Rev. Patrick O. Vance – Lead Pastor
Patrick grew up in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. At the age of 7 months he became the youngest baby in the USA to become an amputee losing his right leg below the knee due to a birth defect. At age 10 months Pat began walking on an artificial limb built by the UCLA Medical Center. After that his father left his draftsman job with Lockheed Aircraft and learned how to build artificial limbs for Pat from his childhood and well into his adult years.
Cathi McDowell met Pat through the Continentals. They toured together in 1970. and Pat proposed to her in a sidewalk cafe in Paris! They now have three children – Christina, Michael, and Elizabeth and five grandchildren (so far).
Pat is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University holding a B.A. in Biblical Literature and Speech Communication. In 1979 he graduated with honors from Western Evangelical Seminary and holds a Masters of Divinity Degree. Pat has been a youth pastor at the Eastside Free Methodist Church in Bellevue and a Senior Pastor at the Free Methodist Churches in Centralia (4 years), and Lynnwood (3 years). In 1981 Pat was special liaison to the Hungarian Evangelical Methodists.
Pat says of himself, “My passion is to connect people with Jesus Christ. I have always felt that if church is a quality place in which people can experience all aspects of faith, fellowship, stewardship and service the result will be a natural growth in the number of people involved (see Acts 2:42-47). As a result of studying the Celtic way of evangelism and the life of Saint Patrick I am more convinced than ever that pastor-leaders and church families are called to create welcoming and redemptive environments in which Christians and pre-Christians can experience faith at work.
Pastor Pat has a blog at: http://patvance.blogspot.com
Rev. Brent Johnson – Associate Pastor
Brent grew up in the Seattle area and married his best friend of his youth, Celeste, in the Fall of 1989. They have two wonderful boys, Henry and Stuart, and were thrilled to have been able to adopt two little girls from Ethiopia in 2008: Hazel and Rosalie. Those four kids keep things moving.
Brent attended Northwest University in Kirkland, WA for two years before pursuing his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Central Washington University and his Masters in Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. He, Celeste, and the brood have been here at Warm Beach Free Methodist since Easter of 2003.
Brent & Celeste are also worship artists and songwriters, writing music that is used in worship here at our church and in other churches near and far. They’ve released five CDs, the latest of which is called Presence, and which contains several songs we sing regularly on Sunday mornings here at the Warm Beach Church. Their website can be found at BrentandCeleste.com.
Celeste is a primary teacher in the Everett School District who loves gardening. Brent’s hobby of choice is his motorcycle. But as a family, they love the outdoors; their tent-trailer gets a lot of use during the summer months here in the beautiful Northwest and anywhere their wanderlust might take them.
Pastor Sam Schaar – Associate Pastor
Sam and his wife Rachelle both grew up in Minnesota, but met each other while attending Seattle Pacific University. They graduated together in 2006 and were married a week after graduation! Whew! They moved to Princeton, New Jersey in the fall of 2006 where Sam began his seminary education at Princeton Theological Seminary. Sam graduated in 2009 with a Masters of Divinity and they returned to the Pacific Northwest in July of 2009.
Sam and Rachelle have a son named Cadence Walter Schaar who was born on June 13, 2010 in Mt. Vernon, WA. They love to watch him do baby stuff!
Sam and Rachelle have a dog named Benny (a Yorkie-poo). They love to go for walks together and finding creative ways to make each other laugh. Sam loves to read and can often be found spending his free time with his nose in a book. He also loves to spend time talking about theology in coffee shops!
Pastor Sam has a blog at: http://www.samuelschaar.blogspot.com
Pastor Brian Hoyer -
Youth Pastor and Director of Serve it Up Ministries
Brian has been serving youth in the Stanwood Camano area since September of 2008 directing a community service program called Serve It Up (formerly Project Serve with Youth for Christ). From June 2010-June 2011 he worked at The Station (a youth pool hall downtown) & continued to coordinate Serve It Up through Stanwood Community Ministries. Brian is currently serving as the youth pastor at our church and continuing the ministry of Serve It Up through a grant from Stanwood Community Ministries.
Brian is blessed by his beautiful wife, Lindsey, and his daughter, Journey (born 7/29/2009). Lindsey teaches swing ballroom, and Latin dancing at The Atrium in downtown Stanwood. As a family they enjoy hiking, exploring, dancing, & experiencing new things.
“I’m excited to be a part of what God is doing in the hearts of youth in our church & in the community. I hope to empower & encourage each person to use their God-given talents & gifts so that we may experience Jesus through each other & the world may feel His love through our everyday lives.”
