Meet the Board
Meet Our Board Members
Board Member Profiles
See also: Our Staff
Leecroft Clarke
- Name
- Leecroft Clarke
- Church Affiliation
- Healing Word Ministries
Jamestown, NY - Favorite Scripture
- Hebrews 11:6
- Hebrews 11:6
- But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
- Hope for The Better Place
For all those that come to the Better Place that they will come to a place to rest and be ministered to, restored and renewed to complete the task assign to them by the Lord.
Mel McGinnis
- Name
- Mel McGinnis
- Church Affiliation
- Kiantone Congregational Church
Kiantone, NY - Favorite Scripture
- Romans 4:5
- Romans 4:5
- However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. (NIV)
- Hope for The Better Place
I simply hope it will be a place to be nourished, refreshed and replenished.
C. D. ("Carly") Moore
- Name
- C. D. ("Carly") Moore
- Church Affiliation
- Wesleyan
Warren, PA - Favorite Scripture
- The Holy Bible, NIV... It varies from day to day. For now: Philippians 3:7-11
- Philippians 3:7-11
- But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
- Hope for The Better Place
It is my hope The Better Place will be on the cutting edge of ministry that brings renewal, revival and transformation to the pastors, the church and the entire region. It is my hope that The Better Place will be a model of empowerment ministry that gives pastors and churches a second wind, encouragement and a better understanding of communing with God. It is my hope that The Better Place will receive great blessings and multiply them by the grace of God many times over for others.
Alfonso Pagan
- Name
- Alfonso Pagan
- Church Affiliation
- Nueva Vida Covenant Church
Jamestown, NY
Kimberly R. Park
- Name
- Kimberly R. Park
- Church Affiliation
- Fluvanna Community Church
Jamestown, NY - Favorite Scripture
- Ephesians 4:32
- Ephesians 4:32
- Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another; even as God, for Christ sake, has forgiven you!
- Romans 12
- [favorite passage This is my life line. I pattern my life after this portion of scripture.]
- Continually renewing my mind, loving without pretense, living in honor giving preference to others, rejoicing with those who rejoice, overcoming evil with good etc.
- Hope for The Better Place
My hope for The Better Place is to provide an atmosphere conducive to hearing the still small voice (I Kings 19:11 12). Society, occupations, family and even ministry keep us in a whirlwind most of the time. We need a place to separate ourselves from the “wind, earthquake, and fire, and learn to recognize and listen to the still small voice of the Lord. It is my hope that The Better Place would provide, and encourage an atmosphere conducive to many finding such a needed refuge. (As I personally reflect on my own life, the most precious time of God revealing Himself to me has been at a quiet retreat. A place where the still small voice was the loudest.) It is my hope The Better Place can provide such intimacy with our loving God.
James S. Pegan
- Name
- James S. Pegan
- Church Affiliation
- Findley Lake United Methodist Church
Findley Lake, NY - Favorite Scripture
- Luke 11:35-36
- Luke 11:35-36
- Jesus said See to it, then that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you. (NIV)
- Hope for The Better Place
The better place already exists, but has been largely lost within the Church. Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God had arrived and was within God's people. My hope for the Better Place is that, through prayer and fervently seeking God's face, Christian disciples will be healed of their earthly weaknesses and made available to boldly proclaim and advance God's Kingdom. The Better Place will be a tool to bring God’s people together, heal them and send them back to their places of ministry, wherever that may be. God will use the Better Place to tear down walls that exist between Christians, freeing them to more truly become the Body of Christ. The Better Place will be a catalyst for spiritual revival, a place where people’s eyes and ears will be focused and tuned into the things that God is already doing in our land so that they can praise him and get on board with him!
Cindy Robison
- Name
- Cindy Robison
- Church Affiliation
- House Church
Lakewood, NY - Favorite Scripture
- Matthew 4:4
- Matthew 4:4
- It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
- Hope for The Better Place
That everyone who comes will hear a word from God that will change their lives. That this would be a place that Isaiah 30:21 comes alive. And your ears will hear a word behind you saying, This is the way; walk in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left.
