Leadership Structure

Mission Statement: Making disciples who know God, who are becoming like Christ and who are working to make Him known in Silicon Valley and beyond.

Vision Statement: Experiencing and expressing the love of Jesus.

Introduction: In December 2008 the elders of Valley Church adopted a "leadership team" model for managing Valley Church under the direction of the elders. This is a change from previous leadership models relying on a single senior pastor or in recent years two co-pastors. The decision to move to the "leadership team" model is based on the practice of New Testament churches that appear to have been managed by the consensus of a group of elders not just one senior elder (Acts 14:23, 20:17, 1 Timothy 5:17, Titus 1:5).

Jesus Christ is the head of Valley Church. The elders, the pastors, and the members are all under His authority. (Romans 15:7, Colossians 3:15-16). Each one of us is a part of the body of Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:27) and each person adds an indispensable contribution to the ministry of the church.

Philosophically, we are striving to develop a culture where the majority of the paid staff of Valley Church focuses their time on supporting and training the people in the church for the work of the ministry. (Ephesians 4:11-12). Many of these incredibly gifted and passionate people are "non staff leaders" and play a key role in the life and impact of Valley Church. Through this site, we will continue to highlight these leaders and the ministries they facilitate.

The Bible uses the terms elders (presbyters) and overseers (bishops) to describe leaders (always in the plural) in the church who are both gifted and called to these offices. (Titus 1:6-7) The term pastor (shepherd) also signifies a leader (Ephesians 4:11). We use these terms to make it easier for our community to know who to direct communication toward when they have questions or comments or need to talk. At Valley we have a board of elders elected by church members. Some elders are also pastors and both elders and pastors are responsible for shepherding the church and are expected to meet the criteria for church leadership
(1Peter 5:1-4, 1Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:7-11). All leadership is modeled after Jesus, our Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4, Philippians 2:1-11).

Team Leadership: In December 2008 the elders of Valley Church adopted a "leadership team" model for managing Valley Church under the direction of the elders. This is a change from previous leadership models relying on a single senior pastor or, in recent years, two co-pastors. The decision to move to the "leadership team" model is based on the practice of New Testament churches that appear to have been managed by the consensus of a group of elders not just one senior elder (Acts 14:23, 20:17, 1 Timothy 5:17, Titus 1:5).

Structure: The "leadership team" model adopted by Valley Church is organized around four teams (Knowing, Growing, Showing, and Supporting). Each team is led by a "point pastor" who works together with the elders involved in those ministries. The four "point pastors" join together to form the "leadership team". The "staff leader," appointed by the elders, guides the "leadership team" in the exercise of their respective responsibilities. The pastors participate in all elders' meetings except when they concern salary matters. Including pastors in the elders' meetings reinforces the team approach to management under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The elders are responsible for setting the overall vision and direction of Valley Church and are the final authority in matters of church leadership. The leadership team is responsible for carrying out the day-to-day implementation of that vision. Pastors that preach/teach are appointed by the elders. When these pastors are considered for eldership, they will be presented to the congregation for approval.

Decision Making: At each level of leadership at Valley Church, decisions are made by consensus (general or widespread agreement among all members). If unanimity cannot be achieved, the minority will be asked if they can support the majority decision. If not, continued prayer and reliance on the Holy Spirit is followed until consensus is achieved. While this approach may delay some decisions and appear to be inefficient by worldly standards, we believe it will produce better decisions in the long run and promote spiritual unity among the leaders.

Current Leadership, November 2011

Elders:  Alex Auer, Jaime Burnett (Treasurer), Scott Bartell, Russ Dilley, Kurt Jones (Staff Leader), Burt Lancaster (Secretary), David Mayfield, Glen Miller, Steve Noble (Vice-Chairman), and Michael Saboff (Chairman).

Knowing Team:  Point Pastor Daniel Kim. Elders: Alex Auer, Michael Saboff, and Glen Miller. This team is responsible for welcome, worship, and preaching.

Growing Team:  Elders: Russ Dilley, Scott Bartell, and Steve Noble.
Pastors: Pat Jensen and Joe Usher. This team is responsible for Sunday school, community groups, life ministries, and discipleship electives. Life ministries include: Children's ministry, Junior and Senior High School, College, Young Adults, Valley Golden Agers, Men's and Women's ministry.

Showing Team:  Point Pastor Darren Johnson. Elders: Doug Weller, Dave Mayfield, and Kurt Jones. This team is responsible for both local missions (tennis/sports ministry, international students, the Hunt, etc.) as well as Global Outreach.

Supporting Team:  Point Pastor Jaime Burnett. Elder: Burt Lancaster. This team is responsible for the finances, maintenance, and support functions of the church.

Current Pastoral Staff Ministry Responsibilities (listed alphabetically)

Jaime Burnett -- Point Pastor/Elder of Supporting Ministries (One-third Time)

  • Hands on Finance
  • Oversight of Office -- (Office Staff)
  • Oversight of Property/Maintenance -- (Kurt Geiger, Custodial Staff)
  • Oversight of IT, Kitchen, Transportation
  • Hands on Benevolence
  • Oversight of Weddings, Funerals, Baby Dedications, Baptisms

Pat Jensen -- Pastor of Children's Ministries (Full Time)

  • Hands on Leadership of Children's Ministry, including Baby Dedications

Darren Johnson -- Point Pastor of Showing Ministries (Full Time)

  • Oversight of Local "Macro" Showing Events & Opportunities (Dave Mayfield)
  • Oversight of Showing Programs -- ISF (Dennis Low), Sports/Tennis (Thomas Sorrentino), Missions (Kurt Jones)
  • Hands on "Micro" Showing
  • Preaching
  • Hands on College Ministry
  • Hands on Welcome Ministry
  • Oversight of International Students Fellowship

Kurt Jones -- Staff Leader, Pastor/Elder of Preaching, Global Outreach (Full Time)

  • Oversight of Leadership Team
  • Preaching and oversight of preaching schedule
  • Hands on leadership of Global Outreach
  • Assist NBC Church Plant
  • Oversight of Web Site
  • Interim Oversight of Life Ministries -- Children through Golden Agers

Daniel Kim -- Point Pastor of Knowing Ministries (Full Time)

  • Hands on leadership of Worship Services
  • Hands on College Ministry
  • Oversight of Valley Music Academy
  • Oversight of Growth Ministries (tapes)

Steve Noble -- Interim

  • Hands on Community Groups

Glen Miller -- Pastor/Elder of Preaching (Quarter Time)

  • Preaching
  • Mentoring of Staff

Joe Usher -- Student Ministries Pastor (Full Time)

  • Hands on leadership of Junior High and High School Ministry

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of our pastors or elders.