DAWN HUMPHREYS
Lead Pastor
Originally from Liverpool, England, I have called Vancouver home for more than twenty years. Before moving to Canada, I spent over eight wonderful years living in various parts of Southeast Asia with St. Stephen’s Society, an incarnational missional community among people experiencing poverty, based in Hong Kong.
I have the privilege of serving as Lead Pastor of Strathcona Vineyard Church in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, where I am passionate about seeing people from every background discover their identity, dignity, and purpose in the Kingdom of God. I care deeply about creating communities of welcome where those who have often been overlooked or marginalized can flourish, and I love equipping others as they grow in God’s heart for justice, hospitality, and God’s mission in the world.
Alongside pastoral ministry, I have enjoyed teaching, mentoring, and serving in a variety of roles with Regent College over the years. For several years I served part-time as the Pastoral Representative for the Master of Divinity program and have supervised students in ministry placements through Regent’s Supervised Ministry program. I have also taught in a number of Regent classes over the years and, in 2026, served as one of the lecturers and panel speaker for Regent College’s Downtown Eastside immersion course, helping students engage thoughtfully with the community through the practices of presence, listening, and solidarity. Most recently, I have been honoured to join the Regent College Senate.
My other passions include cheering on Liverpool Football Club (or soccer, to my North American friends!), exploring the outdoors through swimming and hiking, reading, lifelong learning, and gathering family and friends around a good meal.
I helped plant Strathcona Vineyard Church in 2005 and have served as lead pastor since 2008. I value partnering with other DTES churches in our neighbourhood as we build unity and draw strength and encouragement from our common mission to see the DTES flourish with God’s Kingdom goodness. I also serve on our Vineyard National Team to help equip our movement to engage with justice locally, nationally and globally.
I love the diversity of our community and the complexity and beauty of our neighbourhood. I also really love what I learn from those who have had a very different life experience from myself. Many people think the DTES needs ‘saving’, I believe it needs people who are committed to being Christ’s loving and faithful hospitable presence in the same place for a long time. The gift of presence in a society that is constantly moving is often underrated but it is essential to bringing lasting transformation in a context like the DTES.
No matter what your life experience has been come and explore what it means to be part of a community that is learning what it means to follow Jesus in all of life.