Sojourn East

Leadership & Staff

East Staff

Kevin Jamison

Kevin Jamison

Lead Pastor

Kevin Jamison has been the lead Pastor at Sojourn East since 2011. Kevin also coaches other pastors in preaching, vision and leadership. Kevin’s favorite times are those spent with his wife Steph, five children Anna, Owen, Knox, Everly, Hank, and their dog Truman.

Bryan Lopina

Executive Pastor, Operations

Bryan Lopina

Executive Pastor, Operations

Bryan has served as the Executive Pastor of Sojourn East since 2016. Bryan is married to his high school sweetheart Jackie and is dad to three children: Bryan, Jonathan, and Evelyn. Bryan loves to get away to his undisclosed lake house, to boat and hang out with his family.

Seth Michels

Executive Pastor, Ministries

Seth Michels

Executive Pastor, Ministries

Seth and his wife Julie have been in student ministry for over 20 years, and Seth has been the Students Director at East since 2018. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He likes history, reading, Lord of the Rings, and loves time in the outdoors via mountain bike, skis, backpacking or his dirt bike.

Lyndsay Magar

Connections Director

Lyndsay Magar

Connections Director

Lyndsay is the Connections Director at Sojourn East. She is passionate about helping people get connected and feel at home here! Lyndsay and her husband, Jason, have been members at Sojourn East since 2009. They have three awesome teenagers.

Hilary Noltemeyer

Mobilization Director

Hilary Noltemeyer

Mobilization Director

Hilary Noltemeyer is the Director of Mobilization and a native Louisvillian (go Cards!) and has been married to her husband Kyle for 25 years (in 2022). They have three children Willow (20), Mirabel (18) and Lincoln (16). She loves embroidery, reading, watching sports and fly fishing.

Jonathan Pennington

Associate Pastor

Jonathan Pennington

Associate Pastor

Pastor Jonathan is an Associate Pastor and one of the teaching pastors at Sojourn East. He is also the father of six kids, a New Testament professor at Southern Seminary, the author of many books, and an avid lover of soccer and Taylor Swift.

Scott Slucher

Communications Director

Scott Slucher

Communications Director

Scott is the Director of Communications and Sunday Production at Sojourn East. He and his wife Angell have been married since 1991 and have three beautiful daughters. His many passions include travel, cycling, books, movies, podcasts and making things. He and his wife have attended Sojourn since 2002.

Moe Clark

Pastor of Outreach

Moe Clark

Pastor of Outreach

Moe serves as the Pastor of Outreach at Sojourn East. He enjoys getting to know people through meaningful relationships. Moe is passionate about making the gospel known and helping others grow more and more into the image of Christ. He believes community is essential because Christ doesn’t redeem people to be in isolation, but into a new community, a new type of humanity.

Justin Hyde

Community Life Director

Justin Hyde

Community Life Director

Justin has served in pastoral ministry for over 20 years and has worked as coach and pastoral counselor to ministry leaders and their families since 2009. He and his wife Brandi have been members at Sojourn East since 2021. They have three amazing children: Jonas (b. 2004), Betty (b. 2006), and Henry (b. 2010). Justin loves being outside with his family, eating at new restaurants in Louisville, and buying (and sometimes reading) books!

Eric Johnson

Lay Counseling Director

Eric Johnson

Lay Counseling Director

Brooke Malko

Women’s Ministry Director

Brooke Malko

Women’s Ministry Director

Brooke Malko is the Director of Women’s Ministry and a native Louisville resident. She has been married to her husband Jon for 13 years, and they have 4 children together. She is a homeschooling mom, loves to read, and enjoys a good cup of coffee. As a true extrovert, Brooke loves to spend her days surrounded by people – enjoying her family, grabbing lunch with a friend, or meeting new women from Sojourn East.

Aaron Napper

Technical Director

Aaron Napper

Technical Director

Aaron Napper is the Technical Director at Sojourn East. He has been working in Church Media Ministry since he graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 2016. He enjoys board games, card games, reading, and going to the movies. He loves spending time with his wife, and baking (and eating) sweet treats.

Rodrigo Reis

Student Ministry Director

Rodrigo Reis

Student Ministry Director

Rodrigo serves as the Student Ministry Director since May of 2022. He is originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and has been in the US for over 10 years. He is also a graduate of Cedarville University and Southern Seminary. Rod’s favorite things to do are to spend time with his lovely wife Sarah and precious baby boy Theo, play disc golf with friends and hit the gym. Moreover, he is passionate about investing in young people helping them understand their identity in Christ and how to live a flourishing life.

Daniel Ryan

Soul Care Director

Daniel Ryan

Soul Care Director

Daniel is the Director of Soul Care and has been extensively involved with internationals and ESL, has lived overseas with his family, and has remained heavily involved with many facets of soul care. He currently works to provide oversight and training for those spaces which involve the hurting and the suffering at East.

Maggie Tait

Children’s Director

Maggie Tait

Children’s Director

Maggie Tait is the Director of Sojourn Kids and has served on staff since 2017. Maggie is passionate about seeing kids know the love God has for them. Her goal is to partner with parents in discipleship and connection. Maggie is married to Adam and they have one little boy, Thomas (age 5).

Sam Yong

Worship Director

Sam Yong

Worship Director

Sam has been leading worship at Sojourn East since January of 2018. He is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, but spent his formative years growing up in Cameroon, West Africa. Sam moved to Kentucky to study worship and music during his undergraduate years, and fell in love with Louisville and with Sojourn.

Claudia Blum

Mother’s Day Out Co-Director

Claudia Blum

Mother’s Day Out Co-Director

Claudia Blum is one the directors of the Mother’s Day Out program. She’s married to Ari and they have three amazing kids ( Charley, Sadie and Ari Jr (AJ)). She’s dedicated to serving parents through their kids in a gospel centered program all while teaching them the ABC’s.

