Bios / Staff at a Glance

Roger VanSpronsen

Executive Pastor

"You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take..." The "country" from which SMCC acquired Rogers is Michigan, but even after 20 years has not completely succeeded in removing Michigan from him. Part of the reason for this is that Michigan was a good country for him. Michigan provided a godly Christian home with loved and beloved parents, wonderful private Christian education concluding with a Greek language degree from Calvin College, lakes and fishing, a dear wife and mother for their three children, a call from God into ministry, and fishing.

The love of Roger's life is his God and the saints (with special mention of the four saints who share an earthly address with him). The passion of his life is the Word of God. The call to minister God's Word to God's people explains the Greek language degree and the move to California in 1985 to attend Fuller Seminary. Opportunities to minister to the saints have presented themselves through various pastoral ministry positions at SMCC through the past 20 years. Currently serving as the Executive Pastor, Rogers seeks to fulfill the "executive" part well and quickly in order to stay devoted to the "pastor" part. He and Jan have three deeply loved and enjoyed teenagers who keep their bank balances low and are growing in the grace of Jesus Christ. Besides duties on the home front, Jan serves as Principal of San Gabriel Christian School and as a teacher in SMCC's Women's Ministries. As a family they enjoy athletics, boating and watersports, camping, life at home, and Roger pretends they all like fishing as much as he does.

Ken Cromeenes

Minister of Administration

Education: BA degree from Whitworth College, graduate work at Fuller Theological Seminary, Cal State University L.A., and an MA degree in Non-profit Management from Azusa Pacific University.

Experience: Ken was a Math teacher in Arcadia for 5 years.  He joined the staff at SMCC as the C.E. Director in 1976 and served in that role for 4 years. He has been the SMCC Business Administrator since 1979.

Ken is a Member of the National Association of Church Business Administrators (NACBA), and active in the Los Angeles Chapter of Christian Management Association.

Family: Jan and Ken met at Whitworth College and were married at the beginning of their senior year there. They have three sons, Nathan, Tim, and Dan. Nathan is married and lives in Orange County; Tim is married and lives in Seattle, and Dan lives in Long Beach, CA.

Besides the ministry of Administration, Ken and Jan enjoy ministering through small groups and through outreach to international students.

Ken Walker

Minister of Music

Raised in rural Fallbrook in north San Diego county by Christian parents, Al and Flora Walker, who lived out their faith in lives of constant service, Ken saw them model the walk of believers in Jesus.  His mother’s parents came home from serving as missionaries in China and Japan and built a house next door; Rev. Kenny and Eleanor were the most faithful examples of living in the grace of God. The Presbyterian Church and an excellent school system (including taking biology in Dad’s H.S. classroom) gave Ken character training and education that prepared him well for further studies at the University of Redlands, a year at University in Durham, England, and a Masters in Music at CSU Fullerton. Travel to South America and Europe as a Director of Continental Singers and of the British Continentals gave him tremendous experience in ministry through music. God directed him to come serve as Minister of Music at Sierra Madre Congregational Church in September of 1985, where he met and married Leslie Broughton.  Their three children are Colleen, Nicholas and Hannah.

Brad Stenberg

Minister of Counseling and Family Ministry

Brad Stenberg is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy (D.MFT.) degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary. His life experience includes 10 years of missionary service in South Africa, over 25 years of marriage, international leadership of Christian Camping International, 7 years as the director of family ministries for Joni and Friends, the disability ministry of Joni Eareckson Tada, and leadership of marriage and family enrichment programs. Brad has worked as the clinical director of the New Life Clinics in Van Nuys and has served as a group leader at the Every Man's Battle workshops since 1990. He currently serves as the Minister of Counseling and Family Ministries at Sierra Madre Congregational Church and has a part-time counseling practice in Pasadena, California.

