LEadership

Our Team

Who leads the church?

Ultimately, Jesus is the one who leads, shepherds, and builds his church (Matthew 16:18, Hebrews 13:20, 1 Peter 5:4). But in each local church, Jesus has placed elders to love, lead, and care for His church under His leadership. So what is an elder? An elder is a biblically-qualified, Spirit-called man, who fulfills the character requirements of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and is committed to loving, serving and leading the people of the church for their good and for God’s glory (1 Peter 5:2-3).

Additionally, the church is to be led by a group of qualified elders. This is a consistent pattern that we see throughout the entire New Testament (see Titus 1:5, James 5:14, or Acts 14:23 for example). In fact, every time the word “elder” is used in the New Testament, it is used in the plural (with the exception of times that John or Peter referred to themselves as an elder). Following the pattern of the New Testament means that Edgewood Bible Church is to be led by a true plurality of godly elders. We see much safety and wisdom in this approach. As Proverbs 11:14 states, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”

In the New Testament, there are three terms that are used interchangeably for the office of elder: elder, overseer, and pastor or shepherd (see Titus 1:5-9, Acts 20:28,1 Peter 2:25, 1 Peter 5:1-3). These terms do not describe three different offices of leadership but rather three aspects of one office of leadership—they are descriptive of the type of work that an elder must do in leading the church.

At Edgewood, we use the terms “elder,” “pastor,” and “overseer” interchangeably.

Jeff Coulter

Lead Pastor

Jeff has served as our Lead Pastor since 2015. Prior to serving at Edgewood, he was a church-planting pastor in Stockholm, Sweden. He served as Associate Pastor in Puyallup and Michigan. He holds a Master of Arts in Religion from Liberty Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in Bible from Appalachian Bible College. He is married to Katie and they have four daughters, Madelyn, Avery, Charlotte, and Lucy.
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Chris Short

Associate Pastor / Chairman

Chris serves as Associate Pastor at Edgewood Bible Church. He holds a Master’s degree in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary. His pastoral responsibilities include preaching and teaching, as well as overseeing the church’s Equipping for Life, Deacon, and Care Group ministries. Chris has a love for reading, coffee, music, and the beach. He and his wife, Kate, have two children, Emmrie and Hazel.
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Non-staff Pastors

Eric Peterson

Len Smith

Jeff Rogers

Non-staff  Pastor
Non-staff Pastor
Non-staff  Pastor
Eric has served the church family for over 25 years in different capacities. He and his wife, Pat, were instrumental in launching our Preschool ministry. You will find Eric regularly teaching a Sunday morning 'Equipping for Life' class.
Len and his wife Christy moved from San Diego to Puyallup to be closer to their three grown children who live in the Pacific Northwest. As a young married couple, they served on a church planting team in Lyon, France. Len currently leads the EBC Saturday morning Men’s Bible study. He spends his work days as a construction estimator and enjoys woodworking, gardening and reading as time permits.
Jeff has been a part of the EBC family since 2010 with his wife, Rebecca, and their three daughters.  He and his wife have served in children and youth ministries and are active members of the worship team.  They are also involved with a team that leads and teaches the college and career group in Sunday school, small groups and activities.
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Who serves the church?

A deacon is a Spirit-filled model servant that serves the church, is selected by the church, and is set apart for the unity of the church (Acts 6:1-7). Deacons and deaconesses are essential for the body of Christ here at EBC. They aren't selected on the grounds of their competency, but rather, their character. When deacons and deaconesses thrive, pastor-elders thrive, and the whole church thrives. This is because deacons facilitate the ministry of Word and prayer. Pastor-elders need deacons to better oversee and be devoted to a ministry of Word and prayer, deacons need elders to better manage, administrate, and care for the practical needs of the church. The church needs both types of servant-leaders to flourish. Deacons and deaconesses are essential for the body of Christ here at EBC. 

Deacons / Deaconesses

Jim Dorrough

Louise Ferguson

Kris Hakanson

Deacon of Facilities
Deaconess of Bookkeeping
Deacon of Facilities
Jim received Jesus as his Lord and Savior at the age of 22 after being raised predominantly Mormon. He has been attending EBC for approximately 30 years and has been a deacon for about 15 of those years. He also works with Awana and Jr. Hi Sunday School. In his spare time he likes to travel and play golf.
Louise and her husband Ron came with the merge in 2009; altogether they have attended for about 20 years. Because of her banking experience, Louise was asked to take on the bookkeeping duties for the church. She also helps oversee EBC's Mercy Ministry for memorial services and serves as Sparks director for Awana. Ron and Louise have one daughter and three grandchildren.
Kris has served at EBC through various ministries for 30 plus years, but focus on providing a safe and functioning facility for all ministry activities, Supporting the body through ushering, security, safety and facility upkeep.

Aaron Peterson

Kristin Peterson

Gary Rice

Deacon of Hospitality
Deaconess of Communications
Deacon of Practical Care 
Bio coming soon!
Kristin and her husband, Aaron, have been part of the EBC family since 2007. They have three children. Kristin is the office manager at EBC and greatly enjoys the privilege of serving the church and its leadership in that way. She also coordinates the Children's Church ministry and assists with leadership of the College & Career group.
Gary and his wife Valorie have attended EBC for 18 Years.  Gary served as AWANA cubby director for several years and as deacon for the past 10+ years.  Gary’s ministry is focused on helping others, enjoys working outdoors and playing with his 9 grandkids.

Rebecca Rogers

Christy Smith

Deaconess of Welcoming
Rebecca has had the privilege of being at EBC for the past 12 years, and has been blessed while serving in many different ways. Women’s ministries, Teaching at VBS, Leading the College and Career group, Leading worship and organizing EBC’s “Welcomers” team. Her favorite thing to do at EBC is serving with her husband and children, Laura, Gloria and Ella.
Deaconess of the Bookstall
Christy and her husband Len met at a missions conference and went on to serve as church planters in France for three years. They found EBC on YouTube in March 2020. Christy was a homeschool mom and children’s worker as her kids grew up and now enjoys serving in women’s ministry. She can usually be found reading or playing in her sewing room.

Staff

Zach Kispert

Kristin Peterson

Pastoral Assistant
Office Manager
Zach's role is to assist the pastors of EBC however he can! He's been involved in this church body most of his life, with a decade of service in the area of music.  He is currently a leader in both the Youth Group and College and Career ministries, and father of Shepherd.
Kristin and her husband, Aaron, have been part of the EBC family since 2007. They have three children. Kristin is the office manager at EBC and greatly enjoys the privilege of serving the church and its leadership in that way. She also coordinates the Children's Church ministry and assists with leadership of the College & Career group. 
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