leadership team

 LEADERSHIP TEAM

We believe that the Bible teaches us to choose capable, Spirit-led, godly, and spiritually mature “elders” to represent the congregation in making decisions as they seek God together on various issues needing direction. The qualifications for these godly individuals are clearly set forth in I Timothy 3:1-7.
 
Under elder leadership, we seek to make decisions in the church by prayerful consensus and the leading of the Holy Spirit, rather than by one person’s authority or by congregational voting (Acts 15:28). The New Testament does not picture the church as a dictatorship or a democracy. The Bible describes the church functioning as a family or the human body where each person is necessary and valuable but with distinct functions.
 
Ed Giroux
 

I enjoy almost any activity that will get me outside, particularly near or in the water. I worked as an engineer for over forty years, and every display of human accomplishment I’ve experienced or admired still pales in comparison to what God has done. I am continuously amazed at this beautiful creation with which God has blessed us.

 

I’ve known God since an early age, but it wasn’t until I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior in my early thirties that my eyes were opened to the wonders and the perfect design of His Word (“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” John 1:14), His love (“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” 1 John 4:8), and His mercy (“So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy” Romans 9:16).

 

My personal walk with Jesus is an ongoing journey that builds me, guides me, and comforts me each and every day.

 

I have attended Mother Lode Church since 1986. Since retirement less than a year ago, I’ve enjoyed more of the traveling my wife and I like to do as well as some of those ‘”home projects” I never got around to while working. I also enjoy camping, backpacking, and spending time with friends.

Jim Mansel
 
I was born in 1935 and raised on a small dairy farm in West Middlesex, PA (that makes me almost as old as dirt). I graduated from high school in 1953 and went to LeTourneau College in Longview, TX. That was a turning point in my life–that is when I trusted the Lord Jesus as my Savior. He truly changed my life!
 
While in college, I traveled with several of my classmates to California and, at that time, I realized that there are a lot of places that I would rather spend winters than in Pennsylvania. So, with my electrical engineering degree in hand, I headed for California. I got a job at Edwards Air Force Base working for Convair Aircraft Co.
 
I met Karen at the Roosevelt Community Church in Lancaster, CA, and we were married in 1959. I was then transferred to San Diego. In 1962, I got a job with Lockheed in Sunnyvale. We lived in San Jose for five years then moved to San Martin, which is near Gilroy. I retired after 35 years with Lockheed in 1998. In 2006, we moved to Georgetown and started coming to Mother Lode Church.
 
We have three children (Kathee, Loren, and Kandee), eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. I am happy to say that almost all the adults are in church and have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus!
Jim Siemens
 

I am grateful to be a part of a church that desires to worship our God, to serve Him locally, and to help those that are serving him globally.

My wife and I have been a part of Mother Lode Church since 1986, and we have had the privilege to be a part of the worship ministry. My hope and prayer is that God will continue to guide us and the Church as we serve in this ministry.

Having grown up in the Church it was communicated early for the need for a relationship with Jesus.  I was probably around 5-6 when “I asked Jesus into my heart.”  My relationship with Jesus did not really blossom until college when I became very involved in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.  It was through this college ministry that my relationship with Jesus became “real.”  During this same time I was blessed to meet Lisa, my life-long partner!

My prayer is that God will continue to teach me His ways as I continue in this journey with Him!

“Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.”  Psalm 25:4-5 (NKJV)

 
Jerry VanderBeek
 
 
I have attended Mother Lode Church since 1991 and have appreciated the preaching from the Bible, the fellowship that we have, and the outreach that we do.  I grew up going to church where the need for a personal Savior was never communicated to me and I was in my late twenties when I actually

got it.

Two interesting things about me:  I was a very successful competitive swimmer at an early age, and now in old age I am privileged to be able to be a member of the Moonlight Swing Big Band in Sacramento.  I have also been very active in Gideons International since 1985.  My wife and I have three children and seven grandchildren, all of whom live in Southern California.  My favorite Bible verse is John 8:58 where Jesus tells the religious leaders, “Before Abraham was born, I am.”  He let them know who He was.