Mike was born and raised in beautiful Alaska, along with his three brothers. They lived in Anchorage most of the time, but spent junior high and early high school in Dillingham. Mike gave his life to Jesus as a child as a result of the faithful witness of his parents. At the age of 18, he obeyed God’s call and committed himself to full-time Christian ministry. In pursuit of this calling, he earned a B.A. in HIstory at Harvard, an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a D.Min. from Denver Seminary. During his time at TEDS, he met his wife, Sabrina, with whom he has two daughters: Morgan and Aubrey.

 

Prior to planting Clear Water Church ten years ago, he was a pastor at Faith Christian Community for seven years and a pastor at ChangePoint for five years. Some fun facts about Pastor Mike are that he fished commercially in Bristol Bay for fourteen summers, he spent a year doing mission work in Russia, and he really enjoys coffee, nordic skiing, and fishing.

James was born in Glenallen, Alaska. His parents were missionaries, planting a church in Eagle, AK. He grew up in church and had faith in Jesus from a very young age. In pursuit of God’s calling, he attended Taylor University in Indiana and received a B.A. in Biblical Studies. To further his education, he also received an M.A. in New Testament from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago. 

 

James has been married to his wife, Ella, since 1997 and has three children: Hannah, Max, and Bronwyn.

 

Prior to working at Clear Water, he worked as a youth pastor in Alaska and Chicago, then went to South Africa as a missionary Bible College teacher. He loves that he is able to teach the word of God and help people to understand Scripture and apply it to their lives. He also loves that He is able to help church members accomplish the ministries that God has given them a vision for. God has called him to know and follow him and to help others know and follow him. 

 

James enjoys a lot of outdoor activities, especially cycling, including bicycle touring on a tandem bike with Ella. Some fun recent tours included Deadhorse to Coldfoot, San Juan Islands, San Francisco to Santa Barbara, and Tahiti.

Brian is from Florida and was saved in the 7th grade band room at his middle school. He was called to ministry at the age of 16, but ran from God for many years. He worked many jobs before committing to ministry, such as RVT, molecular biologist, baseball player, and general contractor. He submitted to God’s calling in 2003 and attended Southeastern Seminary, acquiring an M.A. in Biblical Counseling. 

 

During his time in seminary, he married his wife, Kristin, and has four children, Rhett, Evelyn, Ellen, and Elizabeth, which he says “consumes any free time he might have!” Brian loves his family and says the “stolen free time” is worth every minute because children do grow very fast. 

 

Brian is a friendly, outgoing person, which is why God has called him to serve at CWC as the youth pastor. He started CLUB68, which God has tremendously blessed. He says that even though he is 50 and a youth pastor, he likes to refer to himself “a late model corvette!”

Katie was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She witnessed her parents' strong faith and accepted Christ as her Savior in 2007 when she was 9 years old. Katie grew up singing and playing piano and decided to pursue a B.A. in Worship Arts from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. She graduated in December of 2017. During her time at GCU, Katie met her now husband, Zach, with whom she shares two daughters: Shiloh (3) and Finnley (1). Katie and her family moved back to Alaska in July of 2022 due to Zach’s job.

 

Katie says you can always find her with a coffee in hand and a messy bun, because #toddler mom. She spends her free time playing piano, studying apologetics, and begrudgingly watching 80’s/90’s action films with her husband.

 

She enjoys working at Clear Water because she loves the opportunity to be creative. She loves seeing God glorified in all that is being done at Clear Water. At this point in her life, Katie says God is calling her to disciple her children in His Word and serve His Kingdom with her love for all things creative.

 

A fun fact about Katie is that she thinks cats are way better than dogs! Oh, and a hot dog IS indeed a sandwich.

Grace Allen was born and raised in Kennewick, Washington. She grew up in huge family and a Christian home and was homeschooled until the last two years of high school. She transitioned to college at 15 and graduated at 19 with her Bachelors in English Literature from Washington State University.

 

In March of 2021, she made Anchorage, Alaska her permanent home. She was sponsored by a missionary family and lived with them until she married her husband Tim in August of 2021. They are now happily married and doing their best to follow the Lord and his plan for their life. They hope someday to add little ones to their family and pray to know God's plan for their future.

 

While her faith journey has been full of twists and turns and ups and downs, she is thankful to serve a God that will wrestle with her and isn't angered by her questions and uncertainty. 

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Grace loves to be outside; if she could hike, bike, or ski everywhere she would! She and her husband love to play games and share meals with friends. She's currently working on her first novel and hopes to be published someday soon. When she's not writing or outside, she loves to sew her own clothes and paint rocks she's collected from her adventures!