Hugh Ross

Minister of Apologetics

Hugh Ross launched his career at age seven when he went to the library to find out why stars are hot. Physics and astronomy captured his curiosity, and they never let go. He was the youngest person--at age seventeen--ever to serve as director of observations for Vancouver's Royal Astronomical Society. With the help of a provincial scholarship and a National Research Council (NRC) of Canada fellowship, Hugh completed his undergraduate degree in physics (University of British Columbia) and graduate degrees in astronomy (University of Toronto). The NRC also sent him to the United States for postdoctoral studies at Caltech, where he researched quasi-stellar objects, or "quasars," some of the most distant and ancient objects in the universe.

Not all Hugh's discoveries had to do with astrophysics. He observed with amazement the impact of describing for people both inside and outside his collegial community the process by which he came to personal faith in Jesus Christ. A few expressed dismay but most seemed overjoyed to meet someone who started at (or near) religious ground zero and through reality testing, both scientific and historical, became convinced that the Bible is truly the Word of God. For his part, Hugh was stunned to discover how many individuals believed--or disbelieved--blindly, without checking evidence.

Hugh's unshakable confidence that God's revelation of Himself in Scripture and nature do not, will not, and cannot contradict became his hallmark, his unique message. Communicating that message as widely and understandably as possible became Hugh's mission. He scouts the frontiers of origins research to share with scientists and nonscientists alike the thrilling news of what's being discovered and how it connects with biblical theology.

Between writing books, papers, scripts, and articles as well as recording a weekly live web cast called "Creation Update" and a weekly television program called "Reasons to Believe" (also the name of the nonprofit organization he leads,) Dr. Ross travels across North America and around the world, challenging university (and younger) audiences, churches and professional groups to consider the evidence for what they believe. He presents a persuasive case for Christianity without applying pressure, and for that approach he is widely recognized and appreciated. Because he treats people's questions and comments with respect, he is in great demand both as a speaker and as a radio and television guest.

Becky Scoon

Missions Director

Becky Scoon grew up as an MK in what is now Papua, Indonesia (formerly Dutch New Guinea). She attended missionary kids' boarding school and graduated from Dalat High School in Penang, Malaysia. Becky graduated with a BA in psychology from Wheaton College in 1981, and a year later moved to California to attend William Carey International University at the US Center for World Mission, where she prepared to teach ESL.

Becky and her husband Craig met in California and were married in 1985 at SMCC. After teaching ESL for five years, Becky left the paid work force to stay home and raise their three children, which has included home schooling.

Becky served many years on the Missions Commission of SMCC with a special interest in missionary care and short term missions. She joined staff in 2005 as part time Missions Director.

Michael Riordan

FOIL Director

Michael Riordan married Etsuko in 1984, shortly after graduating from Biola University with a Bachelor’s degree in Intercultural Studies. Their son, Joshua, was born in 1987 and in 1988 the three of them were sent out by SMCC as missionaries to Japan. In cooperation with the local church in their Japanese community, Michael and Etsuko taught conversation English classes as a means of reaching out to their neighbors. Annalie joined the family in 1991 and the Riordans remained in ministry in Japan for a total of 14 years. Now that they are back in the USA, Michael and Etsuko have teamed up with Chiyoko Furukawa to provide leadership and direction for SMCC’s ministry to internationals in the surrounding communities.

Chiyoko Furukawa

PCC Campus Ministry Director

I am Japanese and became a believer of Jesus in the United States. I graduated from Pacific Oak College with a B.A. in Human Development, and from the International School of Theology with an M.A. in Pastoral Studies. God has been giving me many opportunities to reach out to internationals in the Pasadena area.

Patti McCormick

Women's Ministries Director

I was born in Rapid City, South Dakota, as Wendy tells Peter Pan at the end of the book, “ever so much more than twenty” years ago. After a few years in South Dakota, we lived for the next ten years in Douglas, Arizona and Las Cruces, New Mexico. I was well on my way to becoming a bona fide cowgirl (horse, 4H, rodeos and all!) when my family (now numbering five; my folks, two younger brothers and myself) moved to Arcadia in 1965. Graduating from Arcadia High school, I journeyed to the wilds of northern Indiana where I attended St. Mary’s College and then transferred to the University of Notre Dame graduating in its first coeducational class.

