Chapel 2009-2010

John Eldredge is the founder and director of Ransomed Heart™ Ministries in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a fellowship devoted to helping people recover and live from their heart. John is the author of numerous books, including EPIC, WAKING THE DEAD, WILD AT HEART, THE JOURNEY OF DESIRE, and coauthor of CAPTIVATING and THE SACRED ROMANCE. John lives in Colorado with his wife, Stasi, and their three sons, Samuel, Blaine, and Luke.

Carri Svoboda is a gifted teacher who enjoys working with middle school students. Since 2000, she has taught English at Santa Barbara Christian School; previously she spent seven years at Santa Barbara Junior High School. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in English and earned her teaching credential there. Carri grew up as the only Christian in her family and attended church with neighbors.

Luisa Gallagher is passionate about mentoring and helping people to become more like Jesus. She served as the Resident Director in Page Hall at Westmont College for four years. Luisa holds a B.A. in communication studies and a M.A. in educational ministries from Wheaton College. She has a heart for Christian higher education and since the age of 10 has been either living on, working at, or attending a Christian institution of higher learning.

Ben served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

Carol Houston ministers in the Watts community of Los Angeles. She serves as senior pastor at Bethel Unspeakable Joy Church with a passion for winning souls and empowering disciples in the Kingdom of God. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Denver. She studied Missiology at Fuller Theological Seminary. Pastor Carol serves as a trustee of Westmont College and Helping Hands, Inc. in Garden Grove, CA as well as served in various areas of ministry and taught in secondary schools. She has traveled extensively throughout the world sharing the love of Christ. Her life commitment is to win souls to God through Jesus Christ, empower disciples of Jesus, and send them to do likewise.

Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah is Associate Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary and the author of The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity. Rah is formerly the founding Senior Pastor of the Cambridge Community Fellowship Church, a multi-ethnic, urban ministry-focused church committed to living out the values of racial reconciliation and social justice in the urban context. He has extensive experience in cross-cultural preaching. Soong-Chan received his B.A. in Political Science and History/Sociology from Columbia University; his M.Div. and D.Min.from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and his Th.M. from Harvard University.

Shortly after re-committing his life to the Lord in his early twenties Britt Merrick began to teach bible studies at his parent’s home which eventually led him to preaching at a Friday night college ministry. In the fall of 2003, sensing a further call to ministry, he and his wife and some close friends started a church called Reality in his hometown, Carpinteria. The Reality network of churches has grown to include churches in Ventura, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Stockton, CA, London, and in 2011 Santa Barbara. Britt continues to pastor full time and loves his wife Kate, their son Isaiah and daughter Daisy, the Bible and, of course, Jesus and His church

Maurice Lee came to Westmont in 2008 and teaches Christian Doctrine and upper-division theology courses. His research includes conversations between Christian theology and the natural sciences, and exploring medieval and contemporary theologies of the Holy Spirit. He received a B.S. in mathematics from Wheaton College, an M.S. in computation and neural systems from the California Institute of Technology, an M.A. in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in religious studies from Yale University. Before coming to Westmont, he did postdoctoral research in theology and evolution at Harvard University.

John Ortberg, is passionate about "spiritual formation," which is how people become more like Jesus. His teaching brings Scripture alive and invariably includes practical applications and warm humor. John is the author of many books, including "If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat" and "The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Growth for Ordinary People", and "Faith & Doubt". He has also contributed to many other books and periodicals.

Ben served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

Mark McCormick, more commonly known as Mark “the RD”, graduated with his B.A. in psychology from Westmont and later completed his Masters in Marriage and Family Counseling at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is finished his 21st, and last, year at Westmont as Resident Director of Clark Halls in 2010. Rarely seen without a Coffee Bean cup in hand, Mark has used his unique ministry as an opportunity to mentor, counsel, befriend and truly inspire all his RA’s and residents.

Ben served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

Ben served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

Prior to sending all of our students out to the world for Spring Break, we take time to pray and as God's protection, provision, and guidance. We will specifically take time in this service to pray for those students going on Potter's Clay in Ensenada, Mexico and Student Ministries Mission's trips all over the globe, as well as those going to Jackson, Mississippi for a special Racial Equality and Justice Reconciliation trip.

Ben served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

John Piper is the Pastor for Preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, where he first sensed God's call to enter the ministry. He went on to earn degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary and the University of Munich. For six years he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 30 books.

Ben served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

Walter Owens, Jr. serves the Rev. Senator James T. Meeks and the 20,000-member congregation of the Salem Baptist Church of Chicago as its Minister of Music and Arts. He completed his undergraduate work at Northwestern University and graduate work at Butler University. He recently served on the Advisory Committee of the newly-published African American Heritage Hymnal and is a sought after choral clinician in Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland.

Vicente Fox is a businessman and politician who was president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. His term in office marked the end of 71 years of uninterrupted rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party. Fox focused his early efforts on improving trade relations with the United States, calming civil unrest in such areas as Chiapas, and reducing corruption, crime, and drug trafficking.

