Rev. Colleen Hurley-Bates
Lead Pastor

Rev. Doug Ranck
Associate Pastor of Youth & Pastoral Care

Rev. Danielle Garcia
Associate Pastor of Administration

Rev. Jake Elliott
Assistant Pastor of Worship, College, and Evangelism

Rev. Nikki Ramage
Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries and Spiritual Growth

Pastor Phil Guenthart
Local Licensed Pastor
Facility & Maintenance

Sandy Patterson
Director of Children’s Ministries

Ron Inman
Bookkeeper

Madeline Schulte
Director of Communications

Allison Smelley
Assistant Bookkeeper

Cara Emerson
Office
Administrator

Brad Elliott
Technical Director

Rev. Dr. Helen Rhee
Associate Pastor

Meg Wolfgram
Conference Ministerial Candidate

Rev. Shannon Balram
Associate Pastor

Rev. Scott Williams
Associate Pastor

Colleen has been attending Free Methodist Church since coming here as a college   student in 1988. The church she found then was eager to know Christ and love others, which is still true today. After graduating with a B.A. in Developmental Psychology from UCSB, she worked full-time at Cliff Drive Care Center, a true time of joy and learning. She received her Masters of Divinity from Azusa Pacific University and is currently working on her Doctor of Ministry at Portland Seminary. She has been  married to Mark, a Mathematics Professor at Oxnard College, since 1992, and they have a  daughter, Olivia. 

805.965.1338 ext. 223
colleen@fmcsb.org

Born in Pennsylvania and reared in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area, Doug and his wife, Nancy, came to FMCSB in 1984. They enjoy life together with their young adult children: Kelly, son-in-law Spencer, Landon, and Elise. Doug earned his undergraduate degree from Greenville College, Illinois and his Masters of Arts in Religion from Asbury Theological Seminary.

805.965.1338 ext. 224
doug@fmcsb.org

Danielle was born and raised in Carson City, Nevada. She earned her undergraduate degree from Westmont College and then moved to Durham, North Carolina where she completed her Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School. She first came to FMCSB as a member in 2002 and returned to FMCSB staff in 2009. She and Alvaro enjoy dancing and hiking.

805.965.1338 ext. 232
danielle@fmcsb.org

Jake was born and raised here in Santa Barbara and is an alum of Westmont College. He is married to Breean and father of Sophie and Calum. In addition to pastoral ministry, Jake is a musician and song-writer. His passion for following Jesus and love of music intersect both through worship ministry and song-writing and performing. He came on staff at FMCSB in 2016 and is currently pursuing ordination in the Free Methodist Church of Southern California and a Masters of Divinity from Azusa Pacific Seminary.

805.965.1338 ext. 227
jake@fmcsb.org

Nikki graduated from Westmont College in Religious Studies in 2014 and from Azusa Pacific University with her MDIV in 2017. She loves gathering books and sometimes reading them, enjoys playing pickleball rather passionately, and is thrilled to have called Santa Barbara home for over a decade. Nikki loves “on the ground” theological education, community engagement, and communicating God's Good News in creative ways. She can't believe that dreams really do come true, and she gets to fulfill her vocation as a pastor at this church. Nikki is so thankful to be a part of such a loving and freedom focused denomination and local church.

949.241.7851
nikki@fmcsb.org

Phil was born and raised in Santa Barbara, and grew up on the Mesa. He served 4 years in the U.S. Army from 1977-1981, including a year in Daegu, South Korea. He and Astrid married in 1978, and they have two adult daughters, Denise (Jim) and Tammy (Geno) and 6 grandchildren. They have attended FMCSB since 1983. In his free time Phil enjoys riding his Honda Goldwing motorcycle, and getting away to Big Bear with family and friends.

805.705.2819
phil@fmcsb.org

Having grown up in the rainy Pacific NW, Sandy jokes that she is still drying out in the California sunshine even after living here since 2005. Sandy began following Christ as a young HS student after being invited to a Bible study by a friend. After never moving during childhood, she moved to NY state to attend Cornell University, and then moved to Japan and Italy while her husband Don served the US Navy. She went on to teach school and homeschool her 4 children (who are now young adults). Sandy has also worked in education in public charter schools and at Westmont College. She is passionate about seeing children and families thrive. She is an avid reader, coffee lover and can often be found roller skating on weekends near the waterfront.

805.965.1338 ext. 226
sandy@fmcsb.org

Maddy was born and raised in Fresno, CA. and moved out to Santa Barbara in 2012 when she started school at Westmont College. Since graduating in 2016 with a B.S. in Kinesiology, she has worked in a variety of fields including swim teacher, job coach, and school aide. In 2016 she met David who brought her to FMCSB for the first time, and since then she has served as FM Kids teacher and on the worship team. Her and David also had the privilege of getting married here in 2018. Together they enjoy taking walks, doing outdoor sports, and having game nights with friends. Maddy also dabbles in drawing and embroidery. The Schulte's are excited to welcome their first baby in June of 2023!