Returning home after college, I began a 15-year career in Personnel Management with the federal government, working for the IRS (now kinder and gentler!), Drug Enforcement Administration, and finally, the United States Attorney’s office. During that time the Lord began to stir my heart with a greater desire to serve Him. I journeyed to Sri Lanka for part of a summer to work with missionaries, with a stopover in Hong Kong to carry Bibles into China. Later, I was able to accompany Harvest Evangelism teams to Argentina on two occasions, as well as working in their home office in San Jose.

Gradually, the Lord led me out of my job to spend a year seeking to know Him better. Following that year (a hard one!) I was privileged to be invited to join the SMCC staff as Women’s Ministries Director, which I did in June 1992. SMCC Women’s Ministries is dear to my heart since it was there in the evening Bible Study in 1979 that the Word of God was first opened up to me. 

Recently, the Lord began another new leg in my journey. He has led me back for a season into employment with the U.S. Attorney’s Office while continuing to serve as SMCC’s Director of Women’s Ministries.  This, too, has been a busy and joyful time.

Serving in the Body of Christ here for more than ten years has been a great joy. I am grateful for the Lord’s leading, in green pastures, dark valleys, beside peaceful waters and through wilderness places. He has been a faithful Guide and has given many beloved companions along the way. 

As is probably true for many who read this, “through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come. ‘Tis grace that brought me safe thus far,” and I know and am convinced that God’s “grace will lead me home.”  (Far beyond South Dakota!)

Steve Daniels

Men's and Single Adult Director

Steve was born and raised in the small New England town of Grafton, Massachusetts. His family settled there from Cheshire, England in 1635 and he is the first-born son of the tenth generation to call America his homeland. 

Growing up was fun – summer vacations on the lakes of Maine, good home, great parents, ice skating on the lakes and ponds that dotted the countryside in the winter and yes, he did walk a mile each way to school . . . in the snow.

Out of high school he entered the US Navy and did three tours of duty in Vietnam. These four years were the most significant of his life as God continued to shape his character and give direction to his life.  Honorably discharged on December 10, 1969, he was headed back to the cozy New England countryside until he thought he might answer just one more ad in the newspaper: “Apartment for rent, $85 a month – furnished, utilities paid, woodsy area – cozy!” He has been a resident of the Sierra Madre Canyon ever since.

He came to know the Lord at age 26 while dating the wonderful woman with whom he now shares his life. Steve and Maureen were married on March 26, 1977. Mentored by Pastor Anderson and a wonderful friend named Tom Mount, a passion for ministry soon emerged, fueled by all that God had done to bring about some major changes in Steve’s life. Educated at Moody Bible Institute and by the many classes and seminars SMCC has offered over the years, Steve soon began to enjoy the blessings of growing as a layman in growth groups, Sunday School, Bible Study, support groups, college ministry and the many other opportunities the Lord has provided at SMCC.

God gave a more formal call to join the staff at SMCC in October of 1996 as Singles Pastor and more recently as Men’s Ministry Director.  Steve still works three days a week in the construction industry for the company he has been with for over 30 years, where he continues to enjoy building relationships with those for whom Christ died.

His favorite way to relax is hiking the trails of the San Gabriel Mountains which affords him the benefit of a healthy lifestyle and the ability to enjoy solitude with God in the midst of His creation. One of Steve's greatest desires for Ministry is to share with the people of God what the Lord can do in a life that is fully yielded to Him in faith. Not something we can do, only something He can do! Jesus expressed it well to His disciples In Matthew 16:25 when He told them that whoever wishes to lose his life for the Lord's sake shall find it. Having experienced the first 26 years of life without Christ was more than enough to give meaning for Steve to the words "whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it" and yet the reality of finding life in Christ has been more wonderful than words could ever express.

