Vision
The vision of Green Pond Bible Chapel is to love God and love people.Purpose
The purpose of Green Pond Bible Chapel is to glorify God by making and maturing disciples of Jesus Christ.Elders
Green Pond Bible Chapel is led by elders (also known in Scripture as overseers and pastors). The pattern for church government in the New Testament shows that God desires spiritually qualified men to be responsible for shepherding, leading, and overseeing the church. This position is referred to by three different terms, most commonly translated as “elder,” “pastor,” and “overseer.” The qualifications for this position are listed clearly in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. We believe that this position is limited to men, as taught in 1 Timothy 2:12 as part of God’s created design with no reference to value or ability.
At any given time some of our elders will be vocational pastors who are paid by the church and who have full time responsibilities. Vocational pastors do not possess any greater authority than our non-vocational elders.
Lead Pastor
Ryan Boys
Ryan’s passion in ministry is to see God change lives through the clear explanation of the Bible. His academic passion is understanding the Old and New Testaments in their original languages. His life verse is Ezra 7:10, “For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.”
He earned his doctorate of ministry in Preaching the Literary Forms of the Bible from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has a master’s degree in Biblical Exegesis and Linguistics from Dallas Theological Seminary, focusing on Greek and Hebrew exegesis, discourse analysis, semantics, theories of grammar, and translation. He earned his bachelor of arts in Bible Exposition from the Master’s College. One of the highlights of his time in college was to spend a semester studying in Israel. Ryan joined the GPBC family in August of 2011. He has been active in worldwide missions in Russia, New Zealand, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, and Italy.
Ryan is a husband and father of four amazing children. He enjoys sports, reading, woodworking, music, and throwing a frisbee for his yellow lab. He blogs on the church and ministry here.
Pastor of Worship & Discipleship
Jesse Morgan
Jesse is thrilled to be able to engage in discipleship both corporately in the worship service and personally in counseling and small group contexts. He loves leading the body in the worship of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and making and maturing disciples of Jesus. Although he grew up in Audubon, NJ, he came to the GPBC family in 2016 after finishing his MDiv at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. There he focused on biblical history, languages, and counseling, and was involved in the worship ministry at Auburndale Baptist Church. He earned his B.S. in Bible at Clarks Summit University (Baptist Bible College), where he also minored in music and met his wonderful wife Bethany. He also had the opportunity to study abroad at Jerusalem University College during his junior year. He is a certified Biblical Counselor through the Association of Biblical Counselors, and is a Certified Christian Trauma Care Provider.
He enjoys counseling, men’s ministry, writing new texts for old hymn tunes, reviving old hymns in fresh new ways, and using newer songs to bring the body together in unity to glory in the gospel. His other pursuits include loving on his children, Silas, Shiloh, Atticus, and Lucy, who is with the Lord, wood carving, bouldering, soccer, volleyball, paper airplanes, and painstakingly following Philadelphia sports. You can read his blog on worship and the Christian life here.
Family Pastor
Josh Barlow
Josh Barlow serves as the Family Pastor of Green Pond Bible Chapel. He desires the youth to come to a personal, saving faith in Jesus Christ and parents to be equipped and encouraged to disciple their children. Josh earned his Masters of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2018 with a focus in Family Life and Discipleship. Josh joyfully builds relationships with families and teaches God’s Word to each generation for the sake of the gospel.
Josh has been married to his beautiful and loving wife Jamie since 2013. They have four energetic and fun children, Asher, Owen, Macy, and Cooper who never cease to keep Josh and Jamie on their toes and make everything unboring. As a family they enjoy hiking, cooking (and then eating), hospitality, board games, and movie watching. Personally Josh enjoys drinking black coffee, playing frustrating video games, listening to face-tingling metalcore breakdowns, all things winter, playing games that involve throwing stuff, and historically accurate cannons. You can read his blog on family ministry and the Christian life here.
Chairman
Engle Oostdyk
Engle and his wife Carrie are the parents of five children. He is a co-owner and General Manager of Royal Buick GMC located on Route 23 in Sussex. He has been attending Green Pond Bible Chapel his entire life and his ministry passion is the equipping of the saints for the ministry of the gospel. He enjoys teaching and counseling from the truth of God’s word, and is currently serving on the biblical counseling team at GPBC as a certified ACBC counselor.
