REPORT 33
Executive Leadership Team Nominees
East District: Clergy
Greg Helman
Greg is senior pastor of the Blue Rock UB Church in Waynesboro, Pa. His previous pastoral experience includes serving at the Clear Creek Community Church in Huntington, Ind., and the South Mountain UB Church in Dillsburg, Pa. Greg is a cluster leader and Ministerial Licensing and Ordination Team regional member. He has also served as President of the Dillsburg Ministerium, and been a member of the Mid-Atlantic Conference Executive Leadership Team, the Mid-Atlantic Conference Church Growth & Renewal Commission, and the Rhodes Grove Camp Board. Greg and his wife, Marty, have been married for almost 31 years and have three children and five grandchildren.
Daryl Elliott
Daryl has been pastor of the Fountain United Brethren Church in Keyser, W. Va., since 2003. Prior to that he served as senior pastor of the Mount Pleasant UB Church in Chambersburg, Pa., and of Devonshire UB Church in Harrisburg, Pa. He presently serves on the Executive Leadership Team. He also served on the Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team (2005-2007), as Trustee of Huntington University (1995-2005), and as a Mid-Atlantic Conference superintendant.
John Beukema
John served churches in Cape Cod, Toronto, and Chicago prior to becoming senior pastor of King Street UB Church (Chambersburg, Pa.) in 2005. A graduate of Philadelphia Biblical University, Tyndale Seminary, and Trinity International University, John has authored or contributed to four books and has written numerous articles. He has served as regional chairman for the Associated Gospel Churches and on the Board of UFM International, an evangelical missionary agency. John and his wife, Amy, have two daughters, one married and one a teenager.
Linton Thomas
Linton has been senior pastor at the First Church of the UB in the Bronx, N.Y., for 11 years. While living in Jamaica, he received a degree from the Jamaica Theological Seminary, made possible through a scholarship from the denomination, and ministered there for six years in three UB churches. Linton is active in a pastor’s group and the PTA in the Bronx. He and his wife, Michelle, are the parents of two children, Mark Anthony and Abigail.
East District: Laypersons
Annette Sites
Annette Sites has served alongside her husband, Denny Sites, at Jerusalem Chapel (Churchville, Va.) for over 25 years. She has been a member of the Executive Leadership Team (2005-2009) and the Women’s Ministry Team (2001-2009), and has coordinated the women’s ministry at her local church for the past six years. Annette is employed as the Office Manager at Jerusalem Chapel, and while not working enjoys taking care of her grandchildren. She has a heart for serving the Lord and a passion to encourage individuals of all ages in their faith walk.
Don Burkholder
Don attends King Street UB Church (Chambersburg, Pa.), where he serves as an elder, a member of the Evangelism Commission, and a teacher of a fourth-grade Sunday school class. A retired art teacher, he teaches classes on pottery and spiritual insights at King Street. Additionally, he is the editor of the church newsletter. Don and his wife, Mary, have two married children and two grandchildren.
Sharon Nottage
Sharon attends the First Church of the UB in the Bronx, N.Y., where her main focus is with the Youth Department through serving as the Youth Choir Director and Youth Advisor. She also serves as the Sunday school superintendent and is involved in the ladies ministry and the WMI. Sharon is a nurse supervisor for a home care agency. She and her husband, a deacon and president of a men’s group at First Church, are the parents of two grown sons.
West District: Clergy
Greg Reed
Greg is currently the senior pastor at Morning Star Church in Kokomo, Ind., and has been on staff for just over 30 years. He attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill., and received an M.Div. Greg is a certified instructor with Walk Thru the Bible (doing Walk Thru the Old Testament seminars) and a corporate chaplain to three businesses in Kokomo. He and Cerise have been married for 34 years and have three adult children and one granddaughter.
Dan Young
Dan Young has been a United Brethren pastor for 33 years. He served three years at the Coleta, Ill., church, 14-plus years at Findlay First Church (Findlay, Ohio), and ten years as founding pastor of Faith Community Church (Findlay). He and his wife, Marilyn, have served the Crestview UB Church in Lafayette, Ind., for the past five years. Dan earned a B.S. degree from Circleville Bible College, a Master of Theology from Luther Rice Seminary, and a M.Div from Winebrenner Theological Seminary.
Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller has been pastor of Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) since 1989. Before that, he served two years as Associate Director of Church Services, and before that as pastor of Mount Pleasant UB church in Chambersburg, Pa. He is a graduate of Huntington College, the Huntington College School of Christian Ministries, and of Evangelical School of Theology (Myerstown, Pa.). He and his wife, Karin, have been married for 20 years now.
West District: Laypersons
Molly Kesler
Molly’s most important role is to love and support her husband, Josh Kesler, as he recently took the reigns at Good Shepherd Church in Huntington, Ind. Her favorite role is that of mom to her daughters Lily and Maisy. Molly has been involved in many ministries within the church, but prefers to be behind the scenes, loving and meeting the needs of those in and outside of the church. She previously served on the Executive Leadership Team and Women’s Ministry Team in 2005 before moving to Minnesota, and in 2009 was reappointed to the ELT. Molly graduated from Huntington University with a BA in Broadcast Communications.
David Walker
David is retired from both the Air Force and the Defense Department where he worked in Quality Control. He is currently a co-owner of a garage door installation and repair business. Dave attends the New Hope United Brethren Church (Huntington, Ind.), where he oversees the audiovisual system and serves as chairman of the Building Committee. Previous church leadership positions have included lay delegate, trustee, Administrative Board, Property Committee, and Personnel Relations Committee. Dave and his wife, Bonnie, have two daughters and four grandchildren.
