Church Members
Ministries
Speakers
Rev. Dr. Aizaiah Yong
Victor Luna
Rev. Courtney Armento
Rev. Neddy Yong
Beth Parker
Team Members
Rev. Dr. Aizaiah Yong
Aizaiah is a practical theologian who is passionate and committed to intercultural works of peace, justice, & social transformation. Aizaiah has experience serving in a variety of leadership positions within non-profit, educational, & religious institutions as well as in consulting roles with executive leaders seeking organizational change. He continues to publish numerous works related to issues at the intersection of wisdom-based leadership, pastoral theology and care, spirituality, and intercultural studies.
Aizaiah hosts a podcast called CHANGE HAPPENS NOW, in which, “…guests from our leadership collective share stories, insights, practices, and tools that will prepare and empower aspiring and emerging leaders to enact social change in their personal lives, communities, and in the organizations they serve.”
The podcast is available on Spotify, and can also be accessed through the Ignite Institute’s website.
Team Members
Victor Luna
Team Members
Rev. Courtney Armento
Courtney Armento is graduating from the Claremont School of Theology with a Master of Divinity Degree, spring 2019. She is a member of First Christian Church Pomona in Southern California and completing Field Education requirement at the University Church, Chicago. She is under care with the PSWR for ordination. She believes in the transformational power of God’s love to heal and remind us of our interconnectedness. She embraces enlivened ways of evolving and embodying the radical way of Jesus.
Courtney is a Womanist contemplative theologian, passionate about helping others discern what it means to develop the inner landscape of the soul. Which she believes informs a renewed, deeper and abiding relationship with Jesus. She is focused on teaching, leading and preaching in ways that aid individuals in cultivating their spiritual empowerment and impels them to flourish. She is intentionally creating sacred and safe space to engage difficult topics. One of her goals in ministry, is to shift the normative subversive culture of Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence. She seeks to shatter shame, stigma and silence, through bringing the wider church into conversation, action and response to this pandemic health crisis.
In her first effort to shift the social landscape of domestic and intimate partner violence, she co-authored resolution GA-1928, A Call to See and Respond to the Crisis Of Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence. GA-1928 is up for adoption at the General Assembly, 2019. She is aligns the mission of the resolution with action through training and program development.
Team Members
Rev. Neddy Yong
Team Members
Beth Parker
Beth is a lifelong Southern California native who currently resides in Los Angeles, CA, where she serves as the Associate Pastor for Youth and Children at Church of the Valley and Little Brown Church. As a fourth generation Disciple of Christ, the church has been a major part of her life and upbringing. She is a graduate of Chapman University where she got her BA in Film Studies in 2012 and has recently earned her M.Div. from the Claremont School of Theology. Her ministry focus is working with youth and young adult within the Pacific Southwest Region and beyond. Beth is an avid film fan and has a passion for literature. That passion spills over into naming pets, like her German Shepherd/Husky mix Jane Pawsten. Joining FCC Pomona in 2015, Beth has appreciated the care and support of the church.