OUR TEAM
Doing anything of value requires teamwork.
One of the problems faced by the New Testament church was how to handle the ministry needs that were popping up as the community of disciples of Jesus was growing. We see in Acts 6 that the answer to meeting the needs was to add some layers of qualified ministry leadership - so qualified disciples were recognized as being Elders (spiritual leaders) and Deacons (servant ministers) to best serve the Lord and His church. At Northbridge we follow the same model of developing qualified layers of ministry leadership, with an emphasis on raising up disciples from within our church to fill those leadership roles.
Northbridge is blessed to have gifted Elders, Staff and Deacons who reflect that commitment and bring a diversity in backgrounds, ages, and ethnicity to our work.
Joe Warring, Senior Pastor
Pastor Joe has been leading Northbridge since October 2015. His diverse leadership background included 15 years of executive management in business (from start-up to Fortune 100 levels), and the last 24 years (and counting) in faith based non-profit executive leadership positions at the local church, national ministry, and international missions levels of full-time Christian ministry. He holds a bachelors degree in Business Management from the University of Maryland School of Business, and a Masters degree in Practical Theology from Regent University’s School of Divinity.
Joe is a passionate teacher and expositor of the Bible and the early church's contextual history, and he has a gift for making the Bible more "real”, understandable, and applicable for our lives today. His leadership experience and commitment to building disciples of Jesus has helped Northbridge enjoy a growth in the spiritual depth and maturity of its members, who are having Kingdom impact locally, nationally, and internationally.
Joe and his wife Kelly have been married for thirty-six years (and counting, praise God!). They have four adult children, and love being grandparents over an ever-growing flock.
Pastor Joe & Kelly Warring
Jamie Guzman,
Director of Outreach & Children’s Ministry
Jamie joined the staff of Northbridge June 2020 after being a long-term member and Children’s ministry volunteer. She leads our Children’s Ministry programs (to include Children’s Sunday School, Children’s Church, and AWANA ministries). She also leads our Outreach and Community Connection efforts and team, focusing on reaching our community with on-campus events, online evangelism and discipleship resources, and getting Northbridge members engaged in our community to help meet the felt needs.
Jamie is also an “Army wife” with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and decades of experience in Children’s Ministry as well as in Marketing and entrepreneurial business endeavors. These experiences allow her to bring great value to our ministry efforts, and our church community.
She is married to her awesome husband, Angel, and they love their three awesome kids: A.J., Elyssa, and Michael.
Jamie Guzman (and Angel)
Justin Palmer, Director of Administration
Justing joined Northbridge in 2020 as a member, and in 2023 he pursued a Pastoral Internship opportunity at the church, learning and serving under Senior Pastor Joe Warring’s mentorship. Then in early 2024, he was locally ordained for Pastoral Ministry, and joined the Staff of Northbridge while also continuing his work as an IT professional.
Justin holds a Bachelor’s in Religious Education from Covington Theological Seminary and an MBA from Grace Christian University. He brings over fifteen years of IT Management and twenty years of church ministry experience while currently serving as a Director responsible for the Administrative functions of our finance, IT, and Communications efforts - while also teaching our youth and intermittently preaching.
He and his wife, Melissa, are both South Carolina natives. Together, they’re raising two little girls in the admonition of the Word of God.
Justin Palmer (and Melissa)
Patrick Luke, Resident Missions Pastor
Pastor Patrick Luke, Sr., has served at Northbridge since March of 2007. Prior to that, he served as the first Senior Pastor at Bethany Baptist Church, and the founding pastor of Faith Christian Assembly, both in Charleston. Patrick graduated from the Morris College School of Religion Ministerial Certificate program. He earned a BSc in Civil Engineering degree from the University of Dayton, and a BSc in General Sciences degree from Wilberforce University.
Born in Arthington, Liberia (West Africa), Patrick had a long-held vision to return to serve his home nation. In 2017 the initial vision to launch a long-term mission to Liberia got traction, and “Agape Liberia Mission” was born. In 2019 Patrick launched ALM with the support of Northbridge and serving as a missionary sent from our church. In December 2023, Patrick transitioned off of Northbridge Staff to lead ALM full-time to build the ministry (see almission.org for more info).
Patrick remains associated with our church staff as an At-Large Resident Missions Pastor, engaging at Northbridge between his work with ALM.
Pastor Patrick Luke
Our Elders
Church elders have a rich history rooted in the early Christian community, where they served as spiritual leaders. Originating from the biblical model, elders were appointed to oversee the spiritual well-being of congregations, ensuring sound doctrine and fostering community growth. Their role is vital in providing wisdom, accountability, and support, helping to nurture the faith of church members and maintain the integrity of the church's mission. Today, our elders continue this by playing a crucial part in church governance and offering guidance and leadership that reflects the values and teachings of the faith.
(Left to Right): Dale Tyler, Manny Oliver, John McDermott, and Joe Warring
Our Deacons
The role of Deacon is drawn from the servant leadership model of the early church as described in the New Testament. In fact, the word deacon simply means “servant” in the original Greek language of the New Testament. The men in this qualified and elected position have exhibited a combination of a mature faith walk, commitment to serving others in the church, and play a key role as an extension of the Pastoral ministry.