Lead Pastor
Pat Stark
p.stark@genesis-church.com
Pat and Karen have been married since 1988, and have three kids: Josh, Sarah, Ben. He has been the Lead Pastor at Genesis since March 2003, when God gave him the vision to "plant" Genesis out of Paradise Valley Community Church. Pat is passionate about people coming to know and follow Jesus, and loves the relationship that God has given him with those who are unconvinced about Jesus and the Church. He is a lively communicator and enjoys speaking about what it means to live in the way of Jesus.
After graduating from the academic powerhouse, Washington State University, he went on to earn a Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Seattle Pacific University, and finished his Masters of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary. Pat has been in full time vocational ministry since 1988 and has served in three churches including Genesis.
Though Western Washington is where he is from, Arizona has become his home state after living here for over 14 years. Pat loves to date his wife, hang out with his kids by the pool, and get pulled behind a boat. As a U2 fan since 1982, the "Joshua Tree" album and the song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" impacted Pat in a big way as it punctuated the mindset of the unchurched people he enjoyed talking with. You can find Pat most days in his local Starbucks sipping on a French press or an Americano (with room please) prepping a message, answering email or chatting with his Sbux family.
Pastor of Children and Families
Carrie Stephens
c.stephens@genesis-church.com
Carrie and her husband, Alan, have been married for 22 years and have two kids: Taylor – 17 and Bryan – 14. Carrie and Alan both grew up in the Midwest, but met, married, and have lived in Arizona for the last 25 years. They met on a volleyball court and still love watching the game when their daughter, Taylor, is playing. When not in the gym, they are in the stands of the football field watching Bryan play football. Carrie and family love to be outdoors camping, backpacking, hiking or hanging out in the backyard. They also love to cook—all four of them—and can be pretty creative in the kitchen. Ome of Carrie's favorite things to do in her leisure time are getting out with family and friends, laughing and lounging with Alan and the kids, spending time with God at sunrise, and digging in her herb and flower gardens.
Although Carrie is new to Genesis Church, she is not new to Children's Ministry. She has worked the last few years in Christian and charter schools, but before that was the Director of children's ministry in her last church for several years. Prior to serving children, she was the Director of women's ministry. Carrie loves to be in a Bible study with women, children, or small groups. To truly know God and to make Him known is the passion of her heart. God has given Carrie a deep desire to help each person take their next step in a deeper relationship with God—whether it is a baby trusting the arms of a loving servant in the Nursery, a child figuring out for the first time that God is real, or a parent looking for a different approach in Godly parenting. Carrie believes that strong marriages and strong families build strong churches that, in turn, can bring powerful messages of God’s love into the world.
Associate Pastor
John Covell
j.covell@genesis-church.com
John Covell has been a pastor since 1988. Before coming to Genesis Church, he served as an Associate Pastor or Lead Pastor in four churches Southern California, Phoenix and Austin, Texas. John's education includes studying Guitar and Music Theory at the Grove School of Music (Hollywood) and Biblical Theology at Biola University, as well as additional graduate studies in theology and biblical languages.
Parallel to his ministry career, John continues to work as a professional musician playing sessions, performing live and teaching private guitar lessons. While in Texas, John founded Better From Here, offering relationship coaching and pastoral counseling for individuals and couples.
John has been happily married to Joy since 1985 with two (young adult) children. Their favorite vacations have included house-boating & waterskiing on Lake Powell and camping as a family. A day off usually includes hanging out with Joy and/or kids, playing music with local musicians or recording in his studio, karate (Shodan 2007) or reading and discussing theology.
Learn more about John or connect with him directly at...
JohnCovell.com
John on Facebook
John Covell Messages & Sermons
Guitar Lessons With John
Better From Here
j.covell@genesis-church.com
Administrative Assistant
Kristen Shores
admin@genesis-church.com
Kristen has been married to her husband, Rich, since October of 1994. She is a native of Los Angeles, California but moved to Washington in 1995. If you asked her, she'd tell you that she is quite partial to the greater Seattle area. Kristen and Rich moved to Arizona in the spring of 2005 upon Rich’s retirement from the United States Navy. They currently reside in Glendale with their cat, Purrman.
After graduating from Village Christian Schools in Sun Valley, California, Kristen attended Azusa Pacific University. During her time at Azusa, she forged lasting relationships that exist to this day. She was not only a student at Azusa, but an employee as well, in both the Registrar’s and Admissions Offices, laying the foundation for her administrative and organizational skills. Before moving to Phoenix, Kristen worked as an Administrative Assistant for her local fire department in Washington for 9 years, which accounts for her deep appreciation of firefighters (not to mention those big, red fire engines).
When she’s not hanging out with family or friends, Kristen prefers to be in the garden or her craft room. Kristen has a green thumb and loves toiling in the soil (or maybe clay here in Arizona). Additionally, she truly enjoys making greeting cards by hand and has the craft room to make it happen. On a side note, Kristen does enjoy sports too and Rich is more than happy to oblige that.
While sitting in her 6th grade class, and at the invitation by her teacher, Kristen asked Jesus into her heart. She is continually amazed at how God works in her life. One of her favorite quotes is from Augustine which says “God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us.”
President, The Rock at 32nd Street, LLC
Doug Bach
Douglas.Bach@honeywell.com
Doug has served in volunteer ministry since 1992 beginning in youth ministry at Paradise Valley Community Church (PVCC). Doug was a part of the original tribe that was called to launch from PVCC and plant Genesis Church, in March of 2003.
Doug enjoys serving and was deeply moved into ministry after reading Matthew 9 verse 37 where Jesus is speaking to his disciples “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few”. Since calling Genesis home, Doug has served as a volunteer Ministry Director responsible for overseeing various ministries such as Men’s, Life Groups, and Marketing Communications. Prior to serving as a Ministry Director, Doug was a member of the Genesis Leadership team (board) and held the position of Church Chairman for a period of more than two years. In July 2011 Doug accepted a role serving as the President of the Board for The Rock at 32nd Street, LLC which is non-Profit 501C3 entity focused on supporting the ministries of Genesis while overseeing the Community Center Campus and tenant properties located at 32nd Street and Thunderbird road in Phoenix AZ.
Doug has been married to his best friend Kristy for more than 22 years and they are abundantly blessed with two awesome children, Brittany and Tannor, who deeply love Jesus and who have accepted His free gift of eternal life. When not serving at Genesis, Doug enjoys being active, often spending time in Gods Word, cycling with fellow enthusiasts, playing golf and running with family or friends and spending time nurturing relationships. Doug has been employed at Honeywell for more than 16 years and has held roles in engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing and operations. Doug has a Bachelors degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an MBA from Arizona State University.