Ryan Dahlstrom

College Director

Ryan was born in San Francisco, and raised just south in a small beach town. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor's in Psychology. While in college, Ryan felt a call to ministry and was on staff with Young Life as the club leader in his old high school. Feeling the need for more education and training Ryan moved to Pasadena to attend Fuller Theological Seminary to pursue his Masters in Divinity. Ryan came to SMCC in January 2008. He is excited to be part of the SMCC staff and to be part of the Lord's ministry in Sierra Madre. He is passionate about seeing people encounter Jesus in new ways as well as seeing people grow in their love for the Lord. In his spare time, Ryan is often found hanging out with people drinking coffee, playing sports, watching movies, going to concerts, and just kicking it.

Johnny Johnston

High School Director

Johnny was born and raised just on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Johnny and his wife, Jenna, now live in Sierra Madre. They absolutely love this little town, especially the great people that live here. Johnny received his bachelor's degree from Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA. While in college, he served at New Wilmington Presbyterian Church as the youth ministries intern, as well as coaching soccer at the local high school. Currently, Johnny is pursuing his Master of the Arts in Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. Johnny came to SMCC in October of 2005 as the Junior High Director and in July of 2006 changed positions to become the High School Director. He is passionate about seeing young, old, and all people in the church working together to create an authentic community that knows no cultural, generational, or church-wall barriers. Johnny also loves all kinds of soccer. If you are interested in getting involved in SMCC and working with the youth department, get in touch with Johnny so you can set up an interview.

Carina Schubert

Associate Youth Director

Carina Schubert is really excited about being the new Associate Youth Director at SMCC! She loves to spend time goofing around with teenagers while also challenging them to love and live as Christ did. She also loves to get to know the families of the kids she spends time with! She graduated in May 2006 from Azusa Pacific University with a degree in Youth Ministry and Biblical Studies. In her spare time she loves to spend time with friends, exploring the city of Los Angeles, traveling, reading, serving, meeting new people, drinking coffee, cooking for people, watching movies, playing sports, and listening to music. Carina is always on the lookout for potential volunteer youth staff, so let her know if you are interested!

Sheri Mendenhall

Associate Junior High Director

Hey all! My name is Sheri Mendenhall. I may look like a Jr. Higher and wear the same size shoe as a second grader, but I am a 23-year-old recent graduate of Azusa Pacific University. I graduated with a major in Christian Ministries and a minor in both Psychology and Religion. I'm a Southern California girl that has country roots deep in Kansas. I grew up in Corona while attending Canyon Hills Friends Church in Yorba Linda where my dad is the senior pastor. What's up to all the PKs out there! I love to work and hang out with students, water ski, camp, paint, draw, and laugh so hard that I loose complete control of myself and fall on the floor. It is a pleasure to be on staff here at SMCC and I look forward to meeting you and your teens!

 

 

Kristy Diebold

Children's Ministries Director

Kristy Diebold came on staff as Director of Children’s Ministry in July of 2000. Prior to that she has worked in various administrative capacities. Kristy developed her passion for seeing children grow in their spiritual walk with God by observing and working alongside other Christian leaders. Her passion for children is a great dynamic that helps lead children into a greater walk with their Heavenly Father. Some of the resources Kristy has been able to utilize come from her favorite books, attending children’s ministry workshops and seminars, and networking with other local Children’s Pastors who also carry a burden to see children come to Christ. Her creativity and zest for impact in the lives of children make her an exciting tool for contemporary America.

Kristy is the mother of two children, Rogy and Emily, and is the loving wife to her best friend and husband Roger. She enjoys outdoor adventures, singing karaoke, and frequent trips to Starbucks!

One of Kristy’s favorite verses of Scripture comes from II Corinthians 3:3, “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”