Our Team

Mitch came to the Lord in 1989 being set free from the bondage of drugs and alcohol.  In 2006, he came on staff as the evangelism and missions pastor at the church.  As a certified biblical counselor, he loves helping others overcome life-dominating sins, addictions, and other hindrances that keep people from experiencing the true joy which life in Christ provides. He has been married to his wife Kathy for nearly 40 years and they enjoy hiking, reading, and spending time with their family and friends.

Joel has been serving on the pastoral staff at SW Hills for the past 18 years.  His areas of responsibility are administration, financial management, and facility maintenance. Joel sees his role at SW Hills to be one of supporting and facilitating all the ministries of the church in multiple ways. Joel and his wife, Cathy, came to SW Hills in 1995.  They have four grown children and ten grandchildren.  Joel graduated from Prairie Bible College in Alberta, Canada, spent 15 years in the financial services industry both as an investment broker and Founder/President of a software company before taking on his role at SW Hills. Prior to and during his years in college, Joel worked in his family’s nursery where he developed his love of flowers, a love he shares through his management of the church’s flower beds and hanging baskets. 

Jim has been serving as the youth pastor at SW Hills for over 22 years. His goal is to equip and encourage youth to discover who they are in Christ and use their God-given gifts to serve. Jim’s other duties include leading worship and facilitating music and tech teams for Sunday mornings. Jim desires to follow Philippians 2:3-8 which focuses on having Christ’s humility as we serve others. He has been married to his wife Celeste for over 36 years and they have two adult children. Jim’s favorite things include: spending time with his family, missions, reading, teaching, skiing, and being with people.

Stephen recently started serving as the Community Life Pastor at SW Hills. He grew up in Beaverton, went to Oregon State University, and majored in Finance while doing Army ROTC. Upon graduating, he served seven years as a Transportation and Logistics Officer until 2021 when he left active duty and began seminary in pursuit of becoming an Army chaplain and pastor. He loves seeing lives changed in the Army Reserves where he serves as a chaplain and connecting the people of SW Hills together.  Life in Christ is not a solo activity and we need each other as we continue growing as disciples of Christ as we are transformed by the power of the Gospel. He and his wife Emily and they have two children: Abigail and Eleanor. They enjoy being in God's creation by hiking, seeing waterfalls, visiting parks, and relaxing with friends and a good board game.

Sevrin grew up with parents who loved Jesus and shared the Good News with him. After some rougher high school years, God captured Sevrin's heart and affections while he was backpacking through the Austrian Alps. Sevrin currently serves on the Sunday Teaching Team, with the aim of faithfully teaching God's Word, magnifying Christ, so God's people are empowered to hear God's voice and walk in God's ways. Sevrin joined SW Hills staff in 2022 and started full time in 2025 as the Teaching and Care pastor, overseeing the teaching/preaching team and providing counseling for those in the church family. Sevrin and his wife, Megan, have three children and desire their lives to be a reflection of the love of God found in Jesus Christ. They enjoy outdoor adventures, dancing in the kitchen, and a table surrounded by good friends.

Kathy currently serves as the Director of Children’s Ministry at SW Hills.  She enjoys seeing children memorize Scripture in AWANA and their lives changed as they understand God’s Word in Sunday School.  She has been married to Mitch for nearly 40 years and loved homeschooling her four sons and now spending time with her two grandchildren.  She appreciates seeing children’s joy in the Lord as they choose to follow Him. 

Kelly is currently serving as the church secretary at SW Hills.  She was raised in Portland, and she graduated from Portland State University with a degree in Arts & Letters, as well as a minor in Writing and a minor in English. Before she joined the SW Hills team, her most recent position was as an administrative assistant at the Luis Palau Association, a Christian missionary organization. Kelly enjoys working in support roles and providing the administrative work necessary to see churches and ministries succeed. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, hiking, and spending time with friends and family. 

Trevor accepted Christ at a young age and has been at SW Hills since 6th grade!  Over the years he has seen the refining work of Christ in his life. He was blessed to have numerous pastors, missionaries, and godly influences that helped shape and develop him in his faith. He is a mechanical engineer, father of three sons and has enjoyed serving in children’s ministry over the years, especially in AWANA, with his wife Mandy.  He and his family enjoy hanging out with friends, reading books, outdoor activities (like camping, hiking, rafting, etc...), and playing all types of games including board games, video games, sports games, card games and more! 