805.965.1338 ext. 234
maddy@fmcsb.org

Cara grew up here on the Central Coast. After graduating from SBHS, she received her BA in English from Calvin College (now University) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Cara has worked in the non-profit sector for most of her life, working as Director of Villa Majella Maternity Home in Santa Barbara, helping women experiencing crisis pregnancies. She also served as a Case Manager at a local transitional housing program for single mothers and their children.  In 2008 Cara joined the former Providence Hall (now Providence, A Santa Barbara Christian School) as Assistant to the Head of School. In 2016 Cara was delighted to bring her administrative skills to FMCSB and CDCC. Cara enjoys writing, cooking, and taking walks.

805.965.1338 ext. 221
cara@fmcsb.org

Ron was born in New Jersey, but as an army brat was raised throughout the world from Virginia to Germany and Alaska until reaching California in 1964. Ron has his masters in  computer  science and has worked for Burroughs and Yardi Systems. Fortunately for us, Ron came out of retirement in September 2016 in  order to help out at the CDCC. He is married to Mary Woodyard and has three adult sons and one granddaughter.

805.965.1338 ext. 222
ron@fmcsb.org

Born and raised in Minnesota, Allison journeyed to Santa Barbara in 1977 to     attend Westmont College. She and Russell, a Cross Country and Track & Field Coach and Professor of Kinesiology at Westmont College, were married at FMCSB in 1981. They are delighted to be the parents of Travis. During the week you will find Allison teaching Middle School Algebra, teaching piano lessons, as well as doing a bit of bookkeeping at church!

805.965.1338 ext. 227

Coming soon.

Jenny Yznaga is the Director of Cliff Drive Care Center’s Children’s Programs. She was born and raised in England and has been working at CDCC preschool since 2001. Jenny attends Free Methodist, is married to Billy, has three adult children, four grandchildren, and enjoys walking the beaches of Santa Barbara with her dog.

Delanie Sabac was born and raised in South Lake Tahoe, CA. She has been attending FMCSB since 2017 and became a member in 2019. Delanie is entering her 13th year of teaching at CDCC. She started as a substitute teacher and now teaches Pre-k and serves as the Assistant Director. She will take over as Director in August of 2023. Delanie has coached competitive softball for fifteen years and has been a motivational speaker since 2016. She also runs a medical nonprofit she helped start in Jamaica. Some of her passions are snowboarding, kayaking, golfing, and sports. She loves concerts, traveling and spending time with friends and family too!

Dr. Helen Rhee is a Professor of History of Christianity at Westmont College. She studied for her M.Div and Ph.D. at Fuller Theological Seminary. Her research includes early Christian identity formation in Greco-Roman context; wealth, poverty, and care of the poor in Christian history; and women in the church. She is also interested in early Christian understanding of pain and illness in conversation with ancient medicine. Her published books include Early Christian Literature: Christ and Culture in the Second and Third Centuries; Loving the Poor, Saving the Rich; Wealth and Poverty in Early Christianity; and the most recent one, Illness, Pain, and Health Care in Early Christianity. Helen is committed both to academics and to her church communities.

Shannon Balram is the Assistant Director of Residential and Community Living at UCSB, while also serving as an ordained elder for the Free Methodist Church. Shannon has her B.A. in Bible and Theology and M.A. in Theological Studies from Lee University. She is married to Denzyl and has two young children. She is passionate about theology, young adult ministry, helping others discover their gifts and passions, and, of course, quality cups of coffee.

shannon@fmcsb.org

Rev. Scott Williams and his wife Hannah, who grew up attending our church, have moved here from down south where Scott worked at Azusa Pacific and was appointed at Foothill Community Church. Scott works at UCSB as a Systems Integration Engineer. As part of his appointment here, he will be part of the worship ministry, do some teaching, and help with IT. He and Hannah have four beautiful children: Jack, Luna, Eowynn, and Avonlea. Hannah is a gifted musician and will join us as a worship leader as well.

Meg grew up in Ventura County, and came to Santa Barbara to attend Westmont College. The Summer after graduation, she interned with the Dream Center in Lake Elsinore. Moving back to SB in the Fall of 2015, she continued to volunteer with the FMCSB youth group, and joined the Foundry. Now, as a CMC (Conference Ministerial Candidate), Meg is working on her MDiv through Fuller Seminary, and enjoying participating in life with the Free Methodist community. Meg is stoked about the budding green group at FMCSB called Common Ground, which cultivates more local opportunities to participate in caring for God’s creation.