Walter Salingua

Walter Salingua

Founder & Pastor

Step Up Church | Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Walter Salingua is the Founder and Pastor of Step Up Church, a Christian church established in Calgary, Alberta, in 2019. Alongside his wife, Hayley Salingua, he has faithfully served the church from its humble beginnings of seven people gathering in the basement of their home to the growing ministry that Step Up Church is today.

Their story is a testimony of faith, perseverance, prayer, and God’s faithfulness.

A Faithful Beginning

In 2019, Pastor Walter began gathering with a small fellowship of just seven people in the basement of his residence. With a desire to see people come to know Jesus Christ and grow in their faith, that small gathering became the beginning of Step Up Church.

As God continued to open doors and add people to the fellowship, the church took one step after another.

From the basement, Step Up Church moved into a rental clubhouse. As the congregation continued to grow, the church moved into a leased warehouse that was transformed into a place of worship. Eventually, another significant step of faith brought the church into a larger leased commercial space zoned for use as a church.

Each transition became a testimony of God’s provision and faithfulness.

What began with seven people became a growing congregation with ministries reaching different generations and lives being transformed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

A Passion for Jesus and Souls

At the heart of Pastor Walter’s ministry is a passion to see people encounter Jesus Christ and experience the freedom, hope, and transformation found in Him.

His leadership is centered on prayer, evangelism, discipleship, spiritual growth, and multiplication.

He believes the Church is called not merely to gather people, but to make disciples who will follow Jesus, serve others, and carry the Gospel into their families, communities, and the world.

His ministry vision is expressed through a commitment to passionate, prayerful, and persistent evangelism, with a desire to see more souls liberated through Jesus Christ.

For Pastor Walter, every person matters, every soul is valuable, and every believer has a role to play in the mission of God.

Hayley Salingua — Ministry Partner & Next-Generation Leader

Throughout the journey of Step Up Church, Hayley Salingua has stood faithfully alongside Pastor Walter, supporting the vision and contributing to the ministry of the church.

Hayley has played a particularly important role in the Step Up Kids and Youth Ministries, helping provide a place where children and young people could learn about Jesus, grow in God’s Word, build meaningful relationships, and become part of the life of the church.

Her ministry reflects the Salinguas’ conviction that reaching the next generation is an essential part of building the Church.

Through Step Up Kids and Youth, Hayley has helped nurture an environment where young people can encounter Christ, develop their faith, discover their identity in Him, and grow toward becoming faithful followers of Jesus.

Her support and partnership have also been an important part of Pastor Walter’s ministry journey, both publicly and behind the scenes, through the many seasons of starting, building, transitioning, and growing Step Up Church.

The Heart of Step Up Church

For Walter and Hayley, “Step Up” is more than the name of a church—it is a call to action.

It is a call to:

Step up in faith.
Step up in prayer.
Step up in obedience.
Step up in service.
Step up in evangelism.
Step up in leadership.
Step up in discipleship.
Step up and follow Jesus.

Their desire is to see every person who comes to Step Up Church take another step toward Christ and discover God’s purpose for their life.

A Church of Multiplication

Pastor Walter and Hayley believe that a healthy church should continually multiply—multiplying disciples, leaders, ministries, and ultimately the reach of the Gospel.

Their vision is not simply to build a larger congregation, but to see more souls saved, more lives transformed, more disciples made, more leaders raised, and more ministries multiplied.

They desire to build a church where people are not merely spectators but active participants in God’s Kingdom—equipped to serve, empowered to lead, and sent to reach others.

Looking Ahead

The story of Step Up Church is still being written.

From seven people in a basement in 2019, God has led the church through one step after another. Every location, every ministry, every family, and every transformed life represents another chapter in the testimony of God’s grace.

Pastor Walter and Hayley remain committed to moving forward with faith and expectancy for what God will continue to do through Step Up Church.

Their prayer is to see:

More people encounter Jesus.
 More souls experience freedom.
 More disciples follow Christ.
 More leaders rise.
 More ministries multiply.
 More families grow in faith.
 More young people discover their purpose in Christ.
 And more communities are reached with the Gospel.

As they continue to serve, their desire remains simple: to faithfully follow Jesus and lead others to do the same.

From a small basement fellowship to a growing church in Calgary, the journey of Step Up Church is a reminder that God can use a small beginning, surrendered to Him, to accomplish something far greater than we could imagine.

Our Pastors’ Heart

Pastor Walter and Hayley Salingua are committed to seeing Step Up Church remain a Christ-centered, prayerful, evangelistic, discipleship-focused, and multiplying church—faithfully reaching people with the Gospel and raising generations of followers of Jesus Christ.

Every step. Every soul. Every story.

All for the glory of Jesus Christ.