Glad to be in a Family-Friendly Town

By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: July 29, 2015

DAVID and Chelsea Corrente are brand new to town but they already feel like they have family here. It’s the family of faith: The Correntes moved to Squamish after David took a position as a pastor at the Church on 99 located on Highway 99. They moved here in May but the church members ensure they don’t feel isolated in their new home.
“We are loving it out here. It feels more like family being a part of 
a small church and meeting 
those church members in the town,” says Chelsea.
The Correntes have three boys, Noah, 7, Levi, 5, and Simeon, 20 months, with one on the way. They are quite happy to have come to a family-friendly place. It’s been less than two months since they moved here but the family has already explored the hiking trails, the Chief, and enjoyed the Howe Sound views from the Sea to Sky Gondola. It’s their first time living on the West Coast but despite the initial cultural shock, they are warming up to the mountains and the abundance of nature all around. “It’s a warm and family-friendly community. We have thoroughly enjoyed each moment with the church and the glory of God’s creation surrounding Squamish,” says David.
David and Chelsea grew up in Chatham-Kent, a rural community in Southwestern Ontario, where both attended Emmanuel Baptist Church with their families. Although aware of the Gospel, David hadn’t devoted his entire life to the Christian faith. He played professional baseball with Toronto Blue Jays but his faith spoke to him in 2004 when he saw the movie, The Passion of the Christ. He called Chelsea and told her about the moment of truth the movie had helped trigger and both became believers, accepting Christ as their saviour.
Four years later, when he wasn’t drafted to play with the Blue Jays, he decided to pursue an education in Christian faith and enrolled in a Bachelor of Science in Religion course from Liberty University Online. Later, he decided to do more training and the family moved to Jupiter, Florida, to join The Expositors Seminary, which trains and mentors those “who are called by the Lord Jesus Christ into the ministry of the gospel.”
He graduated this year and came to Squamish to become the pastor of the Church on 99, a non-denominational Christian Church that believes in Scripture’s testimony that Jesus Christ is the only Lord and Savior of all mankind.
Church on 99 has been without a pastor for over a year. David says he is looking forward to serve the flock and be faithful and to give his life to the people around him. The family’s desire, he says, is to plant roots in the community and submit to His will and serve the community until Christ comes back. “I firmly believe that Jesus Christ has protected this church and the congregation to be a light in the town of Squamish. We have already been praying for this church, those in the town who will hear the gospel and that Christ would be glorified by building His church in Squamish.”