Leadership
PASTORS AS SHEPHERDS
The Bible assigns the responsibility of leadership in a local church—not to a senior pastor, deacon, denomination, or conference—but to a group of men defined as elders (Acts 14:23; 20:28; 1 Tim. 3:1; Tit. 1:7). Elders are spiritually mature men who hold a reputation in their community as biblically qualified according to the requirements set in 1 Timothy and Titus (1 Tim. 3:1-16; Tit. 1:6-9). Their responsibility is to teach, lead, and shepherd, the local gathering of God’s people (1 Pet. 5:1-4.
The word “pastor” in the New Testament comes from the Greek word for “shepherd” used to describe an elder. In other words, a pastor is not a biblical office of church leaders, but a word describing what church leaders must do (Eph. 4:11; 1 Pet. 5:1-4). Even though our paid elders are titled as pastors, their biblical office is equally the same as the other non-paid elders. Together, they serve as undershepherds of the Good Shepherd whom God has appointed as Head of the Church (Jn. 10:11; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4; Heb. 13:20).
Stephen Angliss
Senior Pastor
Moody Bible Institute (B.A. Biblical Exposition)
The Master’s Seminary (M.Div., Th.M, current)
Originally from Pennsylvania, Pastor Stephen has spent his entire adult life in the Pacific Northwest and now considers it home (but he will always remain a Washington Commanders fan!)
Saved at a young age, Stephen realized that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). As a high schooler, Pastor Stephen first became convicted to preach the Word and shepherd the Church when he began reading the letters of Paul. Since then, he has served the church in numerous ways, including as a high school Bible and history teacher at a classical Christian school near Seattle, and as a senior pastor in Idaho.
Stephen loves to read, especially classic literature, and books on American history—particularly Pacific Northwest history. He also loves to hike, watch sports, spend time with family, and listen to indie folk music. He is married to his beautiful wife Kimmie and together they have a precious daughter named Anna—and a big fluffy cat named Sophie.
Stephen has been published by the Gospel Coalition and has appeared on regional radio programs and podcasts to discuss topics related to Scripture. He regularly speaks at church and youth events in the region and is currently pursuing his Master of Theology in Biblical Exposition at The Master’s Seminary.
His favorite hymns are “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand” and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” He has been blessed by Christian authors such as J.I. Packer, Mark Dever, John Piper, and C.S. Lewis, especially The Weight of Glory. Stephen considers Philippians 3:10 his life verse.
You can follow Pastor Stephen on Twitter and connect with him and Kimmie on Facebook.
Jay Schilling
Worship Pastor
The Lord used the life story of several NFL football players to capture Pastor Jay’s attention when he was 13 years old. The message was simple but eye opening – “There’s something more important than being successful in sports; it is having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.” This happened at a Christian summer camp in the Redwoods of northern California. After hearing the gospel clearly presented at that camp and realizing how God demonstrated His amazing love for people through Christ, Jay confessed his need for forgiveness through the Lord Jesus and gave his life to follow Him in 1984. Things slowly changed as he grew in his understanding of the Lord and His Word through discipleship at college and at church. After marrying the love of his life, Vicki, in 1993, they moved to the Seattle area to start a new life together and for Jay to pursue his Master’s degree in Music Performance at the University of Washington.
During that time, the Lord’s calling to go into ministry was clear and after finishing his degree, Pastor Jay accepted the call to be the first Youth and Music Pastor at GEBC in July of 1996. Jay & Vicki have served at GEBC since that time. In 2004, the Lord led the church leadership to ask Pastor Jay to focus full time on leading the music ministry, along with other various responsibilities. His passion to see the Lord lifted up in worship and honored through music has fueled him to write several of the worship songs we sing on Sunday mornings. Vicki has been a faithful Precepts Bible study discussion leader since the ministry started at GEBC (1998) and she has also served in many other areas in the church to point people to Jesus and His Word. Both Jay and Vicki long to see people learn to study and know God’s Word for themselves.
Jay and Vicki are blessed to have two beautiful daughters, Hannah and Gracie, who serve on the worship team. They all enjoy living in the Pacific Northwest and love to hike (especially the trails around Mt. Rainier), participate in various sports and to play different genres of music. One of Jay’s favorite activities is to go fly-fishing. As a family, they are passionate about glorifying God through growing in their understanding of God’s Word and seeing people come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.
John Davenport
Youth Pastor
Liberty University (B.A. Youth Ministry)
Southeastern Baptist Seminary (M.A. Religious Studies)
John was born and raised in northern Virginia, 45 minutes from D.C in a town not too dissimilar to Puyallup. John grew up in the church but didn’t actually begin his own walk of faith until his sophomore year of high school after his friend invited him to youth group in a time of dire need. The youth pastor preached out of Matthew 6:24-34, and John realized that this God that he had a lot of head knowledge about, but still seemed distant from, is incredibly close and knows him intimately, and wants to provide for him, and all he had to do was to pursue God rather than his own prideful, selfish desires, and idols he had made for himself. John recognized his need for a savior, confessed his sins, and found relief, peace, joy, and fulfillment in Jesus. That summer, John felt his call to ministry, as God saved him through youth ministry, that is how he serves Him.
John met his best friend and wife at Liberty University during their studies there. They dated for almost 8 years, the majority of those years being long distance, as John finished his schooling, and Marissa worked full time in New York City and then in Atlanta, Georgia. John and Marissa got married in North Georgia on September 30th, 2023! John loves being active in nature, whether it be hiking, camping, canoeing, or kayaking. John grew up active in sports, his main sport being volleyball, and he loves to go see games (Kraken and Mariners especially). Marissa and John both love to cook and bake together and are both coffee lovers. They love exploring local restaurants and coffee shops on their dates!
John’s studies have instilled a hunger for knowledge in him, he likes to read when he can, and is always looking to learn something new or deepen his knowledge on a topic he’s familiar with. His favorite authors are C.S Lewis and Timothy Keller. John’s favorite passage from the Bible is Romans 8:15-18, and his favorite worship songs are: In Christ Alone, Jesus Paid it All, and Come Thou Fount
Meredith Ayling
Associate Pastor
I can look back now and see how God used circumstances and people to draw me to Him.
When I was 12 years old my Sunday school teacher led me to the Lord. I told him that I had been hearing the Pastor say “If you have never invited Jesus into your heart you can do that now”, and that I wanted to know what that meant. He told me that to invite Jesus in my heart was to admit that I was a sinner and to ask Jesus to come in and change me. It wasn’t until a few years later that I really understood what God had done in my life. When I was in High School I didn’t make a conscious effort to disobey God, it just came naturally. In 1982 at the age of 18 I rededicated my life to the Lord and prayed that he would help me stay connected to him. Since then God has been so faithful and I praise him everyday for the life he has given me.
Pastor Meredith has served as Elder and since August of 2008 has served as an associate Pastor here at Graham Emmanuel. His wife Tina has been our church secretary since 2003.
They have three grown children: Aryana, Ashley and Andy and Solomon is their son-in-law.
Pete Miles
GEBC Board Chairmen & Elder
Chris Haugen
Elder
Dan Guay
Elder
Originally from Southern California, Dan moved to Washington in 2002. At the age of five, he embraced his faith in Christ, which continues to shape his life. He leads the Men’s Ministry, serves as the Planning Center Administrator, and provides website assistance. Dan cherishes his loving wife and three daughters, finding joy in every moment spent with them. When not with his family, he enjoys the racquetball court to stay active and energized.
Tom Swick
Elder
Josh Wikander
Elder