New Life Community Church: Staff

New Life Staff...

ralph

Ralph Veenstra, Pastor of Congregational Life
ralphv@nl-cc.org
562-924-4466 x202

Pastor Ralph Veenstra has lived in many different places: the Netherlands, Canada, the Philippines, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Michigan and now California. He has been at New Life since 2000. As the Pastor of Congregational Life, he provides pastoral care and gives leadership to various ministries within the congregation. He received his M.Div. and Th.M. (Pastoral Care and Counseling) degrees from Calvin Seminary, Grand Rapids, MI. Previous to coming to New Life, he and his family served as missionaries to the Dominican Republic. He and his wife Beth have three children. Pastor Ralph enjoys reading, going to the beach, walking his golden retriever, bicycling, and working in the yard.

diana

Diana Galan, Business Administrator
dgalan@nl-cc.org
562-924-4466 x207

Diana joined the staff in September 2001. In her current position she is responsible for the administration of business affairs of the church, working with the Lead Pastor, Staff and church members to achieve the goals of the church. Her primary areas of responsibility are facilities, human resources, oversight of administrative and support staff and finances.

Diana and her husband, Benjamin, have three wonderful children. Diana enjoys reading, hiking, foreign films, trying new foods and spending time with family and friends.

elizabeth

Elizabeth Avalos, Administrative Assistant to Children's Ministry
eavalos@nl-cc.org
562-924-4466 x219

Having joined staff on a part-time basis, Elizabeth's primary responsibility is taking care of the administrative needs for Children's Ministry. She and her husband have been married since 1998 and have two children. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking and movies.

tina

Tina Tribolet, Connecting Kids Director
tinat@nl-cc.org
562-924-4466 x228

Tina has been on staff since 1994. Her primary responsibilities are as the Director of our before and after school program as well as our summer day camp program. Tina and her husband Ed were married in 1983. They have two children, Madison and Taylor. Tina enjoys reading, jogging and time spent with family and friends.

michelle m

Michelle Morris, Connecting Kids Secretary
connectingkids@nl-cc.org
562-924-4466 x226

Michelle has been on staff working part time for 1½ years. Her primary responsibilities are taking care of all administrative needs for the Connecting Kids before and after school program. Michelle and her husband Matt were married in 1991. They have two children, Nick and Hannah. Michelle enjoys traveling, reading and movies with her family.

barbara

Barbara Bailey, Preschool Director
bbailey@nl-cc.org
562-924-4466 x301

Barbara has been on staff for over 20 years. She has been the director of New Life Preschool since August of 2007. Prior to that she served in a teaching capacity. Before coming to New Life Preschool Barbara was finishing up her education. She has an A.A. degree from Cerritos Community College in Early Childhood Education and a B.A. Degree in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College. Barbara grew up in the Artesia/Cerritos area and has been a member of New Life Community Church since 1976. One of my greatest joys in life is telling bible stories to young children and helping them to understand how very precious they are to God , and his son Jesus Christ.

maurice

Maurice Love, Minister of Music, Worship & Fine Arts
mlove@nl-cc.org
562-924-4466 x210

Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, May 30, 1945, I was the only boy in a household of 5 sisters. I attended Manual Training High School, a segregated school. An interesting note about Oklahoma during this period (and its history during the period of slavery) was that it was a “border state,” located between southern and northern states. Their approach to segregation was “Separate But Equal,” i.e., giving our community equal access to education, materials and services, (an attempt to stay out court on another integration matter). As a result, we, the black community, had a brand new high school with all the trimmings.

My music path began in church. My family attended Mt. Calvary Baptist Church where I was in the Youth Choir since Jr. High. I sang a some lead parts in the Choir and also solos at coronation assemblies (Homecoming Queen, etc.). My grandmother, a music teacher, initiated my formal music instrument education when I was in 4^th grade. The first dance band/combo I played in was one with the son of my guitar instructor and I also had a group made up of high school friends. In 1963, I moved to Oklahoma City, attended Central State College (renamed Central Oklahoma University). I also played music with various local groups in area nightclubs, one being "The Soul Messengers" which profoundly affected my growth and maturity as a musician. Between 1965 and 1974, we reached local acclaim, popularity unsurpassed by any local band and in 1971, we recorded an album which has resurfaced on the internet (that’s another story). I taught junior and high school bands in the Oklahoma City school system from 1965 to 1969. I hold a B.A. in Music Education and a Master in Music Composition. This was an intense period of my life, overlapping teaching, grad school, playing local nightclubs, and various road trips. Then I met Sue.

elisa

Elisa Nazarowski, Choir Director
enazarowski@nl-cc.org
562-924-4466 x510

Elisa has served as Choir Director since August 2007 but has been a part of the music ministry at New Life for several years. Elisa has been involved in church music since childhood singing with her family while she was growing up. Her love of music has led her to participate in musical theatre, choirs, summer bands, and community performances. A native of CA, Elisa attended Pepperdine University her freshman year of college majoring in Business Administration. Following her life-long passion for music she then transferred to Azusa Pacific University and changed majors to Music, with an emphasis in Education and graduated in 1994. She continued on to get her teaching credential at APU and began teaching music education and choir in Baldwin Park. She has been teaching for twelve years. She currently teaches at San Jose – Edison Academy in West Covina. She has been happily married to Joe since 1999.

karen

Karen Busse, Finance Manager
kbusse@nl-cc.org
562-924-4466 x208

Karen began working with New Life in August 2005 and joined the staff in July 2006. Her responsibilities include overseeing that complete accounting records are maintained giving a full and accurate account of monies received and disbursed. She supervises the operations of the Finance Office: Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Financial Reporting, Payroll and Personnel Files. Karen and her husband Donald have been married since 1974. They have three adult children and one grandchild. Karen enjoys reading, traveling, family and friends and spending time at their cabin in Big Bear.

cathy

Cathy Roodzant, Staff Accountant
croodzant@nl-cc.org
562-924-4466 x209

Cathy joined NLCC staff in 2005 as a part-time staff accountant in the Finance office. Her responsibilities include recording all accounts receivables and payables. She was a bookkeeper for 19 years before retiring in 2003. Cathy and her husband Dick were married in 1958. They have two children, a son Rich and daughter Cathy Lynn. Rich and his wife Josie have 2 boys, ages 12 and 9. Cathy enjoys camping, traveling, reading and going to lunch with friends.

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