Pastor Laura Bensman will be interim pastor until July 1, 2023. No stranger to Sylvania First, Pastor Laura served as interim director of inreach in 2021.

While Ashley may appear entirely professional at church, if you get her involved in playing a game – board game, videogame, sport, any game really - then you will see her fun and competitive side emerge. She loves to win, but it’s the relationship building that she enjoys the most. She was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, so don’t hold it against her that she roots for the University of Kentucky basketball team. It is her alma mater after all. Her husband Joshua also works for a church, serving as the pastor at Hayes Memorial UMC in Fremont. With three children, and both parents working for churches there isn’t a lot of free time, but Ashley enjoys a good nap, reading, traveling, and relaxing while watching Netflix.

Heather joins the Sylvania First Team with over 20 years of educational experience. Her area of focus are leadership and direction of the church’s faith formation and family ministries. Whether you are a kiddo, young adult or young at heart adult, she is committed to helping individuals and families deepen their relationship with God and grow in their faith. For fun, Heather enjoys reading, listening, and watching “who done it” murder mysteries, relaxing by a cozy fire or warm beach, and spending time with her family and friends either playing or watching sporting events.

Coming to Sylvania First with a background in photography and graphic design, Jamie’s work is featured in church bulletins, Powerpoints and the website. Jamie believes the key to good chocolate chip cookies is extra chocolate chips, and if you start the day with a good cup of coffee then everything will be alright. Being a devoted Ravens fan, you’ll catch her in purple on any given day, but never black and yellow. Jamie’s favorite quote is, “Life is like a camera. Just focus on what’s important and capture the good times, develop from the negatives, and if things don’t work out, just take another shot.” — Unknown

Bonnie is a longtime resident of Sylvania. She teaches private piano lessons and is the choir accompanist at Sylvania Southview High School. Although Bonnie has a performance degree for Piano and Oboe, it has become clear over the years that the highest power most strongly directs her to play and teach keyboards. “So when Kevin Foster became the Music Director and asked me to play organ and piano at Sylvania First, how could I refuse? It is a great honor and pleasure. I am very happy to join the worship team and to contribute to the musical spirituality at Sylvania First!”

Rick was invited to the church in 2013 to run the soundboard mix for the praise band. He’s never left. Rick’s passion for tech and sound equipment started when his high school son hired him to provide tech support for band performances outside of school. From late nights to Sunday mornings, Rick switched shifts and now helps amp up the sound of worship.

J Ronquillo is a musician by day and a musician by night. He can be found playing weddings and events across the Midwest throughout the week and leading services at Sylvania First on Sunday mornings. He studied jazz bass at the University of Toledo, but has recently been gigging on guitar. Besides playing, he loves cooking Filipino food, trying new soups, and biking!