Rev. Michael Zabel : Lead Pastor
Pastor Mike was born & raised near Chicago, IL and has been married to Emilie since 1978. She is originally from the Canton, OH area and they met in Colorado while Mike was a student at Syracuse University (NY). They married before Mike's senior year at Syracuse and then after graduation (B.A. in Psychology) moved to attend seminary in San Bernardino, CA for 2 years. Then they moved to Illinois so Mike could finish seminary at North Park Theological Seminary in 1984 (M.Div.). During the 3 years at North Park, Mike served as a youth pastor in Joliet, IL and after graduation was Youth/Family Associate in Kerman, CA. It was from there that Mike accepted the call to serve as senior pastor at the Covenant church in Unalakleet. They were there from 1987-1989 and it has a special place in their lives as they maintained contact over the years with folks from the church. They even celebrated their 10th anniversary in Nome! Since serving in Unalakleet, Mike has served as senior pastor in Bremerton, WA, Melfort, Saskatchewan (Canada), Cranston, RI, Sioux City, IA, and Youngstown, OH. These years of ministry has taken the Zabels across the Covenant as each church was in a different conference and part of the country.
Mike and Emilie have 4 adult children and 10 grandchildren. Oldest son Joshua is married to Andromeda (Dee) and they live in Golden, BC (Canada). They have 3 girls - Emilie, Molly & Paityn. Joshua is an assistant grocery store manager and the whole family is very active in their church where he is an elder. Second son Benjamin is married to Andrea (Dre) and they live in Edmonds, WA. They have 4 children - Isaiah, Evangeline, Asher & Judah. Ben is senior pastor at Shoreline Covenant Church. Daughter Valerie lives in Orlando, FL. She moved there a few years ago from Raleigh, NC to be part of a church plant team. She is involved in worship, prayer and discipleship ministries. She has been a nanny but it going to be finishing up her college degree and working on a M.Div. degree.
His youngest son Daniel is married to Elisa and they live in LeMars, IA (the ice cream capital of the world where Blue Bunny ice cream is made!). They have 3 children - Annabelle, Micah & Caden. Daniel works for Diamond Vogel Paint Company and has been in the Army Reserves for over 15 years. He and Elisa (who used to be in the Reserves too) met through the Army as they prepared for deployment to Iraq. Elisa is children's pastor at their church.
Pastor Mike's ministry over the years has focused on teaching, leadership development and discipleship. Mike has coached football, basketball and baseball over the years when his sons were younger. Recently he has been involved with community groups in Youngstown that held their monthly meetings at his church. Emilie has been involved in worship leading, choir directing, women & children's ministry. Emilie enjoys scrapbooking and singing. Emilie was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2002. The disease has affected her, yet with the use of a supplement she is now doing much better.
Pastor Mike was born & raised near Chicago, IL and has been married to Emilie since 1978. She is originally from the Canton, OH area and they met in Colorado while Mike was a student at Syracuse University (NY). They married before Mike's senior year at Syracuse and then after graduation (B.A. in Psychology) moved to attend seminary in San Bernardino, CA for 2 years. Then they moved to Illinois so Mike could finish seminary at North Park Theological Seminary in 1984 (M.Div.). During the 3 years at North Park, Mike served as a youth pastor in Joliet, IL and after graduation was Youth/Family Associate in Kerman, CA. It was from there that Mike accepted the call to serve as senior pastor at the Covenant church in Unalakleet. They were there from 1987-1989 and it has a special place in their lives as they maintained contact over the years with folks from the church. They even celebrated their 10th anniversary in Nome! Since serving in Unalakleet, Mike has served as senior pastor in Bremerton, WA, Melfort, Saskatchewan (Canada), Cranston, RI, Sioux City, IA, and Youngstown, OH. These years of ministry has taken the Zabels across the Covenant as each church was in a different conference and part of the country.
Mike and Emilie have 4 adult children and 10 grandchildren. Oldest son Joshua is married to Andromeda (Dee) and they live in Golden, BC (Canada). They have 3 girls - Emilie, Molly & Paityn. Joshua is an assistant grocery store manager and the whole family is very active in their church where he is an elder. Second son Benjamin is married to Andrea (Dre) and they live in Edmonds, WA. They have 4 children - Isaiah, Evangeline, Asher & Judah. Ben is senior pastor at Shoreline Covenant Church. Daughter Valerie lives in Orlando, FL. She moved there a few years ago from Raleigh, NC to be part of a church plant team. She is involved in worship, prayer and discipleship ministries. She has been a nanny but it going to be finishing up her college degree and working on a M.Div. degree.
His youngest son Daniel is married to Elisa and they live in LeMars, IA (the ice cream capital of the world where Blue Bunny ice cream is made!). They have 3 children - Annabelle, Micah & Caden. Daniel works for Diamond Vogel Paint Company and has been in the Army Reserves for over 15 years. He and Elisa (who used to be in the Reserves too) met through the Army as they prepared for deployment to Iraq. Elisa is children's pastor at their church.
Pastor Mike's ministry over the years has focused on teaching, leadership development and discipleship. Mike has coached football, basketball and baseball over the years when his sons were younger. Recently he has been involved with community groups in Youngstown that held their monthly meetings at his church. Emilie has been involved in worship leading, choir directing, women & children's ministry. Emilie enjoys scrapbooking and singing. Emilie was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2002. The disease has affected her, yet with the use of a supplement she is now doing much better.
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Pastor James Ventress: Associate Pastor of Youth
Pastor James and Rachel have been married 11 years and have four children: Silas (6), Mercedes (3), Theodore (3), and Juniper (1). Baby Elsie is expected to join their family in April, 2020. For 11 years, Pastor James has made Alaska his home, serving as a missionary youth pastor with Covenant Youth of Alaska, first in the Mat-Su Valley and now in Nome since 2011. In 2014, he became the Associate Pastor of Youth Ministries for Nome Covenant Church. He is also the director of Checkpoint Youth Center, the church’s outreach drop-in center open to any and all jr. and sr. high school students in the community. James and Rachel have big hearts for youth, especially those who are hurting or vulnerable. The vision for their ministry at Checkpoint began in their 900 sq. ft. house in 2012, when Rachel’s students from the junior high school began stopping by to visit and eat dinner. James and Rachel began a weekly “Bible Club” in their home where students came to eat dinner, play games, and listen to a Bible presentation about the gospel. The ministry grew to where the entry way was filled with shoes as students sat on any open space, including lining the spiral staircase, to hear about Jesus, his love for them and His plan for their lives. In 2014, the ministry moved to Checkpoint where there was more room to accommodate the growing number of Nome youth seeking the Kingdom of God and His love. Pastor James has a BA in Evangelism and Discipleship from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL. He is often found serving youth in the Norton Sound Region at Covenant Bible Camp and Fall Blast, as well as in his living room, at Checkpoint, at the bike repair shop across the street from the church, and at community events in Nome. [email protected] |
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