Finding Your PLace
In The Story

Act Five is a community where young adults live, learn, and grow in faith. Step into a journey of discipleship, adventure, and purpose.
Mission & Vision
Meet The Team

our story

Entering adulthood, many young people feel immense pressure to determine what’s next. Whether you have a clear direction or are still figuring things out, it can be overwhelming to navigate this stage of life.

But what if you don’t have to rush? What if this season could be an opportunity to slow down, step outside the usual path, and explore what truly matters?

Act Five is a discipleship community where young adults live, learn, work, and grow together. Rooted in Hamilton, we invite participants to journey together through community living, travel, adventure, and meaningful engagement with faith and the world. We help young adults step into their next chapter with purpose, growing as disciples of Jesus, while preparing for what’s ahead.

Formation is more than just learning the right ideas—it happens through daily rhythms, relationships, and experiences. We are shaped by where we live, who we spend time with, and how we engage with the world.

Our name, Act Five, reflects the belief that the Bible is the true story of the world. Imagine the biblical story as a six act drama—Creation (I) , Fall (II) , Israel (III) , Jesus (IV), Church (V), New Creation (VI). We find ourselves in the fifth act and are committed to faithfully improvising our part in God’s unfolding story together.

"We are living in a world filled with noise & distraction, moving at a pace impossible to maintain. We must learn to slow down, to be present where we are, to meet God at the speed of a walk through our neighbourhood or conversation on a park bench​."
Jon BerendsExecutive Director
Jon Berends

Our Mission

To facilitate Christian discipleship of young people through community, learning and practices designed to:

  • Grow their Christian faith and character
  • Equip them for future pathways as rooted and engaged followers of Jesus

Our Vision

We see young adults living wholeheartedly as disciples of Jesus, walking faithfully in the contexts of school, church, neighbourhood, and work.

Within our Gap Year program, students will:

  • Reflect on their story and grow deeper in their faith
  • Imagine the world around them with fresh eyes
  • Practice justice in loving their neighbours
  • Prepare for what lies ahead

Our Statement of Faith

Act Five is rooted in a vision that longs for the restoration of all of creation in Christ, seeking to participate, as communities of hope, in God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Particularly, Act Five is a response to the growing number of young adults who are looking for time, spaces, and communities to take on new experiences geared toward preparation for a life of faith in this world, including preparation for future studies or vocational pursuits.

Act Five is largely influenced by a Reformed worldview, while seeking to be intentionally ecumenical in how it equips a range of students from various Christian backgrounds to follow Jesus in every area of their lives.

Read Our Statement of Faith

our team

Jon Berends
Executive Director

Jon Berends
Executive Director

In 2018, Jon moved to Hamilton to develop and launch Act Five. He lives here with his wife, Aimee, and their three young children, growing to love this place and be loved by the community here. Along with a background in high school education and a Master’s in Theological Studies, Jon brings to Act Five a love for young people, creative approaches to education, adventures in the wilderness and all that community life has to offer. Seeing Act Five grow in new directions these past few years has been amazing to witness, and Jon is grateful and excited to see what God has in store for more students, residents, and other communities inspired by what is happening here at Blake St.
jberends@actfive.ca

Alyssa Zilney
Program Manager

Alyssa Zilney
Program Manager

Alyssa moved to Hamilton in 2015 to complete a degree in Community Development and Environmental Studies, and quickly fell in love with the city. She joined Act Five in 2019, moving into the Act Five residence to welcome the very first cohort of students. Four years later, she oversees our gap year and residency programs. Alyssa has seven years of experience living in various intentional Christian communities, and continues to live in Act Five’s neighbourhood with her husband, David. She is an enthusiastic lover of good food, growing vegetables, and living life in the city alongside others. Alyssa has a heart for Christian community and the place-based nature of Act Five. She loves learning alongside students and seeing them explore new perspectives while discovering their gifts.
azilney@actfive.ca

Lena Scholman
Academic Lead

Lena Scholman
Academic Lead

Lena Scholman first fell for Hamilton in 1997, looking out at the city from Sam Lawrence Park. She put down roots in the east end twenty years later and has been discovering the secrets of this evolving metropolis ever since. An educator, storyteller, wife and mother, Lena is committed both to the True City movement­ and New Hope Church, the faith community that has nurtured her faith for the past decade. Transformed by a gap year abroad years ago, she is thrilled to walk alongside young people at Act Five and bear witness to lives changed through intentional living — rooted in place and anchored in Jesus.
lscholman@actfive.ca

Erin Steckley
Residence Manager

Erin Steckley
Residence Manager

Erin has called Hamilton home since 2014, having found herself formed by a variety of neighbourhoods, spheres of learning, and Christian communities within the city over the years. Community life—in all its ordinary and extraordinary fullness—has shaped Erin’s young adulthood, taking her to England in 2023 where she lived as a member of the ecumenical, monastic-inspired Community of St Anselm: a place committed to prayer, study, and service in the urban context of Central London. Erin loves bearing witness to the presence and invitations of Jesus in the lives of others, particularly young people. She enjoys the rhythm of making pour-over coffee and has perfected her homemade granola recipe (which she is happy to share). In between all these things, you might find her at spin class or on a long walk.
esteckley@actfive.ca

