Church Staff |
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Keith Potter
Senior Pastor
408-867-1000, x248
keith@saratogafederated.org |
| Keith Potter has been the Senior
Pastor at Saratoga Federated Church since March
of 1999. Keith is responsible for much of the preaching
and staff leadership and collaborates with the
Elders to set direction for the church. While the
demands of pastoring a large congregation are many
and diverse, Keith still enjoys those classic pastoral
moments of listening, praying and being with people
during their greatest joys and stresses. |
| Keith and Sue Potter have three
children. They moved to Saratoga from Paradise,
CA, where they served the Paradise Alliance Church
for seven years. Prior to that, the Potters served
a church in El Cajon, CA (now East Hills Christian
Church) for eight years. Keith and Sue met at Northwest
Christian College in Eugene, OR. Keith received
a Master of Divinity degree at Fuller Theological
Seminary in Pasadena. |
| A theme verse that drives Keith's
ministry is 1
Timothy 1:5, "The
goal of our instruction is love that springs from
a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith." Thus
the great passions of Keith's ministry are character-based
leadership and the spiritual intangibles that are
hugely consequential to personal and church health
and growth. He has spoken on these (and other)
topics at camps, campuses and conferences. |
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Arvin Engelson
Pastor of Care Ministries
408-867-1000, x231
arvin@saratogafederated.org |
| Arvin Engelson has served Saratoga
Federated Church since 1978. For many years he
was Pastor for Congregational Care, where he cultivated
mutual care ministries and specialized in pastoral
counseling. Recently, because of his unique combination
of skills and experience, Arvin was named as SFC's
Pastor for Community Care. In this role, Arvin
will lead our congregation's compassionate engagements
with human needs in the Bay Area in an outwardly
focused ministry. |
| Arvin and his wife Dale grew up
in Santa Barbara, California, and have been married
for 32 years. They have three daughters. Parish
ministry is a second career for Arvin. Before joining
SFC, he was a counselor at a public college in
Maryland and a private college in Massachusetts.
Arvin did his masters work at Gordon-Conwell in
Massachusetts and his doctoral work at Princeton. |
| When asked to identify a guiding
text of scripture Arvin cited Micah
6:8: "This is what
Yahweh asks of you: only this, to act justly, to
love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God." |
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Tim Galleher
Pastor of Students
408-867-1000, x234
tim@saratogafederated.org |
| Tim joined the SFC pastoral staff
in January, 1996 as Associate Pastor of Student
Ministries. Today he provides oversight to Student
ministries. Tim's passion is for our students to
have an intimate personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. The mission/vision statement of our ministry
to students is the following: |
| "Our ministry exists to
reach students, to connect them with Christians,
to help them grow in their faith, to challenge
them to serve others using their God-given gifts,
and to honor God with their daily lives." |
| God has blessed this ministry and
we are seeing so many students come to know the
Lord and live for Him. |
| Tim and his wife Cara were married
in 1989. They have three children. As a family
they love going on adventures and having fun. |
| The Gallehers came to SFC after
15 years of ministry in Glendale, California through
the Glendale YMCA and Glendale Presbyterian Church.
Tim received his MDIV from Fuller Theological Seminary
in Pasadena. The theme verses for Tim's ministry
are Matthew
22:37-40 (The Great Commandment) and Matthew
28:19-20 (The Great Commission). |
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Bill Allison
Pastor of Worship and Congregational Life bill@saratogafederated.org |
| Bill Allison joined the staff at
Saratoga Federated in January, 2008, and is delighted
to lead in the areas of worship and congregational
life. Bill is passionate about impacting the world
for Christ through music and the creative arts.
His life goal of encouraging people to be true
worshippers is reflected in some of his favorite
scripture verses, John
4:23 &
24: "But an hour is
coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such
people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God
is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship
in spirit and truth." Bill has been
privileged to enjoy past seasons of ministry in
Los Gatos, CA for 20 years, Bremerton, WA for 3 ½ years,
and Reedley, CA for 3 years, before coming to SFC.
His broad background in music of widely varied
styles, musical theater, involvement with arts
in the community, travel, and love for people have
enriched both his artistic and spiritual life.
He is partnered in life and ministry with his wife,
Diane. Two sons, Chris and Will, complete the Allison
family. |
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Sally Bryant
Sr. Director, Adult Education &
Discipleship
sally@saratogafederated.org |
| Sally joined the staff in June 2008
bringing a passion to link education with those
intentional practices designed to bring us closer
to God. While the Silicon Valley lifestyle can
encumber the one who seeks a more contemplative
approach to a Christian walk, Sally believes it
remains a key component of one desiring to be more
like Christ. Consequently, she looks forward to
developing programs to affirm and support people
in the most exciting journey ever taken: the journey
to become more like Christ. |
| Her love of education has been expressed
through her pursuit of a Masters Degree in Educational
Administration and a Doctoral Degree in Education
with an emphasis on Organization and Leadership.
She served for eleven years as an instructor and
dean at two Christian colleges. From there her
journey took her to the corporate world of high
tech where she was responsible for managing a global
training program and directing marketing communications.
She sees all of these experiences as preparation
for being a part of staff at SFC and the unique
calling available to her in this position. |
| The words of Jeremiah
29:11: "For I know
the plans I have for you,"
declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and
not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future," come
to her mind as she considers those she seeks to
serve. It affirms the goodness of God she has come
to know in her own life. It is her prayer that
many will continue living in the light of that
goodness and on into the future designed uniquely
for each individual. |
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Jerry Bruce
Director of Church Administration
408-867-1000, x249
jerry@saratogafederated.org |
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Debbie Sturm
Director of Children's Ministry
408-867-3456
debbie@saratogafederated.org |
| Debbie joined the SFC staff in October,
2005 as Elementary Coordinator. She coordinates
the Sunday school program for first through fifth
grades as well as many special events for the kids.
Debbie enjoys spending time with kids and sharing
her love of Jesus with them. |
| The mission statement of the children's
program is: "Our ministry exists to Reach
children, to Connect them with Christians, to help
them Grow in their faith, to challenge them to
Serve others using their God-given gifts, and to
Honor God with their daily lives." |
| God has blessed the children's ministry
program, and it is growing in every age level.
Seeing God at work in the lives of the children
and their families here at SFC is very exciting. |
| Debbie and her husband, Erick, were
married in 1979. They have two grown children,
Erick and Michael Lynn. |
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Copyright © 2009 by Saratoga Federated Church,
Saratoga, California. All rights reserved. |
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