Our Pastoral Staff
Fred Herron
Senior Pastor
Fred Herron was raised in the Kansas City area. He met Christ in a life-changing way at a church camp when he was sixteen. It was then he was called to Christian ministry. After graduating from Park Hill High School, Fred attended Baylor University majoring in business administration and religion. While attending Baylor he met Janet, also from Kansas City, and the couple was married in 1982. Upon graduating from Baylor, Fred and Janet moved to Fort Worth, Texas, so Fred could attend Southwestern Baptist Seminary. Fred's first pastoral job was in Hampton, Virginia, where Fred served as an associate pastor in a Baptist church. In 1990 Fred and Janet moved back to Kansas City dreaming of starting a new Vineyard church somewhere in the Northland.
Fred spent many hours, days, weeks, and months contacting people both by going door-to-door and phoning old acquaintances. His Vineyard ministry began with five people in Fred and Janet's small apartment's living room. After a season, and with more people, Sunday evening meetings began in a commercial building just south of KCI airport. By the end of September 1992, Fred, Janet, and the congregation of 50 people initiated Sunday morning services in Lakeview Middle School. In June 2001 Fred received his Doctor of Ministry Degree from Fuller Seminary. By the fall of 2001, a congregation of around five hundred people moved into their first new building. Today, approximately 2,500 people attend Vineyard Church during the four weekend celebrations and Brighton Campus.
In addition to having a keen sense of humor, Fred is an avid reader. He also thoroughly enjoys bike riding and bike racing and has a deep love for the mountains--hiking and fishing.
Email Fred
Other Pastors
| Curt Bartlett | Worship Pastor | Roger Sodsod | Executive Pastor of Adult Ministries | |
| Mark Duncan | Junior High Pastor / Facilities | Jeremiah Toole | Brighton Campus Worship Pastor | |
| Tim Dykes | Assimilation and Missions Pastor | Kevin Townsend | Brighton Campus / Evangelism Pastor | |
| Ben Gonzales | Ecuador Missionary | Tony Wilks | Executive Pastor | |
| Gary Heese | Pastoral Care/Prayer Pastor | Roger Wilson | Executive Pastor of Family Life | |
| Steve Jones | Worship/Leadership Dev't Pastor | Jim Riegel | Pastor Emeritus | |
| Derk Hanna | Community Care Pastor | Brady Testorff | Senior High and Young Adult Pastor |
Worship & Arts Pastor
Curt Bartlett is our Worship & Arts Pastor. As a guitarist/singer/writer/producer, Curt has toured and recorded with some of the top contemporary Christian artists over the past 30 years. His vision for the Worship & Arts Ministry is to help facilitate God's presence through the artistic and heartfelt expressions of song, drama, video and contemporary media. He and his wife Jackie have four lovely daughters - Brooke, Rachel, Kristen and Caroline. His hobbies include baseball, motorcycles and all things Apple (Mac).
Junior High Pastor and Facilities Director
Mark Duncan is our Junior High Pastor and Facilities Director.
Mark takes no greater joy than to be involved in students' lives
and their spiritual development--one step at a time. Mark is native
to Kansas City and is married to his wonderful wife, Janelle. He
has two children, Alyssa, 7, and Tyler, 5. Mark was an airline
mechanic for 18 years and holds a Missouri real estate license.
In addition to student ministry, some of Mark's interests include
sports--go figure. Mark is an avid softball player playing in over
100 games a year. He has also led the Vineyard men's softball team
to numerous championships. Mark also loves football and just about
anything else competitive. Lately, he has been fine tuning his
ninja skills--just kidding. Mark's favorite vacation spot is Waikiki
Beach.
Connections and Missions Pastor
Tim Dykes is our Connections and Missions Pastor. He is eager
to take people from visitor to fully-engaged members of the church
serving in the areas that God has created them for. Tim wants to
see you grow in Christ and serve Him with joy. Tim is married to Jill and they have three girls- Sophia, Chloe, and Miranda. Tim is now a member of Tony's "loathes driving a mini-van" club. Tim would like to eat Clif bars for every meal. As a family, they enjoy taking walks, riding bikes, and family worship.
Ecuador Missionary
Bennie and Patty met in Hawaii at University of the Nations, a
missions school. Seventeen years later they find themselves full
circle, back on the mission field planting churches in Ecuador.
Bennie served as youth pastor, (and various other hats) at Vineyard
for nearly ten years until he and Patty felt called to plant the
first Vineyards in Ecuador. They and their daughters, Ashley and
Trinity, have been on the field since June 2007 and will continue
to serve for a minimum of seven years.
