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Staff
We have a committed team of staff eager to get to know
you and hang out with you. Each staff member brings
something unique to our ministry. Read through the
bios to learn more about them. They're here for you! |
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Brian
Eberly - Read Pastor Brian's blog. |
| Pastor
to Students |
| Birthplace |
Birthdate |
| Anaheim,
CA |
December
31st, 1966 |
| Hobbies/Interest |
| Spending
time with and loving God and my family, music,
coffee, gardening, and the beach! |
| Life
Dream |
| To
have a lead role in a major motion picture. To
tour with a band. To have a house on the beach
in Southern California. I don't want much! |
| Greatest
Achievement |
| Being
given the priviledge of serving our great God.
All other achievements (blessings) and there are
MANY are a direct result of God's blessing! |
| Why MS Ministry |
| One
word...Energy! I love the energy and enthusiasm
of middle schoolers and love to see them fall in
love with Jesus and give their lives to serving
Him. |
| More..... |
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Stephen Fiddes |
| Birthplace |
Birthdate |
| Portland, OR |
June 27, 1991 |
| Hobbies/Interest |
| Guitar, Friends, Civil Air Patrol |
| Life Dream |
| Touring Sound Technician. Be a good friend. |
| Greatest Achievement |
| Life |
| Why MS Ministry |
| Energy. The longing to serve in the church. |
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AJ Geist |
| Birthplace |
Birthdate |
| Portland OR! |
March 1, 1985 |
| Hobbies/Interest |
| Swimming, reading, writing/blogging, coffee & conversation with friends, history, music – playing, writing, and listening to everything from jazz to metal |
| Life Dream |
| To write the great American novel, to play drums for any of my favorite bands, or Brian Eberly. |
| Greatest Achievement |
| Asking myself the tough questions as they come. |
| Why MS Ministry |
| Middle-Schoolers are a challenge. They love to have fun. They are diving into a journey that will be confusing, adverse, and exciting. I only hope to show them that they matter, and challenge them as well. |
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Tyson Mangelsdorf |
| Birthplace |
Birthdate |
| Portland, OR |
March 14, 1971 |
| Hobbies/Interest |
| I love connecting my Gibson SG into my 150 Watt dual 12-inch speaker combo amp and flooding the room with big sounds rendered by my tiny fingers . I love sketching and illustrating odd, fictitious, soul-burdened characters that convey common emotions we can relate to. I enjoy the feeling of my lungs inflating with oxygen as I hit a strong stride during a run on the beach. I dig the cracking and straining of my elbows and spine as I curl a bar of iron weights to my shoulder line. I like hanging out in the mostly tiny windows of sun we get here in Oregon whenever the moment arrives. |
| Life Dream |
| Well, my life dream since I was a kid was to become a professional artist working from home in Oregon and share my life with an amazing wife and awesome kids. To my benefit, God made that dream the life I live and I haven't quite figured out what the next dream is yet. This one's hard to beat. |
| Greatest Achievement |
| Not sure—there's so many. I mean, I'm just so awesome in so many ways. The humble spirit I've developed and mastered is probably my greatest achievement. |
| Why MS Ministry |
| Since my kids were born, I've been reliving my childhood as I sit along side them through each phase of life. For my son, Evan, he's now in middle school—and for the moment, so am I. At some level, it's good for the soul to get outside your own age group. We can get stuck in its limitations, thinking things like, "I'm old and can't do stuff," and, "how can I get the edging on my lawn straight." In Middle School ministry, fresh perspectives I once encountered from long ago reach all the way back from 1983 like a giant hand and slap me across the face saying "wake up, old man." Is it painful you ask? Oh yes, indeed, but I get to enforce my will on people smaller than me and blow their minds away with my awesome wisdom. So it works out. |
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Kevin
O’Halloran |
| Birthplace |
Birthdate |
| Tigard,
OR |
Nov.
20, 1959 |
| Hobbies/Interest |
| I
read a bit, I love a good story. I like hiking,
cycling, and hunting. But mostly I love to fish
- steelhead and salmon in the N.W. rivers year
round, and I don’t care what the weather’s
like. Have driftboat will travel. I fish, therefore,
I am. |
| Life
Dream |
| To
make a living fishing everyday. |
| Greatest
Achievement |
| I
married well (20 years now), and I have two great
kids, a mide schooler and a high schooler. |
| Why
MS Ministry |
| It’s
a challenge relating to people 3 decades younger
but...it keeps me young. Teenage years are pivotal
for many people - I’ve seen so many teens
make bad choices that mess up their lives forever.
Many of my close friends and relatives wrecked
their lives by taking wrong turns as teenagers.
It’s exciting for me to help teens make good
choices. Choices made in the early years can make
lives good forever. |
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Chris
Pierce |
| Birthplace |
Birthdate |
| Oakland, California |
1961 |
| Hobbies/Interest |
| Photography, outdoor stuff like hiking/rafting/camping, and oddly enough I enjoy cooking (eating too). |
| Life
Dream |
| Spend several months on a
private Caribbean island. The water is clear and warm. Of course, I want to completely skip the
hurricane season. It seems like a wonderful place to relax. |
| Greatest
Achievement |
| Becoming a parent
is one of the most difficult, demanding, and rewarding things I can think of.
If I had to list something else it would be attending college and getting a Bachelor's degree. |
| Why
MS Ministry |
| I don't think I
grew up so I am able to really identify with this age group.
Plus they get to do a lot of cool stuff. Or, it could be that my daughter is in the Middle School
program and I want to be involved. |
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Kathy Schoppe |
| Birthplace |
Birthdate |
| Portland, OR |
April 8, 1966 |
| Hobbies/Interest |
| Reading, cooking, walking, spending time with my family and friends, listening to music. I love to learn, so you can usually find me researching something. Some of my friends even ask me to do research for them, because I just love it. |
| Life
Dream |
| To be obedient and available for every step God asks me to take for Him! |
| Greatest
Achievement |
| Being saved by the grace of God. |
| Why
MS Ministry |
| My son is now in Middle School with the next one beginning next year and I LOVE to teach! So here I am, back in Middle School...Also, I am in Seminary to complete my Masters Degree with emphasis in Pastoral care, this is a great opportunity to use the education I am being given, and speaking is my passion. I used to speak in the corporate world, now I am speaking for Jesus. |
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Gloria
Schwindt |
| Birthplace |
Birthdate |
| Eugene,
OR |
June
10 |
| Hobbies/Interest |
| Music, reading, my pets,
camping, sports (especially the Ducks), friends and family |
| Life
Dream |
| To play the piano, To make
a difference in someone's life. |
| Greatest
Achievement |
| My marriage and my 2 daughters,
Learning the extent of God's love and grace. |
| Why
MS Ministry |
| Because kids are great and
I miss mine at home! |
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Amy Van Slyke
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| Birthplace |
Birthdate |
| Portland, OR |
July 14, 1987 |
| Hobbies/Interest |
| Hanging with friends, reading, swimming, playing with small children, non-coffee drinks at Starbucks con mis amigos, curling up in front of the fire with a blanket and a good book (something by Jane Austin maybe), Cole Porter musicals (Broadway Melody of 1940 is amazing!), and of course taking naps! |
| Life
Dream |
| Getting to a point where I can fully trust God with ALL that happens in my life. |
| Greatest
Achievement |
| Being in two hemispheres at one time.. |
| Why
MS Ministry |
| Middle schoolers are crazy and I love it! God taught me a ton during my difficult years in middle school and I know that those truths are still relevent today. I just hope that I can encourage the kids with those truths and challenge them as well. |
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