North District: Clergy
Darrel Bosworth
Darrel has been senior pastor at Kilpatrick Church in Woodland, Mich., since June 2002. Pastoral ministry is his second career; he retired from General Motors in 2001 after working for GM in Lansing, Mich., for 31 years. He began his ministry in 1999 as the Associate Pastor for Sunfield UB church (Sunfield, Mich.) while still working at General Motors. His educational pursuits include a degree in Leadership and Ethics from Great Lakes Christian College in Lansing, and a degree in Pastoral Ministry from the Graduate School of Christian Ministry at Huntington University. He and his wife, Barbara, have four children and seven grandchildren.
Les Smith
Les is in his 11th year as senior pastor of Hillsdale UB church in Hillsdale, Mich., and has served on three leadership teams (Executive, Administration, and Pastoral Ministry). He became a United Brethren ordained elder in 1983 after receiving the MCM degree from the Graduate School of Huntington University. Les has presented various NT books through his drama ministry (“Return of the Apostles”) in churches, on Christian TV, and in Israel. He and his wife, Linda, became new grandparents the first day of last summer.
Dave Burkett
Dave has been a pastor in the UB denomination for most of his adult life. He has served as pastor, missionary to Sierra Leone, Mission Board member and chairman, Michigan Conference superintendent, and delegate to several General Conferences. Dave is currently serving the Mount Morris Chapel UB church in Mount Morris, Mich. He and his wife, Julie, have been married for almost 40 years and have two grown children and two grandsons.
North District: Laypersons
Mike Holcomb
Mike has been a member of Banner of Christ Church (Byron Center, Mich.) since moving to Grand Rapids in 1999. He serves on the worship team and the board, and chairs the Healthy Church Strategy Team. Previously, while living in Gaylord, Mike chaired the Deacon Board for several years at an Evangelical Free Church, and then helped plant a new church in Gaylord which started with four families in a living room and now averages 180 people in its own building. Mike and his wife, Kim, have been married for 22 years and have two children.
Dan Paternoster
Dan, a veterinarian, has been part of the Fowlerville UB church since moving to Fowlerville, Mich., in 1991. He has served on the Executive Leadership Team since 2001, a role which he says has been “a privilege, responsibility, and challenge which I thoroughly enjoy.” Dan writes, “My family name, ‘Our Father’ in Latin, speaks of the relationship I enjoy with God through Christ.”
Duane Herlein
Duane is a Licensed Realtor and the Director of Operations and General Manager for a local automotive sales and leasing corporation. He attends Gaines UB church in Caledonia, Mich., where he has served as a member of the Administrative Board, Finance Committee, Property Committee Chair, and Personnel Relations Committee. At the conference level, Duane has served as delegate, Director of Bible Quizzing, member of the Michigan Conference Board of Church Services and Michigan Conference Counsel and, nationally, as a member of the UB National Board and on a committee that assisted in editing the latest revision of the UB Discipline. Duane and his wife, Teresa, have been married 17 years and have two sons.
Central District: Clergy
Marty Pennington
Marty is the lead pastor of Mainstreet Church in Walbridge, Ohio. An ordained elder since 2001, he served the church as its first worship pastor for ten years before assuming the lead pastor role in 2005. He has led the church through the building of a new facility in 2007 and the transition to its current multi-campus ministry. The church continues to grow as it reaches the Greater Toledo area for Christ. Marty served as a member of the denomination’s Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team from 2005-2007 and has been a member of the Executive Leadership Team the past two years. He and his wife, Amy, have been married for over 18 years and have four children, ages 10-15.
Joe Leighton
Joe earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Christian University and earned a Master of Arts degree from Trinity Seminary in Newberg, Ind. Joe began his pastoral ministry in 1979, became a member of the former Central Conference in 1986, and transferred his ordination in 1989. Within our denomination, Joe served 3.5 years as associate pastor at First Love (Reynoldsburg, Ohio), 6.5 years as senior pastor at Shepherd of the Valley (Logan, Ohio), and 8 years as youth pastor at Lancaster UB (Lancaster, Ohio). He is now in his seventh year as senior pastor at Salem Chapel (two of those years as a yoked parish with Lancaster). He has served on Central Conference’s Council of Administration, as a member of the conference Church Planting Commission, as chairperson of the Ministerial Education Commission, and as a member of the Scioto Youth Camp Board. Bi-vocational in his ministry, Joe is also a financial advisor. He lives in Lancaster with his wife, Tracey, and their boys, Corbin and Colton.
Central District: Laypersons
Tim Krugh
Tim is an attorney, husband, father, and grandfather who has been an active United Brethren most of his life. He is a member of Mainstreet Church in Walbridge, Ohio, and a member of the Executive Leadership Team 2007-2009. Tim states, “It has been a privilege to serve the UBC the past two years by assisting our bishop and staff in their efforts to strengthen and restore our group as we move forward with a renewed focus on worship and reaching out to the unchurched in a secular world. This is an increasingly difficult challenge in our anti-Christian, non-denominational culture, but one that we must boldly accept if our biblical world-view and message of hope and redemption through Christ is to resound throughout the realm of our influence.” Tim adds, “I enjoy working on policy and focusing on the big picture and leadership, and would do my best to continue to fulfill the responsibilities of the Executive Leadership Team, if reelected.”
Debbie Voight
Debbie Voight has served in children’s ministry for over 11 years, on the ELT for four years, as a conference secretary for four years, and as a pastor’s wife for over five years. She graduated with her B.S.B.A in Finance and is also a substitute school teacher, as well as a parent volunteer at her children’s school. Debbie resides in Lancaster, Ohio, with her husband, Greg Voight, senior pastor of the Lancaster UB Church, and their three children, Chris, Katie, and Simon.