Covenant Church

Since May 2008, Jerry has served as the Senior Pastor at Covenant. A lifelong, sixth-generation Floridian, he has been preaching the gospel and teaching God’s Word for over 40 years. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, golfing, reading, and cooking. He is also a perennially frustrated Jacksonville Jaguars fan. Jerry married his college sweetheart, Katherine. They have two sons: MJ, who lives with them and is known for giving the best hugs, and Jakob, who resides in Durham, NC, with his wife, Jill, where he works as a software engineer at Google. They are excited to welcome their first grandchild this year.

Jonathan grew up in Irmo, South Carolina (home of the "Okra Strut") and studied math and computer science at Virginia Tech. After graduating in 1996, he was commissioned in the military and was stationed in the Air Force at Patrick Air Force Base in Satellite Beach, Florida. He started attending Covenant Church and became a member soon after. Sensing a call to ministry, he finished up his time in the Air Force, went to seminary in Orlando, graduated in 2005, was ordained, and was called as an Assistant Pastor at Covenant in 2006. He's been serving at Covenant ever since.

As Executive Pastor, Jonathan oversees staff, operations, finances, and facilities of the church. His pastoral responsibilities include overseeing adult small groups, discipleship, care, and outreach ministries. He supervises our two daughter churches and develops new young leaders, including mentoring our pastoral interns and running our in-house seminary program.

Jonathan enjoys discussing or reading about theology over a good cup of coffee, throwing the football outside with his boys, and cooking meats on his smoker.

Jonathan met his wife, Michelle, in a singles group Bible study that he was leading while in seminary. He and Michelle have four boys: Josiah, Trenton, Elias, and Rylan.

Born into the Covenant Church family in 1982, Ben has experienced God's faithfulness through multiple moves in and out of the area, returning to Covenant Palm Bay four times throughout his life. He currently serves as an Associate Pastor and actively volunteers with the worship team, children's ministry, and first impressions team. A fifth-generation resident of Palm Bay, Ben enjoys spending time with his family and participating in sports, including running, soccer, basketball, and ultimate frisbee. He has been married to his wife Alanna for 11 years, and together they have three wonderful children.

Paxson came to Covenant from California in 2015, when the Lord brought him here to serve as our Director of Worship. Though he has been in worship ministry since 1998, he was actually a biochemistry major in college and worked for two and a half years on a PhD in molecular biology. We’re thankful the Lord called him to full-time worship ministry.

In addition to worship, Paxson serves as a ruling elder, adult small group leader, and coordinates our Living Free Recovery Ministry.

On his day off, you will likely find him running—often running anywhere from 13 to 24.5 miles. In addition to running, he loves photography, especially macro nature photography which allows him to capture the details of God's creation.

Paxson and his wife Allison have been married since 1999 and have two lovely daughters, Laura Camille and Mallory. Allison is the Florida recruiter for Samford University—which is where both their daughters attend college. The Jeancakes are a musically gifted family. There have been a handful of times that Paxson, Allison, and their two daughters have all been on the worship team together!

Originally from Pennsylvania, Andrea moved to Florida in 1998 to be closer to her family. She began attending a Covenant small group at her neighbor's home, quickly becoming part of the church community, which she has loved ever since. During her final year of homeschooling, Andrea started working part-time at Covenant as Jonathan Culley’s administrative assistant. Now, she serves as the Director of Women’s Discipleship and Engagement, overseeing women’s small groups, discipleship, counseling, and related initiatives. Andrea leads several women’s small groups and started our She Shares: Sexual Abuse Recovery Ministry, which supports women who have experienced sexual abuse. On Sunday mornings, you can find her at the Welcome Desk, engaging with new guests and helping them get connected to the church.

In their free time, Andrea enjoys a good cup of coffee and cherishes family moments, with weekly family nights centered around homemade sourdough pizza. A lover of plants—especially orchids—Andrea also has a passion for photography, particularly capturing the beauty of nature.

Andrea and her husband Mark met while in college. Their first summer together they spent bicycling from Los Angeles, California, to Seattle, Washington, along the coastal highway. Together, they have one adult son, McCartney, who serves as the Worship Director at New City Church.