Emily Cornish

Mother’s Day Out Co-Director

Emily Cornish

Mother’s Day Out Co-Director

Emily Cornish and her husband Ben have been members of Sojourn East since 2012. They have a daughter, Zoe and two lovable cats. Emily started with MDO as a classroom teacher when the program first launched in 2018 and stepped into the co-director role in 2021.

Sarah Black

Operations Manager

Sarah Black

Operations Manager

Sarah Black serves as the Operations Manager. Sarah is passionate about equipping Sojourn East staff with the tools and resources to do their ministries well. Sarah is a graduate of Boyce College where she studied Global Studies and Business. She loves the summer, the beach, and a spontaneous trip with friends.

Doug Maurer

Property Maintenance Manager

Doug Maurer

Property Maintenance Manager

Julie Mitchell

Lead Pastor Assistant

Julie Mitchell

Lead Pastor Assistant

Julie Mitchell is the Assistant to the Lead Pastor. She and her husband Chuck share six children and nine grandchildren. Julie loves hiking, gardening, walks with her dog Hailai and traveling the country with her family in their RV.

Mandy Bailey

Associate Worship Leader

Mandy Bailey

Associate Worship Leader

Mandy Bailey is the Associate Worship Leader and has served on staff since 2019. She is also a full-time audio engineer and graduate student. Mandy has a passion for music, hospitality, goal-planning, card games, and Taylor Swift.

Becca Napper

Sojourn Kids Servant Coordinator

Becca Napper

Sojourn Kids Servant Coordinator

I love helping others feel welcomed and cared for. I enjoy a good cup of coffee, spending my time outside, and being with my husband Aaron and dog Charlie!

East Elders

Moe Clark

Moe Clark

Ben Cornish

Ben Cornish

Ben Cornish has been an elder at Sojourn East since May 2018. Ben serves at Sojourn with Missions, Community Groups, Connect, and Prayer. Ben received a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Minnesota, a Masters of Divinity from Southern Seminary, and is now working toward a Ph.D. in World Religions, also at Southern. After college, Ben and his wife Emily lived in Brisbane, Australia where they led a campus ministry with Cru, and since 2012, Ben has served as a missionary with Teaching Truth International. Ben and Emily have one daughter, Zoe.

Mark Franco

Mark Franco

Mark has been a member of Sojourn since 2007 and an elder since 2013. He is married to Tanya and they have 12 kids together: Cameron, Seth, Alethia, Autumn, Amaris, Gabriel, Heidi, Holly, Hadrian, Phoebe, Caspian, Sylvia. Mark enjoys building up people within organizations to help them exhibit the peaceful ambition that Jesus invites us into.

Chris Gault

Simon Groce

Simon Groce

Simon Groce has been an elder at Sojourn since 2009. He serves at Sojourn East with the Care and Adoption ministries. Simon has his bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida and Masters in Counseling from Southern Seminary. Simon and his wife Mandy have 4 kids.

Kevin Jamison

Kevin Jamison

Bryan Lopina

Bryan Lopina

Seth Michels

Seth Michels

Kyle Noltemeyer

Kyle Noltemeyer

Kyle has served at Sojourn since 2001, working in the care and counseling ministry, children’s worship, community groups, worship team, missions and as an elder. He currently serves as an elder at Sojourn East, with a focus on the care ministry. He is also currently serving with our missionary care team. Kyle is also a local business owner, working in real estate, and owns a local coffee shop. He serves on various boards in the city. His hobbies are playing music, biking, running and fly fishing. His wife is Hilary Noltemeyer and they have three children: Willow, Mirable and Lincoln.

Jonathan Pennington

Rick Steinrock

Rick Steinrock

Rick Steinrock has been an elder at Sojourn East since May of 2018. Rick serves in the men’s ministry, the care ministry in marriage mentoring and leads the mens Saturday morning Bible study.

Matthew Westerholm

Matthew Westerholm

Open Positions at Sojourn East

Open Positions

Internships at Sojourn East

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Leadership & Staff

East Staff

Kevin Jamison

Kevin Jamison

Bryan Lopina

Bryan Lopina

Seth Michels

Seth Michels

Lyndsay Magar

Lyndsay Magar

Hilary Noltemeyer

Hilary Noltemeyer

Jonathan Pennington

Jonathan Pennington

Scott Slucher

Scott Slucher

Moe Clark

Moe Clark

Justin Hyde

Justin Hyde

Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson

Brooke Malko

Brooke Malko

Aaron Napper

Aaron Napper

Rodrigo Reis

Rodrigo Reis

Daniel Ryan

Daniel Ryan

Maggie Tait

Maggie Tait

Sam Yong

Sam Yong

Claudia Blum

Claudia Blum

Emily Cornish

Emily Cornish

Sarah Black

Sarah Black

Doug Maurer

Doug Maurer

Julie Mitchell

Julie Mitchell

Mandy Bailey

Mandy Bailey

Becca Napper

Becca Napper

East Elders

Moe Clark

Moe Clark

Ben Cornish

Ben Cornish

Mark Franco

Mark Franco

Chris Gault

Chris Gault

Simon Groce

Simon Groce

Kevin Jamison

Kevin Jamison

Bryan Lopina

Bryan Lopina

Seth Michels

Seth Michels

Kyle Noltemeyer

Kyle Noltemeyer

Jonathan Pennington

Jonathan Pennington

Rick Steinrock

Rick Steinrock

Matthew Westerholm

Matthew Westerholm

Open Positions at Sojourn East

Internships at Sojourn East

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