Pastors
Senior Pastor
Bret Laird
Bret Laird became the Senior Pastor of Calvary Bible Church in December of 2017. He is a graduate of The Master's University (B.A. Biblical Counseling) and The Master's Seminary (M.Div. Expository Preaching). During seminary, he was mentored by Professor C.W. Smith as they served together at Arcadia Bible Church, and then became Interim Pastor after Dr. Smith was diagnosed with terminal cancer. After graduation, he served in Ukraine for 11 years as a missionary with Slavic Gospel Association, 2 years teaching courses at The Master’s University while also assisting with the development of The Master’s Academy International, and 2 years as the Executive Assistant to Dr. Robert Provost at SGA. Bret and Katey have four children: Aleithea, Timothy, Titus, and Anastasia. His passion is the “Vision of a 100 Visions”—mobilizing and equipping every member of Calvary Bible Church for maximum gospel impact for the glory of Christ.
Click here for sermons by Pastor Bret.
Senior Associate Pastor
David Kaneversky joined our staff as Senior Associate Pastor in 2023. He is a graduate of The Master’s University (B.A. Biblical Studies, 1988) and The Master’s Seminary (M.Div., 1993). He has almost 30 years of pastoral experience in serving churches in California and Indiana. David and his wife Erin were married in 1990, and the Lord has blessed them with four children – their oldest son Townsend and his wife Michaella live in Indiana and recently become parents to Kennedy, giving David and Erin their first grandchild. Colter and his wife Claire are working as athletic trainers in Texas. Their daughter McKenna recently graduated from Cedarville University and lives in Ohio. Clayton graduated from high school in December 2023 and plans to attend Cedarville University in the fall of 2024.
Member Care Pastor
Dan Johnson
Dan Johnson first joined the Calvary staff in 2005 as Executive Director. Dan and his wife, Beth, have four adult children and four grandchildren. Dan was saved at age 9 and began attending Calvary Bible Church in 1983. He most recently served as our Shepherding and Member Care Director, and has served as an usher, Sunday School Superintendent, teacher, Deacon, Elder, and in the jail ministry. Dan completed his Master of Arts in Biblical Studies from Cornerstone University in 2016.
Click here for sermons by Pastor Dan.
Disciple Making Pastor
Jim West
Jim West began serving at Calvary in June 2021 as our Director of Adult Equipping. Jim and his wife, Lora, have “four” children - two adult children and their spouses - Eric & Jessi O’Shea, and Jake & Brooke West; and three grandchildren. Jim was saved at age 15 and has been in pastoral ministry for the past 33 years. He graduated from Appalachian Bible College with a degree in Bible and Youth Ministry and completed his Master of Divinity with Liberty University.
Click here for sermons by Pastor Jim “PJ”
Associate Pastor of Global Ministries
Jeff Whitaker
Jeff Whitaker joined the staff in 2007 to provide leadership in mobilizing the membership of Calvary to declare God’s glory among all nations. Jeff served 26 years with SEND International in church planting in Taiwan and in mission leadership. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Western Michigan University and an Master of Arts in Missions from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Jeff and his wife, Linda, have two sons: Ryan and Eric. Jeff’s hobbies include sailing, swimming and canoeing. One of his favorite passages of Scripture is Isaiah 6:1-8.
Click here for sermons by Pastor Jeff.
Directors
Les Batts
Technical Director
Hannah Haney
Children’s Ministry Director
Heather Schutz
Ministry Support Director
Austin Dosh
Director of Outreach
Russ Smith
Executive Director
Jake West
Next Generation Ministries Director
Mark Duncan
Worship Ministries Director
Santiago Martinez
Hispanic Ministry Director
Ryan Whitaker
Director of Corporate Worship
Todd Haner
Facilities Director
Anna Matecun
Executive Assistant and HR Director
Support Staff
Sally Barber
Ministry Support Staff
Dan Beason
Student Ministries Coordinator
Angela Haner
Ministry Support Staff
Nick Haner
Facilities Staff
Patrick Kurtz
Ministry Support Staff
Kim Morrell
Financial Administrator
Keith Manning
Facilities Staff
John O’Keefe
Facilities Staff
Tara Schober
Facilities Director Assistant
Jade Schober
Facilities Staff
Phil Stickney
Facilities Staff
Laura Studabaker
Kitchen Coordinator
Lora West
Children’s Ministry Volunteer Coordinator
Amy Wolff
Outreach Admin Support
Elders & Deacons
“Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2–3)
Calvary Bible Church is led by biblically qualified Elders and Deacons. The New Testament makes it clear that Elders were appointed to lead and shepherd local churches. These men were to lead well, to lead the flock by example, and to meet the rigorous qualities and character of 1 Timothy 3:1–13 and Titus 1:5–9. Deacons carry out the various tasks allotted to them by the Elders and also provide leadership in various areas of service in order to free up the Elders to concentrate on their responsibilities.
Lay Elders
Josh Andrews
Dan Bowman
Marty Buffenbarger
Zach DeYoung
Bob Drenth
Steve Edwards
Dan Haney, Chairman
Nate Hogan
Sam Logan, Vice Chairman
Santiago Martinez
Mike Ruiter
David Scranton
Phil Smith
Jim Trombley
Treasurer
Jeff Long
Deacons
Justin Andrews
Matthew Bakhuyzen
Dan Beason
Travis Blok
Nate Bowen
Paul Carlson
Gary Cudney
Mike DeDoes, Chairman
Austin Dosh
Skyler Herendeen
Jon Jones
Micah Klaassen
Peter Manring
Austin McCollum
Neil McCormick, Vice Chairman
Larry Morrell
Evan Musial
Abe Nichols
Craig Rupp
Ray Schroeder
Phil Stickney
Ewing Tiong
Andy Yetman