The wonderful people who contribute to the nuts and bolts
Bruce Reyes-Chow, Pastor
An ordained minister since 1995, this 30-something California native is the founding pastor of Mission Bay Community Church. Bruce just loves Northern California and San Francisco and is excited about the possibilities for the ministry in the Excelsior District. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a special major in Asian American Studies, Sociology, and Religion in 1990 and from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1995. He has served the Presbyterian Church (USA) over the years as a preacher, worship leader, and keynoter.
As the main speaker / preacher / talking head at MBCC, Bruce believes that a good message is one that is relevant, is compelling, and creates an emotional and intellectual connection between life and faith. He is firmly convicted that life is just chaotic and that the key to finding security amidst the chaos is not to put life in a rigidly controlled box, but to embrace and claim God’s presence in the ambiguity—a difficult way to live, but a way that honors the authenticity of our lives and strengthens our relationship with God.
Bruce has lived in San Francisco since 1989 after growing up in Sacramento and Stockton. He now lives in the Sunnyside District of San Francisco with his wife since 1990, Robin Pugh; and three daughters, Evelyn, Abigail, and Analise. His free time is filled with hanging out in cafes, cheering on those awesome Oakland Athletics, and riding his Triumph Bonneville T-100, "Trixie Triumph."
And in his spare time, he is the Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
General Blog | Moderator Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Yahoo/AIM: brucereyeschow | Google Chat: breyeschow | Skype: reyes-chow
Leslie Veen, Parish Associate
Leslie Veen grew up in rural Southern Michigan the daughter of an engineer and an Emergency Room nurse and the youngest of three children. Throughout her grade school years, Leslie and her family were deeply involved in the life of their local Baptist church. Upon graduating from high school, Leslie followed in her older sister's footsteps and attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. There she pursued a degree in teaching Spanish and Music. During her years at Calvin, Leslie learned of the Reformed faith and found it to be a good spiritual home. So she joined a local Christian Reformed Church.
A desire to continue her studies took Leslie to the University of California at Santa Barbara where she earned an M.A. in Spanish and Latin American Literature as well as doing the necessary course work to get a California teaching credential. With this credential, Leslie moved to San Francisco and oversaw the Spanish program for grades 1-8 at San Domenico Schools in San Anselmo, CA. The move to San Francisco brought with it a search for a home church. This search led Leslie to Calvary Presbyterian Church. She became a member of this church soon after moving to the city and became involved in the life and work of ministry there. After six years of overseeing the Spanish program at San Domenico, Leslie realized that teaching wasn't the path that God had laid out for her.
After a period of discernment, she applied and was accepted as a student at SFTS. She enjoyed her time as a student there and graduated with an M.Div. in 2005. Leslie had a strong desire to stay in the San Francisco area so she took her time seeking a call to allow positions to open up there. She recently joined the staff of SFTS as the Director of Vocational Formation and Placement and she is seeking to be ordained to that position. Leslie is excited to join in worship and ministry with the Mission Bay Community Church.
James - Volunteer Bookkeeper
Leadership/Session
The Session is the primary decision-making body of the church. Made up of "Elders" the Session is responsible for working in partnership with pastoral staff to embody what it means to be Mission Bay Community Church now and into the future. The areas of service are directly related to our Mission and Vision Statement
HOSPITALITY and WELCOME - Mark Regis
Responsible for the integration of visitors into the MBCC community:
TECHNOLOGY - Toby Sterrett
Responsible for the use of technology in all aspects of MBCC life.
Toby is originally from Southern California and has been at MBCC for about a year and a half. He moved up to be a web developer for a search startup that just got bought by Microsoft (but of course still uses his Mac), and enjoys playing the drums and hanging out with his wife and little girl. Toby's super excited to further develop MBCC's already prodigious embracing of technology and the web, and hopes to use this experience to improve his Stafftool app and in turn help MBCC and many other churches get more organized and streamlined in the process.
EDUCATION and SPIRITUALITY – Ryan Tang
Responsible for the educational life of adults and children at MBCC.
Ryan, along with his wife Hayley, hosts the MBCC Not-So-Serious Bible Study and teaches Sunday church school. Ryan is a native San Franciscan and works as an IT professional in Silicon Valley. He loves God, the city of San Francisco, and Cal Football.
Ryan enjoys MBCC's fun culture and believes the church has an exciting commitment to the urban community. He thinks that MBCC is already a highly educated and deeply spiritual bunch, and he welcomes the opportunity to serve as an Elder.
ADMINISTRATION and SUPPORT - Katina Miner
Responsible for the operational, fiduciary and stewardship life of MBCC.
Katina moved to the Bay Area five years ago to attend grad school at Berkeley. She started attending MBCC in 2006 when she moved close to the church's prior home in Mission Bay. When she is not knitting, puttering around the kitchen, or going on urban hikes, Katina is a lawyer. She is proud to be a member of MBCC and excited to serve the church as it builds a foundation for contributing more to the community.