Leadership

Song of Life Staff

Song of Life has four individuals in paid staff positions:

Rev. Ron V. Bartlow, Senior Pastor (full-time)

Ron Bartlow grew up in Arizona, attending both Mesa High School and Northern Arizona University (where he earned a degree in Elementary Education). Ron earned his Master of Divinity Degree at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, and served as pastor of three charges in Illinois before returning to Arizona.

Ron returned to the Valley to serve as the sophomore pastor of Song of LIfe in July, 2006. He shares that his joint passion for the Southwest and for helping The United Methodist Church to share the gospel with people longing for God brought him back to Arizona.

Ed Heer, Administrative Assistant (part-time)

Edgar Heer moved west from Illinois when he was a teenager, and has played music in most of the states between there and Arizona. Although his past work experience is wide-ranging (mining in Death Valley, repairing photo copiers in L.A., operating heavy equipment throughout California, providing IT support in Phoenix), music remains a steady constant in his life and experience.

Ed loves being the Administrative Assistant for Song of Life because he loves the people and believes in the mission of the church. He also devotes much of his time and energy to singing and playing guitar in both the traditional and contemporary services.
 

Traci Becka and Rose Allen, Nursery Attendants (hourly)

Song of Life Ministry Team Leaders (Volunteers)

Carrie Claypool, Youth Ministry Leader

Carrie Claypool has been working with the Song of Life Teens (SoLT) for over four years.

Nina Yardley, Care Team Leader
Nina Yardley has served in many capacities in several churches. She loves God with all her heart, soul, mind and strength and she wants to help others do the same. She continues to work toward being more like Christ. She wants everyone to have a small group to support each other as they work toward that same goal.

She has a sense of humor, evidenced by the purple umbrella used for greeting in the Arizona sunshine on Sunday mornings. She grew up in the Midwest and learned to care for others from a Christian mother. She married (on Halloween), raised two children, and graduated with a degree in computer science five months before the birth of her first grandson, one month before turning 50 and two months after her 25th wedding anniversary. She moved to Arizona 12 years ago, first to Yuma and then 10 years in Gilbert. She and her husband love it here and have enticed their two sons to follow them here.

Following is one of Nina's guiding principles and she adds the parenthetical descriptors to define the childlike attributes she believes every Christian should possess: "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a child (open, searching, accepting, willing to learn and change, reaching out to and loving others) will never enter it." (Mark 10:15)