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 5 grandchildren.
Ernie & Linda Pastor- Elders
Ernie & Linda have a long history with The Refuge. Their 5 children grew up here. In addition, Ernie heads up our men's ministry and Linda heads up our intercessary prayer team ministry. They bring a strong counseling and prayer ministry to the fellowship. They also spend a lot of time with their thirteen grandchildren.
Otto Bauer, Wave DiFabio, Sue Kaffana, Gerard Mahoney, Ginny Pisciotta, Jerry Reichenbach- Deacons & Trustees
These men and women 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.
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.
Amanda Ponessa- Youth Leader
Amanda leads our Turning Point youth ministries. She has a heart for the teens of our area, and has made big strides in encouraging them to be strong in their faith. Her support team of young adults are committed to seeing God raise up this next powerful generation. 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. He is recently married, and his wife Jess ministers alongside him on the worship team. See the worship page for more information.
Rev. Cristobal & Petrona Euceda- Nuevo Refugio Pastor (Spanish language ministry)
Pastor Cristobal and his wife lead our Spanish language ministry, Nuevo Refugio. Born in Honduras, they have 7 children and 8 grandchildren. They have a heart to see the Hispanic community reached for Jesus. They'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.