Please check out their website www.gonzalesfam.com to
learn more about their mission, to see pictures, and to read their blog. If
you would like to be on their prayer list please email quitovineyard@gmail.com.
Pastoral Care/Prayer Pastor
Gary and Carla began serving as missionaries in Youth with a Mission (YWAM) at the YWAM base in Kona, Hawaii in 1989. They returned to Kansas City in 1993 and continued serving in local churches in the areas of inner healing and counseling. The highlight of their time in missions was their time working in South America.
They returned to Kansas City in 1993 and shortly after, their fourth grandchild was born. They now have 6 granddaughters and one grandson. Carla enjoys quilting with her sister, Donna, time with her grandkids and romantic dinners with Gary at Hy-Vee. Their daughter Patty, her husband Ben, and daughters Ashley and Trinity have moved to Ecuador to plant a Vineyard Church. Gary enjoys bow hunting and fishing with his sons and water skiing. Gary also enjoys the outdoors when riding his motorcycle.
Young Adult Worship/Leadership Development Pastor
Steve Jones is our Young Adult Worship & Leadership Development Pastor. He is also a songwriter who has written such Vineyard songs as Saving Grace, Draw Me, and Free. Steve is also the lead singer for the band, Autumn in Repair.
Executive Pastor of Adult Ministries
Roger serves as executive pastor over adult ministries (assimilation, pastoral care, support/recovery, prayer teams, and leadership development.) Also directly overseeing small groups and discipleship. He is passionate about
building authentic community in Christ through an expanding small
group system that evangelizes seekers, matures believers, and releases
Spirit-filled leaders. Originally from Winter Park, Florida, Roger
is married to Jackie, and they have an 9 year old son, Aiden.
Roger has a Bachelor of Music
degree from the University
of South Florida and a Master of Music
degree from the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While
beginning his career as an opera singer, the Lord abruptly called
him into ministry (at an Encounter God retreat). Roger is a graduate
from the Vineyard
Leadership Institute and completed his pastoral
internship at The
Vineyard Church in Urbana, Illinois (senior pastor:
Happy Leman). Prior to coming on staff at our church, Roger was
the Director of Small Groups at New
Horizon United Methodist Church in Champaign, Illinois. In addition
to small groups, some of Roger's interests include reading, movies,
Apple computers, modular
origami, and and hanging out with Aiden. Favorite scripture: Philippians
3:8-14 (read the Message
translation)
Brighton Campus Worship Pastor
Jeremiah is our Brighton Worship Pastor and has been involved in leading worship, running sound, and service production for the past 13 years. He is very passionate about worship in the local church and songwriting for our worship time together.
In his spare time, you can find him working as a music producer in his home-studio BearTrack Recording, and writing for his own music project, BearFace (seems fitting, right?). He also enjoys reading and his favorite authors are C.S. Lewis, Rob Bell, and Donald Miller. His favorite music comes from U2, The Rocketboys, Midlake, Radiohead, Bruce Springsteen (a guilty pleasure), and Bing Crosby. He's also a sucker for a good war film, old or new.
Side-note: if you need assistance relating to color, Jeremiah is NOT the guy to help you out. His colorblindness will not enhance your decision making.
Brighton Campus / Evangelism Pastor
Kevin is the Brighton Campus and Evangelism Pastor. He and his wife Diane have been married since 1990 and have lived here in Kansas City since 1991. They met while Kevin was doing mission work one summer in college in upstate New York. Kevin was born and raised in the Houston, TX area and will always be a proud Texan at heart. He graduated with a religion degree from East Texas Baptist University and received his Master’s from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary here in KC. Kevin worked full time in the ministry for several years as Campus Minister here in the northland. He went on to serve as Associate Pastor of Students and Discipleship at Winnwood Baptist Church for nearly eight years. The past few years Kevin has enjoyed growing his own company, selling online. Diane and Kevin both enjoy traveling and baseball, especially traveling to watch baseball.
Executive Pastor
Tony serves Vineyard Church by overseeing our strategic growth, buildings & grounds, stewardship programs, communication systems, and staff administration. Originally from Garden City, Kansas, Tony graduated from Kansas
State University as Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Architecture. Tony has been the design architect on several fire stations, city halls and multiple churches in the metro area, including the revised master plan for our building & grounds.
Tony is married to Beth and they have three children--Matthew, Julia and Andrea. Tony loves being a husband & dad, camping with friends & family, traveling, teaching, and watching good action movies.
Obscure facts: he was once a fire fighter, a disc-jockey, head chef in a cajun restaurant, loves motorcycles--but doesn't own one anymore (don't ask), rebuilt a 74 Camaro and now loathes driving a mini-van.
