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MINISTRY TEAM
SUPPORT STAFF
Tony Seritti
Custodian
Dawn Hyde
A/V Coordinator
ABOUT OUR MINISTRY STAFF
Pastor Geoff Schultz has been the senior pastor at Friends Church since 1995. His passion is to make Jesus Christ attractive to others. He often reminds the church that “this church was not built for those who are in it, but for those who aren’t in it yet!”
Pastor Geoff grew up in Richwood, Ohio. He attended Asbury College and received his Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. In 2012, he received his Doctor of Ministry Degree from Ashland Theological Seminary.
Under his leadership, NOEFC has seen steady growth. What excites him most, though, is what God has in store for the church in the future. Geoff and his wife, Mary, have four children: Caleb, Joshua, Micah and Faith. In his spare time, Geoff loves playing video games with his kids, working in his yard and watching Ohio State football games. Although an avid Buckeye fan, he still welcomes any fans from up north to come and worship.
Pastor Rich has been involved in pastoral ministry for more than 25 years, serving churches in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Ohio. Growing up in Massachusetts, he completed his undergraduate work at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and went to Andover Newton Theological School, outside of Boston, for his graduate theological studies.
Having grown up in the church, Rich accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord at the age of 12. The Lord planted a call to pastoral ministry in his life at the age of 16. Rich’s personal mission is to be increasingly transformed into the likeness of Christ for the sake of others by pursuing: a dynamic spiritual life, a lifestyle of healthy choices, the blessing of life-giving relationships and a ministry of helping others find freedom and the fullness of life in Christ.
Pastor Rich has been married for over 28 years to Elizabeth. They have six children – Sharon, Isaac, Bobby, Courtney, Kyle and Anna – and six grandchildren. Rich and Elizabeth celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a trip of a lifetime to Iceland. In his free time, Rich enjoys playing golf and games with his family.
Pastor Jason grew up in Orange, Conn., and has a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance and Music Education from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY.
He has served at various churches in Florida, Connecticut, Michigan and Ohio since 2008. In between and alongside ministry opportunities, he has been a high school music teacher, realtor and Walt Disney World cast member, and he has worked in a few Chick fil-A restaurants.
He has been married to his wife, Melissa, since 2004, and they have two kids: Sadie and Matthew. They live in Willoughby, Ohio.
Jason is passionate about helping people discover their calling and giving them the tools they need to live it out. He also believes that through worship hearts can be restored, relationships can be renewed and true unity of purpose can be manifested in the church. “God doesnʼt need our worship,” he said, “but WE need to worship Him.”
As Pastor of Adult Discipleship, David Hoovler is privileged to equip friends to love people to life in Jesus Christ. He is passionate about exploring and teaching God’s Word and helping others to grow in their relationship with God.
David and his family have been attending North Olmsted Friends Church since 2013. He followed God’s call into full-time church ministry in 2018, after many years of preparation and nudging by the Holy Spirit. Before joining the staff at Friends Church, David spent a total of 14 years working in higher education public relations and communications. In addition, from 2005 to 2008 David and his wife, Ginger, taught and shared hope with their students in Weinan, Shaanxi Province, China.
A native of Butler, Pa., David earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism from Asbury College and a master’s in Intercultural Studies and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Wheaton College. He and Ginger have two children, Wilson and Joelle.
Adrianne grew up in Berea, Ohio, and began attending church in the 7th Grade. She accepted Christ at the age of 15 and was called into ministry at 16 while serving on a youth mission trip. After graduating from Berea High School in 2013, she attended Malone University in Canton, Ohio, where she pursued a double major in Youth Ministry and Bible & Theology.
Adrianne graduated from Malone in May 2017 and was blessed to start working at NOEFC soon after graduation. Outside of ministry, she is a music enthusiast. Though she admits musical talents are not where her gifts lie, she does enjoy playing the guitar, violin and ukulele. Additionally, she loves to read and ride roller coasters, though likely not at the same time.
If you see Adrianne around, feel free to stop and introduce yourself, she would love to meet you!
Adam was raised in North Olmsted, working with kids throughout his teenage years before graduating from North Olmsted High School in 2007. After high school, he worked as a teacher/counselor for Horizon Activities Center in North Olmsted while finishing an English degree in Creative Writing from Cleveland State University.
Growing up in a Christian household meant that the presence of God was a constant in his life, but ministry was not necessarily something on his radar. In his last two years of college, he began to truly understand what Christ’s Lordship in his life meant, and he completely embraced being fully surrendered to God’s will. Adam heard God’s call in 2012, and began serving in full-time ministry the day after graduating college in 2013.
Adam and his wife, Sarah, were married in May 2015, and they both share a love of children and a passion to see the next generation of leaders come to Christ.
Since coming to NOEFC in 2016, Adam has combined his love of superheroes with his ministry methodology. In 2019, he rebranded our Children’s Ministry into Faith Force Kids, leading our youngest friends to understand that Jesus is the ultimate superhero, who empowers us “to love and live supernaturally, for the sake of God and the sake of others
Gina started attending Friends a few months after her wedding in 2001. Over the last 19 years at NOEFC, God has deepened her faith and called her into ministry. Gina served on the Board of Elders for many years and volunteered in several ministries during her time at Friends. Her kind and attentive spirit has brought her to women’s ministry, where she now serves as the Director of Women’s Discipleship.
“I’m honored to come alongside the women of Friends church to love, disciple and empower them to discover and become who God created them to be,” she said.
She grew up in North Olmsted, so her heart is at home serving the community. Gina and her husband, Scott, have three children: Amanda, Riley and Adam. Gina loves spending time in nature (spring and fall are her personal favorites!) and can always be caught watching the Cleveland Indians or Browns. Gina’s a people person through and through so don’t be shy! She would love to get to know you.