Jacob was born and raised in west Michigan, where he also received his undergrad at a Bible college. After graduation, he served as a youth director in metro Detroit for four years.

Jacob came to Covenant in 2021, where he now leads our middle school and high school programs. Jacob also helps plan and lead the men's ministry events.

He loves pretty much any sport that involves chasing a ball or frisbee, and is a big Manchester City fan. He also enjoys going on adventures to new places and hearing about other people's passions.

Jacob is married to Dani and they have twin boys, Levi and Judah.

Lauren moved to Florida and joined Covenant in 2009, and has been a dedicated part of the church community ever since. She is the Director of Children's Ministry, where most of her work and volunteering revolves. She has served in Children's Ministry since 2012.

Lauren loves listening to audiobooks and podcasts, having movie nights with her family, and playing Candy Crush. Her favorite sport is hockey, and she’s a huge Toronto Maple Leafs fan!

Lauren grew up in Canada with two Dutch immigrants for parents and four sisters. Because she grew up in Canada, she learned French all through school, and, she says, “Je suis parle un peu français.”

Dan and Lauren have been married for 20 years and they have two boys and two girls between the ages of 9 and 16.

Hazel grew up in England and was raised in a Christian home, her grandfather being a Baptist minister. She met her husband Eric when he came to the UK on a mission trip. They married and moved to Florida in 1986, becoming members at Covenant in 1989.

Hazel has been our part-time office manager since 2016. She loves the Lord and cannot imagine life without Him. She is part of a women’s small group, enjoys helping people, and being part of the staff team. If you’ve been around very long, you’ll know that Hazel is a good organizer and heads up many church events.

Hazel has four adult children (two boys and two girls) and the family continues to grow—she now has four grandchildren. Hazel has a passion for dogs (she has a black lab and a lab mix) and can be found teaching two classes a week at the local dog club.

Marianne came to Covenant in 1987 when the church was still meeting at the Melbourne Seventh Day Adventist Church. As our Receptionist and Operations Assistant, she manages databases, facility schedules, church calendar, and supports our children’s and student ministries. In addition, Marianne serves as a Stephen Minister and volunteers in our nursery.

An avid reader and crafter, Marianne enjoys card-making, scrapbooking, and cross-stitching.

Marianne and Keith have been happily married for more than 40 years and have two adult children, as well as two wonderful grandchildren.

Drena moved from Augusta, Georgia and found the perfect fit at Covenant in July 2022. As the “Keeper of the Files” and bookkeeper, she manages essential records and financial tasks behind the scenes.

Outside of work, Drena is devoted to her family—husband Donny and their three children: Sasha (26), Natalie (12), and Ryan (11). She enjoys cooking, photography, walking, and beach trips, but most of her time is spent driving her kids to their sports activities.

Drena has a degree in photography and art history. During high school and college, she was a member of the rowing team.

Emily has grown up at Covenant since she was a little girl. After graduating from the University of Florida and marrying Ricky, they made Covenant their church home. While she initially taught third grade, she now enjoys being a stay-at-home mom and serving as the Children's Worship Coordinator for 1st-3rd grade on Sunday mornings.

In addition to her role, she volunteers on the Welcome Team and participates in small groups at Covenant. Outside of church, she loves reading, cooking, spending time with family and friends, and exploring new places. Evening walks with her family are a favorite activity, and though she hasn’t played much recently, she loves volleyball when she can.

An interesting fact about Emily is that she’s learning to cook authentic Mexican food from her mother- and sister-in-laws and is also working on her Spanish. She has a passion for teaching, especially reading and science, and enjoys all things Star Wars.

Emily and Ricky have a daughter, Rebecca, and a playful chocolate lab. Much of her family lives in town, and her parents, grandparents, and brother all attend Covenant as well.

Originally from Oklahoma, Nathan joined Covenant in 2016, where he leads the Audio/Visual Team and provides essential internet and network support. He has also volunteered with the church’s children and high school ministries.

Outside of work, Nathan enjoys singing in a barbershop chorus and quartet, as well as watching football—cheering on his beloved Boomer Sooner team. Nathan married Becky in 2023, and has one son, Thomas.

Coming soon!