Staff
Pastor Rustin
Rustin Comer has been in the ministry for 12 years. Bethel is his first ELCA church to serve and has been our Pastor since December of 2008. Rustin is currently finishing his PhD in Ethics, Theology, and Culture from Claremont Graduate University. He is working on his thesis in the area of creating an ethic of Globalization for the church. Rustin’s key life values are to pursue loving God and humanity with all he is and has, and to help create a more just world. He believes deeply that the church can and should make a difference in world in which we live. He loves to speak, read, paint, cook, have great wine and spend time with his wife Heather. Check him out on facebook or on rustinleecomer.blogspot.com
Heather has two BA degrees from Salem State University, one in
Elementary Education and another in Sociology. She also has a minor in
Youth Ministry. Heather loves working with children of all ages helping
them to develop in body, mind, and spirit. She has worked in schools,
group homes, churches and independently with families, and is currently
working with our preschool and an elementary school in Reseda.
Worship Team
Worship leaders: Ricky and Ran Jackson are founders of the band The Daylights. The Daylights are an indie rock band with a strong following in the Los Angeles area and throughout the country. They have two albums on I-tunes with a third exciting release coming out this fall. They have toured with many different bands, most recently in a cross country tour with Katie Perry and have a soulful powerful sound with dynamic lyrics. They have been members of Bethel for 3 years and joined us as our worship band a few months prior to that. Not only are they remarkable musicians but are truly incredible guys. We are proud to have them lead us as lead worshipers for our community.
Adam Farley is a drummer that has performed with a diverse group of artists, singer-songwriters, and bands. He began playing drums at age 5 and was classically trained throughout his formal years of study. He has recorded and toured with a variety artists spanning different styles of music from folk and country, to pop and hard rock. He was an original and co-founding band member The Daylights. Adam now plays as a full time member of Sparkledrive. He has toured with country artists Hank Williams III, Mindy McCready, Tommy Shane Steiner (RCA), and Catherine Britt, performed behind R&B artists, Boyz II Men, and Maya, and toured with songwriter Adam Cohen, Michael Chaves and their band, Low Millions.
Administrator
Lisa Brown has been the church administrator for 18 years. Lisa is an incredibly gifted and talented woman who has stuck with Bethel through the good and the bad. She has a deep love for animals and nature. Lisa has a beautiful family including her husband and two wonderful grown children. Beyond her incredible gifts one of the greatest delights is to come into our office and to see what random music will be playing each day and try to discern what smell of incense her and Rustin might be burning.
Preschool Director Stefani Erst was born in Orange County California. She spent the past nine years in Arizona attending college and starting a career and family. Working with young children has been a life long desire. Working with several church based preschools in Arizona, her most recent position was Assistant Director, Curriculum Trainer and Curriculum Writer for Tutor Time in Arizona. God has called her and her family to Bethel where she is committed to to bringing our preschool to the next level and helping to develop our children in body, mind and spirit.
