PORTERVILLE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE

M E E T   O U R   S T A F F

Pastor Mark Pitcher

Lead Pastor
Pastor Mark accepted the call to Port Naz in 2001 after a long tenure in Southern California. Born and raised in Ontario, CA, and having spent his entire life and career in the Southland, Mark, his wife Karen, and son Trevor, made the long haul up to God’s country. Although it was admittedly difficult leaving behind their daughter, Shannon, who has since added to their family a son-in-law and two grandchildren, Mark’s passion for Porterville and for making disciples in the southeastern Central Valley are infectious.  A leadership guru, he is an avid reader and can be found reading at all hours of the day. Always on the go, however, he has been known to play a round of golf from time to time.  He enjoys a good plate of Mexican food, and plays a mean trumpet, playing occasionally with our Praise Band and the Port Naz Brass. Mark truly lives out Philippians 2:5, his life verse, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus…” (NIV).

Pastor Kristy Johnson

Counseling  & Administration Pastor
Kristy was born and raised here in Porterville. She has been on staff at Port Naz since 2001. Her main duties consist of clinical counseling, administration and church finances such as the bookkeeping, accounts payable, and payroll. As a part of her Pastoral role Kristy assists with our needs-based discipleship ministries classes, and occasionally fills the pulpit here at Port Naz, or off campus. Kristy has a heart for helping individuals and families find healing, hope and restoration.  Horses have been a lifelong passion of Kristy’s. She is involved with showing in the Reined Cow Horse field where she has won many titles and championships. Both she and her husband Tim of 27 years share the horse hobby and compete together in Ranch Sorting. They also enjoy other outdoor activities such as hunting and shooting. They have one son, a beautiful daughter in law and 3 perfect grandchildren. There are usually about 3 places you can find Pastor Kristy, at church, with her family, or on her horse.
Position: Counseling & Administration

Pastor Chad Ramage

Family and Community Life Pastor
Hailing all the way from his hometown of Visalia with a brief stop at NNU in Nampa, Idaho for a couple of degrees, Chad has been on staff at Port Naz since 1997. He has two amazing boys, Kaden and Breken, and a wonderful partner in ministry, Voni, that assists him in getting into plenty of trouble, as well as help build a strong church community here at Port Naz.  As the great philosopher of our pastoral staff, Chad is known to hang out in his office at times with a good book by the late Henri Nouwen and a half-consumed cup of coffee. When he isn’t in the office, you’ll probably find him hitting the links, or chatting over a basket of chips and salsa over just about anything.  Pastor Chad and Voni love building relationships and seeing people grow!

Colene Wiens

Worship Arts Pastor
Serving through Worship Arts has long been my passion. I came from a traveling singing family in Kansas and have used those early church ministry experiences to realize the importance of music in worship as a means of spiritual expression, healing, encouragement and unity. The Worship Arts Department here at Port Naz is filled with people who are motivated by their love for God and for ministering through worship. It's an absolute joy and privilege to serve with them! In my downtime I love spending time with my husband, kids, their spouses and my little grandgirls. I also enjoy the coast, golf, golfing at the coast, spending time with friends and enjoying good music.

Pastor Mike Smee

Student Ministries & Athletics
Mike is passionate about ministering to students. He has a heart for joining students on their journey with Christ, discipling them and teaching them how to “BE” the church. Mike became part of the Port Naz pastoral staff in 2007, starting as the athletics pastor/student ministries associate and then in 2016 took over the reigns as Youth Pastor. Mike grew up in Porterville and was a local basketball star in the community and ultimately helped bring Upward basketball and cheer-leading to Port Naz, which has grown in to one of our largest ministries. One of Mike’s favorite things to do is challenge his colleague, Pastor Chad, on the golf course. Mike met his wife, Michelle, while in college at PLNU. They were married in 2007 and now have two amazing kids, their son Kipton (2011), and their daughter Kailea (2015). The Smee family loves to travel, play games, and just hang out with people!
Education:
-BA from Point Loma Nazarene University
-Course of study (Northwest Nazarene University)
-Ordained as an elder in the Church of the Nazarene in 2011
Top 5 Strengths:  
Positivity / Woo / Empathy / Belief / Includer
Enneagram:   #9 wing #1 (with a little 2 mixed in)

Pastor Haley Hawkins

Pastor of Children's Ministries
I am a spontaneous, twenty-something year old coming from the not so far town of Bakersfield, California. I graduated from Azusa Pacific University in 2022 with my BA in Biblical Studies and I plan to be in a position of learning for life. I am always looking to try new things, add new hobbies, and talk to people.
God called me into ministry at seventeen years old and I trusted Him to lead me wherever that would be. I dabbled in different ministries in college, but my heart soared post-graduation, serving as a youth leader and assistant to the children’s pastor. The call to children became so clear which would eventually place me here in this amazing community.
My heart extends through different ministries, especially as the kids grow through the church. It is just the beginning of loving God and loving others!

Amy Miller

Hospitality & Women's Ministries
I have served as the Director of Women’s Ministries since 2010 and joined the Port Naz staff in 2019 as the Director of Hospitality and Women’s Ministries. I love the combination of these areas because they allow for creativity, building relationships and connecting people in our church and community.
As a native of Porterville, I grew up in the Port Naz pew and was active in the youth group as a teen. I graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in 1995 and promptly began my adventure of ministry at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, CO and later serving as Children’s Pastor in San Diego.  A blind date resulted in marrying a Midwest gentleman, Glenn (yes, Glenn Miller). Together, we began a new adventure of life on Michigan, ministering to kids and teens in our local church. Eventually, all roads lead back to Porterville, and we returned to put down roots of our own and raise our family here - in my hometown and home church.
Our life is full - thanks to our two daughters who keep us busy. Abby (born 2003) is a college student in Nashville, TN,  and Kate (born 2011) is an active student - involved in school, music and church activities.

Pastor Larry Pitcher

Pastoral Care/Shepherding
Coming all the way from Southern California in Riverside, Pastor Larry has always had a passion for music and the Church. He has a B.A. in Music with a minor in Speech and was working on a Masters in Trumpet Performance when he felt the call to ministry and transitioned to Theological Seminary.  He graduated with a Masters of Divinity and was the Senior Pastor of two Nazarene churches in California, Pismo and Ontario.
Pastor Larry is currently serving on our Lay-Shepherd ministry, a ministry that he developed in his previous positions that helps people from "falling through the cracks" or feeling neglected or not recognized as the church continues to grow. He is also involved in visitation, preaching, funerals and other areas of ministry.
Outside of church he enjoys golf, music, fine arts and spending time with his three sons. On occasion, he performs on his trumpet at church or other outreach programs.