Leadership
Rev. Jim & Darla Steffens- Pastor
Pastor Jim & Darla met at and graduated from Central Bible College, Springfield, Mo. in 1980. They had married the year before. Jim is a native Long Islander, and Darla grew up in Ohio. After leaving school, their first ministry experience was here at the Refuge as youth and music pastors under Jim’s dad. Since then, they have ministered in Indianapolis, In., upstate New York and Long Island. Their heart is to see The Refuge show Jesus to a world that desperately needs Him. They have 4 children and 3 grandchildren.
Ernie & Linda Pastor- Elder
Ernie & Linda have a long history with The Refuge. Their 5 children grew up here, and Ernie now serves as the fellowship’s first elder. In addition, they head up our men’s and women’s ministries. They bring a strong counseling and prayer ministry to the fellowship. They also spend a lot of time with their eleven grandchildren.
Otto Bauer, Debbie Steffens, John Sarcona- Deacons
Otto, Debbie & John serve faithfully in a variety of areas. They fulfill the Biblical role of taking care of the physical needs of the congregation (Acts 6), as well as having oversight of the church campus and it’s finances. In addition, they are all used of the Lord in their own spiritual giftings, and are valued members of the church family. Between the three of them, they have 6 children and 3 grand children.
Scott Steffens- Missions Director
Scott worked for years as Long Island area representative for World Vision. His position there now allows him to bring his expertise into heading up the missions program for The Refuge. Through his oversight, we’ve been able to greatly expand our vision for missions, reaching out locally and globally to a world in need. Scott and his wife Debbie have 2 daughters. See the missions page for more information.
Josh Steffens- Youth Leader
Josh is a full-time teacher in the Glen Cove school district. He received his Bachelors degree in Mathematics from St. Joseph’s College. He and his wife Jackie have birthed our new youth ministry, “Turning Point”. They have a vision to touch the youth of Long Island for Jesus, and see their lives changed. Their son Jacob turned one in January. See the youth page for more information.
Matt Pastor- Worship Leader
Matt has a Bachelor's degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, and is a gifted musician. More than his musicality, he has a heart to bring the Body of Christ into a deeper walk through worship and the arts. His vision is to use a wide variety of those arts to proclaim the timeless message of Jesus in relevant ways. See the worship page for more information.
Rev. Cristobal & Petrona Euceda- Nuevo Refugio Pastor (Spanish language ministry)
The newest member of our leadership team is Pastor Cristobal. He leads our Spanish language ministry, Nuevo Refugio. Born in Honduras, he and his wife have 7 children and 8 grandchildren. He has a heart to see the Hispanic community reached for Jesus. He'll be holding services in Spanish, leading ESL classes, and reaching out to the local neighborhoods. Our vision is not to have two seperate churches, so we will be integrating the English and Spanish groups in frequent times of Fellowship. See the Nuevo Refugio page for more information.