Madison Eckert
External Initiatives Lead

Madison Eckert
External Initiatives Lead

Madi moved to Hamilton in January 2022 and moved into the Act Five house a few months later. As she became embedded in the rhythms of the community, she began to be formed herself as a resident and then stepped into the Resident Manager role in 2023. Madi completed her own gap year at Bodenseehof in Germany post-university, and then completed her Masters in Theological Studies in 2022 from Tyndale Seminary. She previously worked at a church doing neighbourhood engagement, and then spent a few years with Hope Story, a global missions organization. She will never say no to a walk or chat over a cup of coffee, enjoys hiking and any outdoor activity, and is the proudest Aunt of 8 kids.
meckert@actfive.ca

Jana Arnold
Resident Leader for
2025/2026 Gap Year

Jana Arnold
Resident Leader for
2025/2026 Gap Year

Jana completed her Bachelor of Arts in Theology & Fine Arts at Redeemer University (2023). She was born and raised in Haldimand County but has called Hamilton home for the past six years. 75 Blake St will be Jana’s seventh home in Hamilton! Jana has had many lived experiences as a disciple and a disciple maker, she is excited to see how God uses these past experiences to ignite faithful living in and amongst the 2024-25 Act Five cohort. She loves to read, spend time with her nieces and nephews, and is an avid Spikeball player. She also enjoys outdoor adventures, quality time and listening to good music. Jana is looking forward to the lessons and reflections that will come through adventuring with Act Five.
jarnold@actfive.ca

Evan Maxwell
Admissions Coordinator

Evan Maxwell
Admissions Coordinator

Evan Moved to Hamilton in 2020, where he studied at Redeemer University finishing with a degree in Biblical and Theological Studies. Soon after, He moved in to Blake Street to jump into being a resident leader with Act Five. Amongst trips, dinners, lots of laughs and time spent with students, Evan has been shaped and moved by the beauty of this community and of Hamilton as a whole. Evan is a proud Raptors fan, and loves to talk anything sports. He will never be stopped getting a coffee or hanging around a Cafe somewhere, probably chatting with a friend or reading a book. He is a fan of all things music, and always up for a fun adventure or just to get outdoors.
emaxwell@actfive.ca

Cullen Vandeburgt
Resident Leader for
2025/2026 Gap Year

Cullen VANDEBURGT
RESIDENT LEADER FOR
2025/2026 GAP YEAR

Cullen moved into Hamilton about 7 years ago where he attended Redeemer University to study Youth Ministry and English. He then chose to live at the Blake house for a year, learning the rhythms and routines of the place before he decided that he couldn’t get enough and wanted to live there another year with another great group of young adults. Cullen loves living fully in life with others and seeks to find the joy in whatever high, low, adventure, chore, etc. may be going on and seeks to see God in it all. In his free time he can often be found outdoors, spending time with the people he loves or at the piano.
cvandeburgt@actfive.ca

Arissa VandeBurgt
Program Assistant

Arissa VandeBurgt
Program Assistant

Arissa recently completed her BA at Redeemer university in English Literature and Politics and International studies. She loves showing off Hamilton to new friends and can often be found visiting coffee shops, climbing the escarpment stairs, or exploring the places she hasn’t been to yet. Arissa is a big fan of just about every book, rock climbing, long porch conversations and a well made hot chocolate. She is also an Act Five alumni and is looking forward to re-engaging with the rhythms that shape daily life and walks with God at Act Five.
avandeburgt@actfive.ca
Interested in working with Act Five?

Our Board

Act Five Board of Directors

Dave Witt – Chair of Board

Karmyn Bokma – Secretary

Allan Buist – Treasurer

William Groot

Anita Plat-Kuiken

Jessica Brand

Toon Garritsen

Contact: board@actfive.ca

Strategic Plan

Developed with the support of Chisel Consulting

Establishing Home

Before Act Five can move into new places, we must invest in deep roots where we are. This involves the purchase of a permanent home, continued investment in the staff team, and substantiating our donor base.

Opening Doors

The change young people are experiencing in Act Five is good, needed and beautiful. It is time to increase avenues of entry by lowering cost barriers, developing program offerings, and recruiting in new spaces to extend our invitation.

Telling Our Story

We want our audiences to know with clarity who we are, what we do, why we do it, and why it matters. We want to grow those who can advocate for us, share the story in more places, and invite key partners into deeper mutual relationship.

Learn about our Capital Campaign to Establish Home

Our Partners

We are grateful to be supported in a variety of ways by incredible organizations.

Educational Partners

Program Partners

Church Partners

“There is always much work to be done in our community, and our friends at Act Five have helped us immeasurably by their service work in our community. We have been, and continue to be, deeply enriched by our connection with our friends from Act Five."
John FraressoSpiritual & Community Life Coordinator - L'Arche Hamilton
John Fraresso
"As we support refugee claimants, belonging and community are central themes that guide us at Micah House. It’s been a rich experience to partner with Act Five, a neighbour both in geography and in their desire to build intentional community with those around them. The opportunity to share meals creates a space where everyone gets to practice hospitality while getting to know people from all around the world."
Stephanie SchreudersExecutive Director - Micah House
Stephanie Schreuders

Contact Us

75 Blake St, Hamilton, ON L8M 2S7

Charitable Registration No: 71562 7105 RR0001

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