Who We Are
Meet the people and purpose behind Columbia Pres.
Pastors + Program Staff
Elders + Deacons
Each elder and deacon is prayerfully nominated by the church nominating committee, elected by the congregation, and examined by our Session before being ordained to serve. Their leadership is a vital part of how we care for and walk with our church family.
View Elders
Jody Brown
Raquel DeWitt
Connie Kearney
Chris Keinath
Erin Lambley
Bo Liebe
Wendy Ovall
Kim Randolph
Shari Ridgway-Sanders
Lynne Sears
Bob Sisson
Ben Stimmel
Bryan Strickland
KT Teng
Collin Votrobeck
Frank Wolz
Andy Woodrow
View Deacons
Christiana Amewudah
Stephanie Bisch
Sheri Borrevik
Barbara Boyer
Jerry Brown
Mylei Carlson
Erin Endreson
Brittany Erspamer
Ann Ferguson
Monica Fryer
Claudia Gonzalez Valle Galicia
Doug Henderson
Pat Henderson
Bob Hughes
Fnot Kahsay
Ilona Kecskemethy
Natalie Lund
Carole MacMinn
Steve Martin
Tom Ortman
Kris Peters
Kelli Putney
Brian Randolph
Brooke Smith
Karen Stegemiller
Steve Thunstedt
Sharon Wallenborn
Pat Wheeler
Alexa White
Gail Wolz
Our Purpose
Columbia Presbyterian Church: encouraging you to encounter God, to enter into a life-changing relationship with Jesus, and to allow the Holy Spirit to show you your place in God’s work.
Our Values
Our values shape who we are and how we live out our faith together.
At Columbia, five core values guide everything we do:
Worship
We gather as a community of believers to worship God through the preaching of the Word, prayer, and the sacraments. We come to experience and praise God. Columbia values both traditional and contemporary worship styles, not trends or entertainment. We emphasize a thoughtful worship experience.
Reformed and Christ Centered Theology
We are a reformed Presbyterian Church. We emphasize God’s Word as authoritative and believe in God’s grace through faith in all areas of our life together. We are Christ centered and theologically traditional.
Children, Youth and Families
We have a long history of intentionally investing in our children, youth, and families through childhood education and youth ministry. We enjoy intergenerational relationships that enliven our church.
Service, Mission, Missional
Embedded in our identity is the commitment to reach out in service with the love of Christ both in Clark County and around the world. Being sent out to proclaim the gospel in word and deed is a key part of our personal and collective discipleship. The list of ministries that we support is long and varied.
High Quality Programs, Ministries and Staff
We are a church that values and appreciates doing things well. We believe that the gospel, our missions, and our ministries are worthy of quality and planning, and we recruit and invest in our staff and lay leaders accordingly.
Our Vision
We’re a creative and vibrant community where every generation is being shaped by Christ and sent out to reflect God’s love.
Our vision is lived out in three key ways:
Intergenerational
We believe faith is best formed together. That’s why we create spaces where kids, students, adults, and seniors can learn from and walk with one another.
Disciplemaking
We’re committed to growing as followers of Jesus in belief and in everyday life. Through worship, learning, and relationships, we help each other live out our faith with purpose.
Missional
As a church, we’re called to reflect God’s love in our neighborhoods and around the world, serving others with compassion, generosity, and grace.
Core Beliefs
Our core beliefs shape how we see God, understand Scripture, and live out our faith in everyday life. They’re the foundation of our teaching, worship, and community.
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Presbyterians as Christians
(Shared beliefs with other Christians)
A. The Mystery of a triune God:
We share with Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox, one God who Scripture shows is creator, reconciler, and sustainer.
B. The incarnation of the eternal Word of God in Jesus Christ:
We are not alone, “Emmanuel, God with us.” Jesus Christ is begotten of God and is our only source of reconciliation back to God.
Presbyterians as Protestants
(Shared beliefs with other Protestants)
A. Justification by Grace through Faith:
We have not fulfilled God’s law of loving God with all our heart, mind and soul, and neighbor as ourselves. So we are not justified in and of ourselves to approach God. We are not righteous. But God’s love in Jesus Christ saves us and draws us back to God.
B. Authority of Scripture:
Which lies at the center of Christian faith. The lens through which we know God, who we are, and how we must live, points to the truth.
Presbyterians as Reformed
(Beliefs emphasized for Reformed Presbyterians)
A. God’s Sovereignty:
God and God alone is the only source and power of all that exists.
B. Election of God’s People for Service and Salvation:
One important characteristic of our heritage is that the law comes after our grace, which is a way we show our gratitude for the grace given to us. (Whereas, by contrast, Lutherans would see the law as pointing to our sin and coming before our grace.)
C. God’s Covenant with Chosen People:
God called ordinary people and entrusted them to follow God’s guidance in spreading God’s love and living holy lives. “I will be your God, you will be my people.” And, “I will be with you till the end of the age.” We are all chosen.
D. Faithful Stewardship of Creation:
Responsibility is on us to care for each other as well as creation.
E. Recognizing Human Tendency Toward Idolatry and Tyranny, which is Sin:
Everyone believes in something, it just may be wrong because sin and evil have clouded our judgments and attempted to mask the truth of who God is.
F. That God’s People Work Toward the Transformation of Society by Seeking Justice and Living in Obedience to the Word of God:
Our task is not to be successful in bringing in the Kingdom of God, but to be obedient in trying.