Larry, a retired physician, and his wife of 46 years (Loni) are long serving members of Southwest Hills (1981).  They have four children and nine grandchildren.  Their passion is to help grandparents grow in their biblical role of having a greater spiritual impact on their families (Deut 4:9).  As such, they started GrandLife as a ministry to encourage and equip grandparents in being intentional at passing on their faith so that multiple generations follow Christ.  They have also served as Community Group leaders for several years. 

Don was born in Florida and grew up in the church but did not know Christ as his Savior.  After serving in the military, he moved to Oregon and started his career at IBM. He got married to his wife Joyce, and 8 weeks after starting their life together, they also started a new life with Christ when they both were saved at the ages of 29 and 27. Don and Joyce have been attending SW Hills for the last 10 years. He enjoys leading a Community Group, serving as an elder, and is also a session leader with a local apologetics group (The Ambassadors Forum).  He and Joyce have 4 kids and 6 grandkids. He loves golfing, gardening with Joyce, and being in the great outdoors!

Mike grew up in a Christian home, but did not have a strong understanding of what God has done until the teen years when he was faced with the reality of Christ and was saved.  Over the years he has seen his identity change and grow more in love with Christ. At SW Hills Mike has been involved with community groups, men’s discipleship groups, and helping with other men’s ministry functions. He married his high school sweetheart Nichole, and they have three wonderful kids! Mike works for a company focused on commodities within the lumber industry as a manager of software development. For fun he enjoys backpacking/hiking, hunting/fishing, messing around with random tech, and spending time with his wife and kids. 

Ian was blessed to be raised in a Christian family by parents who taught him the Gospel. While initially professing faith in Christ as his Savior when he was five years old, in his early twenties, developed a stronger relationship with Jesus through discipleship by godly men. During his time at SW Hills he has led men’s discipleship and been involved in community groups. Ha has been blessed with a wonderful wife, Becky, and together have three adult children. He is employed as a manager of a team of data analysts for a health insurance carrier. They own a small hobby farm which includes a variety of birds, two dogs, and a goat. He enjoys playing soccer to stay active, reading history books, and dating his wife.

As a child, Dave attended a Bible Church and asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior at age 9. He and his wife (Pam) began attending Southwest Hills in 2008 and became members soon after. He enjoys serving on the Worship Team and as a Community Group Leader. He was recently asked if he would serve as an Elder, and we have been blessed by his service since accepting! When he considers all that Christ has done for him, he is eager to serve Him. He and Pam have 3 children and 7 grandchildren. 

Rick was the teaching pastor of Southwest Hills for thirty-four years. He retired in 2019, and the elders sent him and his wife, Diane, to minister in churches around the Northwest through teaching, counseling, and mentoring. In 2023, the leaders of SW Hills asked Rick to take on more of the preaching responsibility of our church, and he has been part of the teaching team on Sunday mornings ever since. Rick and Diane stay busy in ministry by praying, teaching, counseling, mentoring, and writing. Rick like to say he’s not retired but redeployed! Rick and Diane have four children and fifteen grandchildren, and they love to spend time with their family, to hike, and to take walks together.

Keith has been married to Julie since 1991 and they have five grown children. Keith
grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee and later attended Wheaton College where he earned
a degree in Christian Education (1989) and a M.A. in Educational Ministries (1991)
from the Wheaton Graduate School. After serving as a youth pastor in Knoxville TN,
he and Julie moved to Mexico in 1993 where they were missionaries with Mission To
The World (PCA) for 19 years in Mexico City and Guadalajara. He returned with his
family to Portland in 2011 and worked as a pastor for 11 years before becoming Field
Director for Mexican Medical Ministries where He presently serves. In his free time
he enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends (as well as his 2 dogs) and
playing sports as his body permits!

Kerry has attended SW Hills since 1984 and served as a pastor from 1989 until retiring in 2023. He still directs the Biblical Counseling Ministry and the Care Ministries of the church where he loves seeing people practically love others with the Gospel. Kerry has a background in the electronics industry, an M. Div. degree, a Masters In Biblical Counseling from Faith Seminary in Lafayette, Indiana, and is an ACBC Certified Biblical counselor. While counseling he has enjoyed seeing the power of God's Word transform people's marriages, relationships, and life trajectory because of a right understanding and application of Scripture. Kerry and his wife Rosalie have four grown children and twelve grandchildren.