Vice-Chairman
Dennis Madison
Dennis and his wife Joy are the parents of one son named Samuel. They spent 7 years working in an orphanage in Ghana West Africa. They have been attending Green Pond Bible Chapel since they moved to New Jersey in 2008. Dennis has recently retired from being Service Manager for General Electric in the Power Generation business. He enjoys studying and teaching God’s word, especially at the men’s Bible Study on Wednesday mornings. One of his favorite verses is John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Treasurer
Lou Benfatti Jr.
Lou, a lifelong resident of Northern NJ, has been a dedicated member of Green Pond Bible Chapel for many years. He and his wife Jodi are deeply involved in the church’s children’s ministry, teaching Sunday School and nurturing the next generation of believers. Lou, who is celebrating his 27th year in education, values his time with family, including his four adult children, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. Outside of his church and professional commitments, Lou enjoys watching and playing sports with his kids. His faith is inspired by Philippians 3:10: “My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”
Secretary
Will Walsh
Will has been attending Green Pond since his early youth and was saved as a teenager when the Lord opened his eyes to the reality of his sin and brought him to repentance and faith in Christ. He and his wife, Sarah, have been serving as youth leaders at Green Pond for over 5 years and have a desire to share with the teens the truth about the saving and soul-satisfying relationship with Jesus Christ. Will works at Chick-fil-A where he has the opportunity to display the character and love of Jesus with the employees that he serves. His life verse is Titus 3:3-8.
Rob Downs
Rob is married with two daughters and three grandchildren, who he loves spending time with. Rob has a passion for seeing people grow deeper into spiritual maturity. His life verse is 1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”
Marc Fenners
Marc is married and has been an active member of Green Pond Bible Chapel for many years. He has worked as a carpenter/tradesman since high school. Marc enjoys hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, cool weather, tacos, and worshipping and fellowshipping with his brothers and sisters in Christ. His favorite verse is Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”.
Pat Walsh
Pat came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ in 2001 and has been a member of GPBC since 2005. He is happily married and blessed with an adult daughter. He has served the body in many areas including youth ministry, outreach, graphic & web design, and currently serves on the worship team and leads a care group. His favorite verses are Colossians 2:13-15 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”Deacons
Men’s Discipleship
Russell Bauman
Russell has been attending GPBC since 2002. He helps run the family business A B Canine with his wife Gwen. He has strong passion for mens ministry as it has been a vital part of his faith journey. He currently serves on the finance team and facilitates a men’s discipleship group at his home. Russ believes strongly in building each other up. His life verse is Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.”
Children’s Ministry
Paul Martins
Paul lives in Kearny, with his wife and two young kids. They have been attending GPBC since 2016. He currently serves as a Kingdom Kids teacher and is a member of the Children’s Ministry team.
His favorite verse is Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Benevolence
John Voigt
John lives in Rockaway, with his wife, Maryellen and their 4 children. He has been in the Financial Services industry for over 30 years and continues to work in that field. John enjoys skiing, fishing and golf. John’s spiritual journey kicked into high gear when he was 26 after being discipled by a full time Navigator Missionary. Since then, John has enjoyed participating in kingdom endeavors through his church and business ministry groups.
Fellowship
Betty Walsh
Betty has been a member of GPBC since 2004 and is married to Patrick, with one daughter. As Deacon of Fellowship, she and her team provide meals for most church events and activities. She enjoys being involved in various church ministries especially Upward Basketball, where families are impacted for Christ. She loves cooking, baking, her cats and visiting her daughter whenever time allows. Her life verse is Psalms 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever.”
Upward
Dan Brown
Danny has been attending Green Pond Bible Chapel all of his life and came to know the Lord Jesus as his Savior at a young age. He’s currently a high school science teacher, and coaches football during the fall. He thoroughly enjoys all sports and playing games of any kind. Danny had the wonderful opportunity at a young age to participate in the Upward ministry, since it was started by his grandfather. He has always had a passion for youth ministry in sports so this is a huge blessing as he’s able to use the gifts God has given Him to serve Him. Danny and his wife, Cassie, just welcomed their baby boy Caleb and are excited to see God use the Upward ministry for his glory! Danny’s life verse is Matthew 6:33 ” but seek first, his kingdom, and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”.
Building & Grounds
Ken Seiter
Ken and his wife Carol are the parents of three adult children. They are also blessed to be grandparents to six grandchildren. Ken has been a lifelong resident of NJ. After retiring from a 35 year career in electrical engineering, Ken is currently using his mechanical and technical skills in his remodeling business. He enjoys spending time with his grandkids, worshiping God through singing, and outdoor activities including hiking, kayaking and biking. His favorite verses describe the attributes of our God such as Exodus 34:6-7 “The Lord—the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin.”
