As you know by now, we have had some staff changes during the end of 2020. So we just wanted to drop a line and share who’s who in the church leadership. We share so there is transparency and understanding of what each ministry staff member does, not necessarily to pat ourselves on the back. All of our work is for Jesus, so that the YK Delta (and everyone) would know what an awesome God we serve! Please pray for the leadership of the church as we strive to hear the voice of the Lord amidst the current normal and serve the YK Delta well.
Pastor Adam is our Senior Pastor. I’m sure you know that Pastor Adam is the face behind the pulpit / glass on Sunday mornings. Officially, he is the head of the church staff and church ministries. This includes overseeing all preaching and teaching ministries. For Pastor Adam, this means that he oversees and/or preaches at the 8:30 AM service, the 11 AM service, and the midweek Celebrate Recovery service (which is temporarily not meeting). He also provides worship at the 8:30 AM service and through compiling volunteer choir pieces. In regard to teaching ministries, he regularly meets with various Bible study leaders, attends them throughout the week, and teaches as needed. He will be leading two studies this semester (Parenting on Sunday evenings and Jesus and the Eskimo on Thursdays). Additionally, Pastor Adam taught at Alaska Christian College virtually last semester. When in session, Pastor Adam also manages the Quyana Cafe and assists with youth group and children’s ministries.
Pastor Adam also works to serve the community as a representative of the Covenant Church. He does this through primary ways. 1) Serves as a board member on the Bethel Family Clinic. 2) Serves on the board for Bethel Winter House. 3) Oversees the food security ministry at BECC. This involves cooking meals frequently for Bethel Winter House, securing and handing out food vouchers from the Salvation Army, handing out Full Circle boxes, and rotating leadership for Supper Club (our weekly, winter soup kitchen).
In addition to all of this, Pastor Adam meets regularly with those in the church and community (often as they stop by to pick something up or drop in seeking counsel). He also meets with the church board at least once a month. He truly is aware of the current events in most ministries and is active in many ministries across the church.
Please pray for Pastor Adam as he represents the Lord by serving in all of these roles and continues to lead his family with Shirleen.
Elisabeth Jacobson is our Ministry Communications Director. This is a title change for me. I originally was hired on as the administrative assistant and over time, my role has become less secretarial and more about communicating with guests, the community, members, and regular attenders via text, email, the website, and social media. I also work to increase communication between ministries and people. Additionally, I do the bookkeeping for the church and work with the treasurer and payroll bookkeeper on making sure our records are accurate and understandable. It is also my role to help with various ministries as needed, such as with scheduling volunteers, helping with food security ministries, and rotating leadership for Supper Club. I also work to make sure the tasks necessary to keep our building usable and inviting are done.
Mike White is our Technical Director. Mike was hired in late fall due to his exceptional volunteer work in making our Sunday mornings run smoothly. He has helped us stream our parking lot services to Facebook and Zoom and now YouTube. He also uploads the services to YouTube so they can be watched in the future. Mike is also responsible for getting the lyrics on the screen so we can participate in worship more readily. Mike handles the sound and has made the service worth watching regarding quality. We are excited to have Mike’s technical skills on staff and to handle all the dreams we have for Sunday services.
John and Beth Sargent are our custodians. They come in once a week and make sure our building is clean, trash is removed, and the building is ready for use on Sundays. They have been working diligently to make sure the building is safe for use and stocked up with the necessary supplies. We appreciate them continuing to serve in this capacity during COVID.
Our board leadership consists of Phillip Perry, John Trimble, Dan Hannah, James Jaskowiak, Corey Zink, Adam London, and Eli Jacobson. They meet at least once a month and ensure that the church is operating to serve Jesus well and the YK Delta well. At their January meeting on the 18th they will be determining board roles. They oversee the pastor and staff, provide ministry insight and leadership, make financial decisions, and ensure the building and other assets are maintained and functional.
Volunteers. Of course, we would not be able to function without our volunteer support. We use volunteers in almost every area of the church. Thank you if you are serving Jesus through partnering with our church. If you would like to volunteer and serve, but don’t know how, please let me know! We use volunteers in worship, volunteer choir, organization, children’s ministries, youth ministries, teaching ministries, food security, Supper Club, and in so many other little, but important ways.
Thank you for allowing us to serve Jesus alongside you!
Blessings!
–Elisabeth
Ministry Communications Director
PS: With some changes in our staff, we summarized the roles of the church staff and leadership. Please pray as they lead our church during our current normal. You can learn more about people at our church leadership page: https://www.bethelcovenant.org/leadership/
