Executive
Jamie Rasmussen, Senior Pastor
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Jamie Rasmussen was called to be the Senior Pastor of Scottsdale Bible Church in the Fall of 2007. As the primary teacher at our weekend worship services, Jamie also acts as the primary vision-caster for the church and is ultimately responsible to the elders for the health and growth of all our ministries and staff.
Jamie holds an earned Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and Psychology from Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, as well as an earned Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been an ordained pastor for almost 20 years and has served growing churches in Detroit, Michigan, London, Ontario (Canada) and Cleveland, Ohio.
With evident gifts in teaching and leadership, Jamie brings a unique combination of well-reasoned research, life experience and authentic application to his teaching. Believing deeply in both reason and biblical revelation, he loves to understand and apply the truths of the Bible to everyday life. Having a driving passion for the local church, Jamie’s leadership style is both visionary and strategic. More than all of this however, Jamie loves God and commits every day to helping those around him understand and know God on a deeper level.
Understanding that “leaders are readers,” Jamie can be found reading books simultaneously in four categories: theology, leadership, cultural/societal trends, and history. To keep his mind somewhat sane, he regularly reads the latest best-sellers in fiction. His current favorites are John Grisham and Clive Cussler.
Jamie is married to his wife, Kim, and together they have three teenage children. He and his family love to hike together, explore remote areas (preferably in a rugged 4×4) and are connoisseurs of great action movies.
Tom Sharda, Executive Pastor
Tom Sharda was called to be the Executive Pastor of Scottsdale Bible Church in December 2008 after serving 18 years in the marketplace. As Executive Pastor, he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Scottsdale Bible Church, including the supervision of all staff and the coordination of all ministries.
In the marketplace, Tom held a variety of leadership roles in program management, process improvement and organizational development. He earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Engineering from Calvin College; a Bachelor and Master of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and an Executive Management of Technology from Case Western Reserve University.
Although having grown up in a Christian home, Tom’s faith in Christ did not become his own until a life-changing event in high school. Since that time he has grown in his relationship with Christ and his practical knowledge of the Bible evidenced through his balanced priorities, work ethic, love and service for others.
Shortly after starting his career, Tom was challenged by his senior pastor in Cleveland to get plugged into serving. Since that time he has always been active in the local church he attended through exercising his gifts of leadership, administration and service.
Tom is married to his wife, Jennie, and together they have four daughters. In his free time you will find him enjoying time with his family, spending time with friends and working around the home.
Don Baltzer, Administration
After attending vacation Bible school when he was 8 years old, Don’s mom explained how to accept Christ as his Savior—and he made that decision. Prior to working at Scottsdale Bible he spent 25 years at Mountain Bell/U.S. West/Qwest in public relations, running the corporate video studio, and various stints in Human Resources and Strategic Planning. He earned a B.S. in Radio/T.V. Broadcasting from Oklahoma State University and a M.A. in Speech Communication from Arizona State University.
Don has been on staff since July 2004 and his oversight is for audio visual and lights, I.T, facilities, communication and human resources. Don and his wife Susan have been married since 1997 and collectively have six children and six grandchildren.
Dale Galloway, Family Ministries
From his earliest years of ministry, Dale became known as a pastor with a great heart for lost people, a Christ-centered message of hope and a passion to train and release God’s people into front-line ministry. Together with his wife Margi, Dale served as founding pastor of New Hope Community Church, Portland, Oregon, which quickly became a visionary and innovative pacesetter among churches, especially in small group ministry. During the Galloway’s 23 years at New Hope, the church grew to 6,400 members, 80 percent of who were previously unchurched. Dale has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Olivet University and Bachelor of Divinity from Nazarene Theological Seminary. He also received an honorary doctorate from Western Evangelical Seminary.
In 1995 Dale become dean of Asbury Theological Seminary’s Beeson International Center for Biblical Preaching and Church Leadership, which trained more than 1,000 pastors through a unique, three-year process of site visits across the U.S. Over the years, he authored 22 books, several achieving best-seller status. Two of his more recent books are Starting a New Church and On-Purpose Leadership.
Dale’s oversight will encompass the broad spectrum of ages—from infants to retired persons, including: marriage, men, women, children, student, college and second-half. Dale and his wife, Margi, live in Phoenix AZ. They have four grown children and two grandsons.
Ron Eriksson, Finance
Ron trusted in Jesus when he was 11 years old and living in California. Ron joined the staff in August 2001 after retiring from the Dial Corporation in 2000 (he decided retirement was boring). He held a number of technical and business management positions during his 35 years there. Ron earned a BS in Chemistry and Math from North Park College in Chicago and an MBA in Finance from ASU.
Under the direction of the elder board, Ron is responsible for managing the finances of the church. This includes establishing annual budgets, overseeing all aspects of expense management, maintaining vendor and banking relationships and providing financial council to the staff as it affects the various ministries of the church. He and Bonnie have four children—Tim (Dana), Dave (Andrea), Steve (Kirstie) and Linda (Rob) and three grandchildren.
Steve Eriksson, Spiritual Formation
Steve grew up attending Scottsdale Bible Church. When he was 8, Kimball Dunbar led him through the prayer of repentance in his Sunday school class. Prior to working at Scottsdale Bible Steve managed an engineering department at Motorola. He also served as a volunteer on the high school staff and then began his career in ministry in Crossroads. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Arizona, then went on to earn his Master’s in Divinity from Phoenix Seminary.
Steve will provide leadership for adult enrichment, outreach, counseling, somanorth, Class 100 and single’s ministries. Steve and his wife Kirstie were married in 2007.
Bruce Pearson, Worship and Creative Arts
Bruce came to know Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior at the invitation of his Sunday school teacher at the First Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Cloud State University, a Master’s degree in Music from the University of Northern Colorado and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Music from St. Cloud State University. Bruce was a public school teacher for 22 years and completed a total of 31 years in education as a college professor at Northwestern College and Bethel University.
Bruce will lead the worship team across all venues, including Sunday morning and evening services and our video venue. In addition to his responsibilities at Scottsdale Bible, he is a prolific author and composer. Bruce has been married to Dee for over 45 years; they have three children, nine living grandchildren plus one who preceded them to heaven.