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Staff & Leadership at Quest

Quest is, fundamentally, a gathering of people who together compose the church's organic faith community and leadership. To lead us in realizing our vision to be the church that we believe God is calling us to, we have been blessed with women and men who have sacrificed and contributed much to the leadership of the church. The church, ultimately, is comprised of four main synergistic forces:

  1. The Pastoral and church staff
  2. The Elder Board
  3. The Deacons
  4. The entire church membership.

It is through the church membership that we draw our critical ministry leaders for community groups and other ministries. In addition, internship opportunities are available for those who want to serve in that capacity.

  • Eugene Cho » Lead Pastor, Q Cafe Executive Director, Visioning, Teaching

    Eugene is the founding and lead pastor of Quest and the executive director of Q Cafe. He's also the founder of One Day's Wages, a non-profit organization focused on global poverty. Born in South Korea, he immigrated to the U.S. at age six and grew up in San Francisco. He and his wife, Minhee, have been married 14+ years and have three children. He studied psychology and theater at UC Davis and received his theological degree at Princeton Seminary. Eugene and some of his work have been covered through various media including the New York Times, Seattle Times, and NPR. You can read his full story here. Connect with Eugene: His Blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

  • Gail Song Bantum » Pastor | Administration, Worship, Pastoral Care, Teaching

    Gail and her family relocated to the Seattle area in 2009 from Durham, North Carolina. Before joining the Quest staff in 2010, she led worship, conferences and taught seminars on leadership development in diverse and varied contexts for over 15 years. The realities of being a second generation Korean-American woman, 16 years in an interracial marriage and raising multi-ethnic children, have all continued to profoundly contribute to and inform her life of ministry. She is particularly passionate about the convergence between identity and worship, as well as mentoring and developing next generation leaders. Gail received her M.Div. from Duke Divinity School, and her Bachelor of Music from The Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. In her free time, she dreams of heaven being filled with Asian, Soul and Latin cuisines, Brazilian music, and vanilla iced coffee. Gail, her husband Brian, and their three sons currently reside in Magnolia. Gail can be reached at gail@seattlequest.org or you can stay connected through Facebook, Twitter

  • Ray Bartel » Pastor | Community, Presence, Pastoral Care, Teaching

    Ray joined Quest in June 2007 when Interbay Covenant Church, where he pastored beginning in November 2000, merged with Quest. Ray married his high school sweetheart, Joy, in 1967. They have a son and daughter and three grandsons. Ray received a degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Washington and a Master of Divinity degree from North Park University. Prior to full-time pastoral ministry, Ray served as a bi-vocational pastor for 15 years while working in engineering at Boeing. Next to his family and faith, his passion includes Christian apologetics, conversation, ballroom dancing, and staying physically fit. He can be reached at ray@seattlequest.org.

  • Brenda Salter McNeil » Pastor | Teaching

    Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil is a powerful, prophetic preacher and thought-leader in the field of reconciliation. She is an Associate Professor of Reconciliation Studies and the Director of the Reconciliation Minor’s program at SPU. Brenda is an author, speaker, consultant, and president of Salter McNeil and Associates, with over 25 years of experience in the field of racial, ethnic, and gender reconciliation. Brenda earned her B.A. from Rutgers University, M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, and D.Min. from formerly named Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, now Palmer Theological Seminary. Brenda was recently named by Christianity Today as one of the 50 women to watch for in her work shaping the church and culture. Brenda and her husband Dr. J. Derek McNeil, have two children and reside in Seattle. Inquiries can be sent to teaching@seattlequest.org.

  • Aaron Cho » Pastor | Community Life and Formation

    Aaron joined the Quest staff in 2012 relocating to the Seattle area from Pasadena, California. In many ways his journey to Quest serves as a homecoming of sorts being born and raised in the great Northwest (represent 253). After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Whitman College he spent a year teaching English and serving at a church in South Korea. It was there he found his call for pastoral ministry and pursued further educational debt aka Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary (little did he know he would meet Judith, his future wife, at Fuller). Through his experience growing up and serving in the Korean immigrant church and also serving as a pastor in a predominantly African-American, multi-ethnic/cultural church he strongly values racial reconciliation and the myriad of ways in which people connect with and worship the living God. He loves engaging life through sports, eating amazing food from every culture, reading, and beating his wife in Monopoly Deal. He can be reached at aaron@seattlequest.org.

  • Liz Mosbo VerHage » Pastor | Glocal Ministries, Pastoral Care, Teaching

    Rev. Dr. Liz Mosbo VerHage relocated to Seattle in 2013 from Chicago, IL, to join Quest’s staff and serve in the areas of local outreach, global presence, and compassion and justice ministries. She is passionate about helping the church love God and love others holistically - through thoughtful education, authentic relationships, and creative, intentional ministry. Her previous ministry experience includes pastoring, community organizing, leadership and administration, racial reconciliation trips, writing, and teaching in various church/school contexts. Liz received Theology and Community Development Degrees from North Park Seminary and earned a Doctorate in Theology and Ethics from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She is also currently the chair of the ECC Denomination’s Christian Action Commission and an adjunct professor who helps direct the Seminary‘s urban ministry certificate program. In her free time she loves exploring neighborhoods, hanging with friends, and enjoying Thai food with her husband, Peter, and two children in the Ballard ‘hood. Liz can be reached at liz@seattlequest.org or on facebook.