Louise was born and raised in Ogden, Utah. She was saved at the age of 14 and has loved Jesus ever since. Louise and her late husband were blessed with twins who are now grown up; a daughter, Heidi, and a son, Eric. She has two beautiful grandchildren, Jack and Jacob, that she gets to see on a regular basis. 

 

Louise received a B.S. in Secondary Education and a B.S. in Admin Accounting and has used these skills to teach High School, teach adults, Girl Scouts, and now, to serve Clear Water in all things administrative and financial. She has worked in both public and not-for-profit organizations.

 

Louise enjoys her work at Clear Water because she gets to work with people and be of service to those in need. She loves the openness of the church and its Biblical based teaching. 

 

She believes that God has a place for her talents that He instilled within her. He directs her in the way that she should go and she knows that God in His sovereignty knows when, where, and why events occur when they occur. 

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Louise enjoys being with her family, watercolor painting, hiking, outdoor activities, and gardening.

 "I am grateful to be a an elder at Clear Water Church. Most importantly, I am the husband of an amazing wife – Melody as well as being father of four awesome young men and women – Stephen, Katie, Kaylen, and Will. My family will always my first mission. "

 

Greg and his wife and family like to hike, bike, camp, and do whatever activity will help get them outside to enjoy this awesome community of Anchorage. He is retired and so have more time for volunteer activities and travel. 

 

Being an elder has stretched him personally in areas of praying more specially for the needs of the body of Christ at Clear Water. Greg is excited to be Jesus’ hands and feet directly in the ministries at Clear Water – specifically the Noorvik Mission and Healing Journey.

Bill was born and raised in upstate New York. He has BS degrees from Syracuse University and the College of Environmental Science and Forestry and then a MSCE
from Cornell University. Bill relocated to Fairbanks, Alaska in 1982 for gas pipeline design work and after one winter he was transferred to Anchorage where he put down
roots working as a civil engineer. After 40 years on the job, he still dabbles part time as interesting opportunities arise.

God blessed Bill by leading him to his wife Kim in 1988 and subsequently blessed him further with four sons and now five grandchildren. He is fortunate to have his sons and
grands all settled in Anchorage and following Jesus. Bill and Kim are longtime supporters of the Young Life ministries. Kim served on staff at Young Life’s Malibu BC youth camp and later worked as wilderness guide and base camp coordinator at the Beyond Malibu backpacking program. Our sons have all been to Beyond Malibu to go on a wilderness trip or volunteer as base camp staff, boat driver, or mountain guide.

Bill serves as chairman of the elder board for Clear Water Church in Anchorage and continues in discipleship through Bible Study Fellowship. Bill answered the call to join
the board of Arctic Barnabas Ministries because of his passion for supporting missionaries and pastors bringing the light of the gospel to remote and dark places in
Alaska.

Greetings, church family!

 

Justin has been attending Clear Water Church since 2014 and has been an Elder here since 2020. He has been in Alaska since just before his fifth birthday, spending most of his childhood in Valdez. After graduating high school, he spent a year in Colorado, then came back to Anchorage to finish a degree in Civil Engineering. Justin has been a practicing Civil/Structural Engineer for nearly 30 years.

 

He and wife Leah were married in 2017, and they currently reside in the Rabbit Creek/Goldenview area. They love to get outside and enjoy God's creation here in Alaska. They're both active runners and nordic skiers. You may just see one of them out on the trails pretty much any time of year!"

Doug grew up in New York and Virginia playing baseball and enjoying time at the beach with his family. At 29 years old he became a Christian and left the East Coast to pursue adventure in the form of wilderness leadership studies through Wheaton College, eventually earning a Masters in Educational Leadership. Doug found his ultimate adventure in Alaska where he met his wife LeAnn and they are now raising their two boys Axel and Oliver.

 

The Ketterers deeply value their church community in Alaska as well as the abundance of unique outdoor opportunities the 49th State provides. In his free time Doug enjoys mountain running, camping, biking, skiing, and spending quality time with family and friends. Doug loves encouraging others in their outdoor pursuits, and you can find him every May in the announcer's booth at the Gold Nugget Triathlon.

Adam was born in Corvallis, Oregon and grew up in the Portland area. His faith in Christ, by God’s grace, started at a young age. Adam attended Multnomah University and, in 2005, married his Alaska-born wife, Farrah. Adam later attended Multnomah Biblical Seminary and graduated with a Master of Divinity in 2010. Adam and Farrah made the frigid drive to Alaska in their Volkswagen Jetta onboard the Alaska Marine Highway with two little dogs in January 2011.

 

The Weinert’s have been attending Clear Water Church since 2017, and members since 2021. Adam is passionate about the Scriptures, and seeing people connect with Jesus through the Bible. Adam enjoys reading, spending time outdoors with his wife and dogs, and with Farrah, hosting people at their home.