Favorite Quote: "Life is a grindstone. Whether it wears
you out, or shines you up--depends upon what you are made of."
Favorite Scripture: Micah 6:8 "What does the Lord require
of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Executive Pastor of Family Life
Roger was born in Fairview Oklahoma, raised in Kansas City, and has attended Vineyard for several years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Baker University. He carries 10+ years of management experience in the financial services industry, and has been an active volunteer in student ministries for 10 years. He is passionate about families, and supporting them through Children’s Ministry. He also serves on the executive pastoral team. Roger has been a follower of Jesus since age 16.
Roger and his wife, Jennine met as teenagers, and have been married for fifteen years. They have one child, Dominic. He loves to spend time with his family doing anything, loves to cook, and is an NFL fan (go Chiefs).
Other Favorites... Books: The Bible, My Side of the Mountain (Jean Craighead George), Farmer Boy (Laura Ingalls Wilder), Hinds Feet on High Places (Hannah Hurnard), and My Utmost for His Highest (Oswald Chambers). Movies: A River Runs Through It, Better Off Dead, A Christmas Story, and It’s a Wonderful Life. Music: U2, Jars of Clay, Reliant K, Harry Connick Jr, and the Foo Fighters.
Pastor Emeritus
Jim and Darlene have recently retired but are still active in several
volunteer roles at Vineyard Church. They have been a part of Vineyard
Church since early 1997. During those
years he worked with assimilation, small groups, pastoral care,
leadership development, administration and preaching. Jim is a
veteran church planting pastor in and out of the Vineyard movement,
having planted 3 churches. He has also been a youth pastor, lead
pastor of an existing church, associate pastor of a 3,300 member
mainline denomination church, sending pastor of 2 successful church
plants, and area pastor to Vineyard pastors. Jim enjoys hanging
out with his wife and best friend, Darlene – taking walks with their
dog, watching movies, working in their yard, listening to audio
books, and traveling. Jim is also an avid sports fan. Jim and Darlene
have 4 children and 7 grandchildren, with whom they enjoy spending
time.
Senior High and Young Adult Pastor
Brady Testorff is our Senior High and Young Adult Pastor. Brady grew up in Yates Center, Ks., and ended up in the Platte City area in 1988. He spent 10 years working at American Airlines in customer service at KCI. After volunteering as a Young Life leader for a few years, he accepted a call to full time student ministry at the First Baptist Church in Platte City, and was on staff there as an Associate Pastor for almost 15 years. He brings with him an abundance of ministry experience, from mission trips, to camps, weddings, funerals, preaching, teaching, and just doing life with young people... Brady comes with gifts in the form of his beautiful family: His wife Trish of 18.5 years, his oldest daughter Bailee, their two adopted children from Peru, Yessenia and Paul, Emma and Eliza. Brady's favorite sport is basketball and he can still throw a pig skin a quarter mile. His favorite quote is, "I am just a nobody tryin to tell everybody 'bout Somebody who can save anybody." and his favorite verse is Acts 20:24.
Community Care Pastor
Derk serves Vineyard Church by providing overall leadership for community care. Originally from York, Nebraska, Derk graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. In 2002, he earned a Law Degree from UMKC.
In 2009, Derk and his wife Gina founded Beauty for Ashes prison ministry. Beauty for Ashes was the first ministry to take the Oaks of Righteousness class into prison when they brought Oaks to the Maximum Security Unit at Lansing Penitentiary in 2010. In 2011, Beauty for Ashes was the recipient of a Top Tier Passion Award from the National Christian Foundation. In 2012, they won the grand prize Passion Award.
Derk is married to Gina, they have three sons – Guylan, Ian and Dylan.
Favorite scripture: “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Phil 4:6
 Denise Bearce, Administrative Assistant - Youth Ministry (Brady Testorff & Mark Duncan) |
 Krystal Ragone, Administrative Assistant - Welcome & Assimilation Ministry (Tim Dykes) |
 Kerryn May, Administrative Assistant to Senior Pastor, Fred Herron |
 Connie Mueller, Administrative Assistant - Pastoral Prayer & Care Ministry (Gary Heese) |
 Cody Callahan, Worship Administrative Assistant (Curt Bartlet/Steve Jones) & Small Group AdministrativeAssistant (Roger Sodsod) |
 Debbie Maynard, Business Administrator |
Shannon Shipp, Administrative Assistant - Children's Ministry (Roger Wilson) |
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 Austin McKahan, Director of Communication |
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Katie Rogers, Receptionist & Evangelism Admin |