  • Matt and Roxy Hornbeck » Associate Directors of Worship | Directors of College Ministry

    Matt and Roxy moved to Seattle from Flagstaff, Arizona. Before joining the Quest community in 2008, they were Associate Pastors for 8 years at Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Flagstaff. Community, justice, and compassion have always been tenants of Matt and Roxy’s ministry, so they immediately felt a strong connection to Quest and have been serving ever since.

    Matt is a Sociology Instructor at Seattle Central Community College and Cascadia Community College, and Roxy is an English and Humanities Instructor at Seattle Central Community College. They consider themselves life-long-learners, so in addition to their MA degrees, they each earned MFAs in Arts Leadership from Seattle University.

    In 2010, Matt and Roxy founded QUIET, a non-profit arts community dedicated to art and social change through dialogue. In the last few years, they have had the opportunity to produce over 30 artist projects and they are excited for many more artistic adventures.

    Matt and Roxy have a love for God, a love for music and art, a love for people (especially college students), and a love for 80s/90s pop cultural references. Can we get a Bueller? Bueller?

    We are blessed to be able to walk with the Quest community as we all strive to serve God’s Kingdom.

    Contact Matt at matt@seattlequest.org or Roxy at roxy@seattlequest.org

  • Coby Cagle » Director of Youth Ministry

    Coby first fell in love with ministry to adolescents in the summer of 1999 as a youth ministry intern in Brenham, TX. Since then, he has served in a variety of youth ministry positions from Youth Worship Director to Head Youth Director for both small and large churches. He is passionate about connecting teens to Jesus and equipping parents to disciple their own children. He has a B.A. in Business Administration from Rhodes College (Memphis, TN) and an M.Div. from George Fox Evangelical Seminary (Portland, OR). Coby, his wife, and children moved from San Antonio, TX to Seattle in September of 2012 to become the Director of Youth Ministry at Quest.  In his free time he enjoys drinking coffee slowly, reading , exploring God’s creation, wrestling with his kids, laughing with his wife, and playing any sport that involves a flying, rolling, or bouncing projectile.

  • Jill Vance » Director of the BCC

    Jill is the Director of the BCC (Bridge Care Center). She oversees the day to day operations of The BCC, which is Quest’s homeless outreach ministry. She has been attending Quest since November of 2009 after relocating from Northern California. Jill received her bachelor of arts in Psychology from Biola University. One of the things she loves about living in Seattle is its abundance of parks and coffee shops all throughout the city. She can be reached at jill@seattlequest.org

  • Joanie Komura » Office Operations: Finance & Administration

    Joanie, a fourth generation Japanese-American, was born and raised in Seattle. She attended University of Washington and worked at the Seattle Times for many years. In 2001, she stepped into church at Quest and eventually came to revelation of Jesus and was baptized at Quest. After volunteering for couple years, she officially joined the staff as Finance Administrator in 2004. Along with her duties at Quest, she works as a freelance photographer and is avid fan of Bon Jovi. You can reach her: joanie@seattlequest.org.

  • Katey Hage » Director of Children & Family Ministry

    Katey Hage is the Children's Ministry Director at Quest Church. Katey brings an intense passion for children and experience in our own Children's Ministry to the role. She and her husband Corey and their two boys live in Magnolia. Katey writes on faith, life, and family at her blog, Unveiled Faces. You can reach her at katey@seattlequest.org.

  • Pam Christensen » Associate Director of Children & Family Ministry

    Pam is the associate children's ministry director at Quest. She has a passion for early childhood ministry as well as ministry to children and families with special needs. In her free time, Pam loves to read, study history, go on road trips, and play outside with her family and their dogs. She and her husband, Eric, have two boys and live in Shoreline. You can reach her at pam@seattlequest.org.

  • Jin An » Information Technology | Operations

    Jin has been with Quest since the beginning and was the first staff member in 2001.  Since then, he's been serving on the worship team as guitarist and occasional worship leader, doing anything computer related and doing whatever else needs to be done.  He is a 1.5 generation Korean-American and has grown-up in the Seattle area for most of his life.  He is passionate about music, his daugher, and a few other hobbies.  He is a graduate of the University of Washington's Business School, with double degrees in Information Systems and Marketing with a minor in Asian American Studies.  He currently owns his own consulting company doing all aspects of IT, and brings those skills to the Quest staff.

  • Sun Kim » Associate Director of Audio & Visual

    Born and raised in Seattle, Sun holds great passion for music and all things audio.  He is currently studying for a B.S. in Audio Design Technology at the Art Institute of Seattle and is interning at BackBone Records in Bellevue.  He plans to bring his love for recording and live sound to the Audio/Visual Ministry in order to someday record a Quest Worship album.  He can be reached at sun@seattlequest.org.

  • Christian Hershberger » Building & Grounds Manager

    Christian joined the staff at Quest in 2009 as the Building and Grounds Manager. He was born and raised in Ohio within an Amish community. After leaving the Amish community he spent several years serving with a missions organization in Columbus, Ohio, and studied at Columbus State Community College. In 2009 he moved to Seattle to explore the Pacific Northwest. He loves coffee and rain, and fortunately Seattle lacks neither. In 2011 he married his beautiful wife Anita, and they currently reside in Capitol Hill. His passions include taking road trips with his wife, traveling, experiencing other cultures, photography, and music. You can reach him at christian@seattlequest.org.