Rev. Dr. Colleen
Hurley-Bates
Lead Pastor

Rev. Doug Ranck
Associate Pastor of Youth & Worship

Rev. Danielle Garcia
Associate Pastor of Administration

Rev. Meg Wolfgram
Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries and Spiritual Growth

Pastor Phil Guenthart
Local Licensed Pastor

Sandy Patterson
Director of Children’s Ministries, Local Licensed Pastor

Madeline Schulte
Director of Communications

Amber Gonzalez
Bookkeeper

Allison Smelley
Assistant Bookkeeper

Geno Lashlee
Facility and Maintenance

Brad Elliott
Technical Director

Delanie Sabac
CDCC Director

Alyssa Espinosa
CDCC Assistant Director

Rev. Dr. Helen Rhee
Associate Pastor

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 as energetic 25-year-olds. They enjoy life together with their young adult children: Kelly, son-in-law Spencer, Landon, daughter-in-law Jax, and Elise. Doug earned his undergraduate degree from Greenville University in Illinois and his Master of Arts in Religion from Asbury Theological Seminary. Doug never gets tired of looking at the Pacific Ocean from his award-winning (for its view) office.

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

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. 

805.965.1338 ext. 225
meg@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. 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 and is currently pursuing a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy at Fuller Seminary.

805.965.1338 ext. 226
sandy@fmcsb.org

Maddy was born and raised in Fresno, CA and moved out to Santa Barbara in 2012 to attend Westmont College. In 2016 she graduated with a B.S. in Kinesiology and stayed in town. That same year she met her now husband, David, who brought her to FMC for the first time. Through the years she has served as an FM Kids volunteer, on the worship team, and as a worship leader. Her and David had the privilege of getting married here and raising their toddler son, Tobin in the church. Maddy enjoys going on bike rides, taking walks, and going to the beach with her family. She loves having game nights with friends, playing ultimate frisbee, and going to the gym. She is grateful to use her artistic and creative gifts to serve the church and CDCC each day.

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

Kate grew up with two squirrely younger brothers and a golden retriever in Boise, Idaho, where she developed an affinity for rock climbing, alpine lakes, and dad jokes. 

After a year of ministry in San Francisco, she came to Westmont, and graduated in 2021 with a degree in Sociology. Since then, she’s stayed in town and worked in homeless services, a bakery, the 2023 Westmont in Cairo program, and most recently, a local civil rights law firm. 

In her role at FMCSB, she is excited to welcome college students into our community. She envisions a Body where college students are integrated into the congregation, contributing to and nourished by the church, and folks of all ages get the joy of worshiping and walking alongside each other. Since joining FMCSB in 2021, she has taken heart in the ways our church already embodies this!  

When she’s not working, you can find ger romping around on a trail, getting carried away at the farmer’s market, or around a table with Matt — her very kind, intelligent, and fun-loving husband — and their dear friends. 

Amber is FMC’s bookkeeper, a familiar face who worked in the office as a temporary. She worked in banking various years between college and relocating a couple times due to her husband’s law enforcement career. She attended SBCC before getting her degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.  Amber has also been designing and consigning jewelry for many years, and continues to carry her pieces in local stores. Both her and her husband Joe are native born Carpinterians who love to spend their free time together grabbing coffee and taking their dog for car rides. She is grateful to God for opening this unexpected door in her life and getting to work with the most amazing staff.

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 piano lessons as well as doing a bit of bookkeeping at church!

805.965.1338 ext. 227

Coming soon.

Coming soon.

Delanie Sabac was born and raised in South Lake Tahoe, CA. She has been attending FMCSB since 2017 and became a member in 2019. She started as a substitute teacher at Cliff Drive Care Center then taught Pre-k for several years. She took over as Director of all the CDCC programs 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.