Maureen Schafer
- Name
- Maureen Schafer
- Church Affiliation
- Park United Methodist Church
Sinclairville, NY - Web site
- Samaritan House - an outreach ministry serving families in need.
- Favorite Scripture
- John 15:16
- John 15:16
- You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you I have appointed you, I have planted your that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing; that your fruit may be lasting (that it may remain, abide); so that whatever your ask the Father in My name [as presenting all that I Am] He may give it to you. (A. V.)
- Hope for The Better Place
My hope is for renewal and unity among the churches of the region served by The Better Place. To be an oasis for pastors and prayer warriors to come and be refreshed. To be a place where we come together fulfilling Jesus Christ’s prayer: …so that they all may be one just as You, Father, are in me and I in You, that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent me. John 17:21
Samuel F. Shreffler
- Name
- Samuel F. Shreffler
- Church Affiliation
- Jamestown Free Methodist Church
Jamestown, NY - Favorite Scripture
- Ezekiel 33:1-6
- Ezekiel 33:1-6
- 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. 5 Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’
- Hope for The Better Place
When Christ walked on earth He brought wholeness to thousands who sought Him out. It is my belief and conviction that He is still doing that kind of work. It is my prayer that “The Better Place” will be so anointed and led of God that many will come and find complete renewal and new strength. The Bible tells us, They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength… This is a place where they will be able to wait on the Lord in the most literal sense. We all know that there are many pastors and leaders in ministry walking around wounded and hurting. Few denominations have set things in place to bring healing and renewal to these who find themselves so deeply disillusioned with ministry. Because of that many of them abandon ministry. It is my longing as well as my hope and prayer that The Better Place will become a sanctuary where these “warriors” can come and find renewal by the presence and power of God.
The Better Place also needs to be a place where men and women can just draw aside for a while to hear a new word from the Lord. It may not be deep wounds that bring some people to us but a need to find a place where they would be able to wait in quiet seclusion before God for a period of time undisturbed by the phones, emails and ordinary business of life, ministry and perhaps even family.
But, I must add, the vision does not end there either. I can see this being a place for some to come and be challenged by a time of training and cross-stimulation of thoughts from sharing the best ministry has to offer from leader to leader under the direction of God.
I guess there is so much that I see this ministry being able to do. In a nutshell, it will provide a place beyond what the local church can do without taking anything away from the ministry of that local church. Indeed, if allowed to come into the full vision God has for this ministry, it may well be used of our Master to keep many in the ministry that may otherwise opt out of the very thing [ministry] God had called them to do.
Mark A. Summers
- Name
- Mark A. Summers
- Church Affiliation
- Abbe Reformed Church
Clymer, NY - Favorite Scripture
- Isaiah 55:11
- Isaiah 55:11
- So shall my word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
- Hope for The Better Place
First, That the BP will be a place of rest, refreshment, restoration and recharging for pastors, missionaries, Christian workers, anybody working on the front line of spiritual warfare needing a place of rest.
Secondly, I hope that The Better Place will be the leader in our area for teaching, developing and discipling the area churches and church people about prayer. Whether this is creating training seminars, teaching seminars, creating multimedia presentations or beginning prayer groups throughout our area, whatever it takes to teach about prayer to our local area.
Jackie Witherspoon
- Name
- Jackie Witherspoon
- Church Affiliation
- Blackwell Chapel AME Zion
Jamestown, NY - Favorite Scripture
- Proverbs 3 – 6 and John 15:5
- Proverbs 3 – 6 and John 15:5
- Proverbs 3 – 6 and John 15:5 – Who do I think I am that I could ever live this life on my own? I know that I have to put all my trust in the One who created me and called me. I choose to acknowledge Him in everything I set my hands to do, while knowing that apart from Him I can do nothing, I am nothing, and I will have nothing without Him. But with Him, all things are possible! He is my All in All.
- Hope for The Better Place
It is my prayer to see "The Better Place" grow to be a place of rest and restoration; healing and helping; prayer and power; giving man the victory and God the glory.
