a podcast, newsletter, cohort programs, and retreats.
What did Jason Ballard do before planting The Way Church?
He served on the pastoral team at Christian Life Assembly in Langley, BC, and worked with Alpha International to help create the Alpha Youth Series, a global evangelism resource for teenagers.
Is Jason Ballard married?
Yes. He is married to Rachael Ballard, and the couple has three children: Hudson, Mary, and Millie.