Frederica Matthews-Green is a wide-ranging author whose work has appeared in such diverse publications as the Washington Post, Christianity Today, Smithsonian, the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal. She is a regular columnist for the multi-faith Web magazine Beliefnet.com. She has published eight books and more than 600 articles. She speaks frequently, especially at college campuses such as Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Wellesley, Cornell, Baylor and Westmont.

Internationally renowned theologian, author, and educator Dr. Marva J. Dawn serves as Teaching Fellow in Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Under Christians Equipped for Ministry, she has preached and taught at seminaries, clergy conferences, churches, assemblies, and universities throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, China, England, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Madagascar, Mexico, New Zealand, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Singapore, and Scotland. A scholar with four master degrees and a Ph.D. in Christian Ethics and the Scriptures from the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Dawn is also a popular preacher and speaker for people of all ages. She is the author of numerous articles and over 20 books.

Ben served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

Gayle D. Beebe became Westmont's eighth president on July 1, 2007, after serving as president of Spring Arbor University in Michigan for seven years. He received master's degrees in divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, in philosophy of religion and theology from Claremont Graduate University, and in business administration in strategic management from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University. He completed his doctorate in philosophy of religion and theology at Claremont Graduate University in 1997. An active scholar, Dr. Beebe has published numerous articles and edited several publications. Dr. Beebe serves on the boards of Santa Barbara's United Way, the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra, the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and the Christian College Consortium. He and his wife Pam have three children.

Dr. Jeff Schloss has been at Westmont since 1981. His special loves are taking students into the field; doing shoulder to shoulder research with students out of class; exploring the fascinating relationships between biology and Christian faith. In addition to his work at Westmont, he holds visiting faculty appointments in several programs here and abroad, serves on numerous international editorial & advisory boards related to science and religion, and writes & speaks widely on biology and faith.

Dr. Andrea Gurney earned her Ph.D. at Northeastern University. She spent three years training at Harvard Medical School in individual, child/adolescent, and couples and family therapy before moving to Santa Barbara. She teaches part-time at Westmont, while she devotes the rest of her time to her clinical psychology practice in the community. Her research interests focus on resiliency in children and families. She joined the faculty in 2005.

Dr. Alister Chapman came to Westmont in 2004. He teaches courses in modern European history and the World History survey. Dr. Chapman was born in London and received all his formal education in England. He did his PhD in modern British history at the University of Cambridge. Alister is married to Margaret, and they have three children: Abigail, Lucy, and James.

Ben served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

Libby Vincent is a pastor and teaches systematic theology for Fuller Seminary in Northern California. She is passionate about integrating the truths of Christian faith with the realities of daily life. She has a particular interest in working with students and young adults and also speaks regularly at Christian conferences In her spare time Libby enjoys: music, bookstores, working out and her newest adventure, learning how to play drums. She lives in Folsom with her husband Dan, and her children, Maggie and Trent and all of their pets.

Ben served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

Ben Patterson served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

Ben served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

Ben Patterson served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

Once each semester we take time to hear from students whose lives have been touched and changed by the Lord Jesus Christ. Those students who have been asked to share will give witness to what the Lord has done and how their faith is integrated into practice in their lives.

Margaret Chapman teaches a women's Bible study in town and has taught Christian Doctrine here at Westmont. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, she went to Columbia University in New York City and then did a masters degree in theology at Cambridge University. She is married to history professor Alister Chapman, and they have three children: Abigail, Lucy, and James.

Gayle D. Beebe became Westmont's eighth president on July 1, 2007, after serving as president of Spring Arbor University in Michigan for seven years. He received master's degrees in divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, in philosophy of religion and theology from Claremont Graduate University, and in business administration in strategic management from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University. He completed his doctorate in philosophy of religion and theology at Claremont Graduate University in 1997. An active scholar, Dr. Beebe has published numerous articles and edited several publications. Dr. Beebe serves on the boards of Santa Barbara's United Way, the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra, the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and the Christian College Consortium. He and his wife Pam have three children.

Dave Gibbons is the senior pastor of Newsong Church, an international multi-site church with 8 campuses located in California, Texas, Mexico, United Kingdom, India, and Thailand. He is an entrepreneur and owns YangDang and Xealot. And he is the author of The Monkey and the Fish.

Ben served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Currently Ben is the campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he has served at for over ten years.

A diving accident in 1967 left Joni Eareckson Tada a quadriplegic in a wheelchair. Today, she is an internationally known mouth artist, a talented vocalist, a radio host, an author of 17 books and an advocate for disabled persons worldwide. She founded Joni and Friends International Disability Center, an organization accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community throughout the world. Joni’s best-selling and award-winning works cover a wide range of topics and include: A Christmas Longing, The Life and Death Dilemma, Heaven: Your Real Home, and The God I Love. Joni and her husband Ken have been married since 1982. Ken retired from 32 years of teaching in 2004 and ministers alongside Joni as they travel across the country and around the world.