Jason moved to the River Park neighborhood in South Bend in 2005 as he was wrapping up school at Bethel College and he’s been there ever since. He spent those years as a worship leader, college ministry director, and teaching pastor at Granger Community Church.

The dream of being part of a new church plant first broke into his life in 2010, and during those years he was trying to discern where that dream might take him. In late 2015, it finally became clear that there was a deep and irresistible call to his own city – South Bend.

His formal education took him to Notre Dame, where he earned a master’s degree in theology. His informal education has come from experiences in his neighborhood and around the world, learning about peacemaking in places like the Middle East and Sri Lanka. His two great loves — books and dogs — are put at odds every time Jack, his 90-pound golden retriever, steals a few volumes off the shelf and shreds them … but he’s learning to forgive.

Matt joined the SBCC team as the executive pastor in November 2018, building on past experiences as a community life pastor, a membership pastor and a campus pastor. He brings a lot of heart and passion to our team as a strategic connector and team builder.

Matt has been married to his wife Beth for almost two decades, and they have two teenage sons. As a family, they love to adventure outdoors, explore new places, and spend time getting to know the people in their community (especially if it involves music or sports!). Matt is always up for a good book, a hot cup of coffee, a walk in the woods, and unhurried conversation.

Matt is originally from Philadelphia and has spent time living and working on the east coast of Africa, central Pennsylvania (Lancaster) and southern California. He started his professional career as a health and physical education teacher and a high school coach, so he’s a gym teacher-turned-pastor. He has a master’s in educational administration from Temple University and a certificate from the Pastoral Leadership Program (Communitas) at Pepperdine University.

Originally from Northwest Indiana, Zach calls the cities of Gary, Hammond, and Merrillville “home.” Since graduating from Bethel College in 2013, he’s proud to now be able to add the South Bend/Mishawaka area to that list.

Zach began working at Bethel College shortly after his graduation from there. Along with his passion for college students, Zach also has a strong passion for music that was cultivated at church at a very early age. Zach has been in the music ministry for a little over two decades and absolutely loves that he is able to serve at SBCC.

When he isn’t somewhere singing, which includes but is not limited to his kitchen as he jams out to the likes of Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and SWV while washing dishes, Zach loves to cook, dance, and spend time with his family, very dear friends, and his adorable French Bulldog, Frankie. Zach also loves Starbucks, so if you find him at one of the local ones feel free to stop by and say hi!

Amanda grew up in Elkhart and has lived in the city of South Bend since 2008, when she began working for a local non-profit. Her time there opened her eyes to both the beauty and the challenges of the city’s redevelopment and connected her to some of the people most deeply affected by those struggles. Her heart beats fast for helping people who long for connection and significance and aren’t afraid to ask hard questions. She has fallen in love with South Bend for its humble, hard-working visionaries and the culture of opportunity and civic engagement. Amanda loves live music, discovering the best cleaning supplies, and dresses with pockets.

Ryan has lived in South Bend since he graduated from Bethel College in 2003 along with his wife Robin and their 3 amazing daughters.  They’ve lived in the Keller Park Neighborhood on the northwest side while he served as the pastor of the Keller Park Church for the past 12 years.  Their years in Keller Park sparked a deep love for South Bend neighborhoods and schools and the beautiful people that live in them.  Outside the neighborhood, he coaches junior high girls’ soccer at a local South Bend school and more rec teams than is probably healthy.  Fortunately, he makes it a personal priority to consume enough Taco Bell (the fuel of champions) to keep him going. 

Karen has lived in Indiana pretty much her whole life, calling Michiana home for the last 20 years. She joins the SBCC staff with 14 years of ministry experience. This includes leading children and family ministry, summer camps, and international youth mission trips at Clay Church. Karen also has been a mentor and team leader with Transformation Ministries in South Bend for five years. She has a B.A. in Bible & Ministry from Bethel University. 

Karen is married to Tom and they have grown children: a daughter, two sons, and a daughter-in-law. Calling themselves empty nesters, they can travel for more than an overnight, plan date night for any night of the week, and spend evenings on the back porch til well past dark. 

Karen is always up for a good cup of coffee! If she’s in her art studio, where she is working on painting a series of portraits, her brush more than likely ends up rinsed in her coffee cup. And yes, she drinks it anyway.