Upper Perkiomen Community Church: East Greenville, PA

Staff

LTeam-Buckley

John Buckley | Lead Elder | jbuckley@upccmail.org

Born and raised in the midwest, Pastor John has been here in southeastern, PA since 1995. During his years of ministry, God has clearly directed his path serving first as a student pastor, then administrative pastor, and now lead pastor. Pastor John was called to "the Valley” in 2009 where he and his family quickly fell in love with the area and made it their home. If you could sum up Pastor John’s heart and passion in ministry, it would be “relational”. Pastor John challenges the people of UPCC to develop deep relationships for the purpose of loving God and loving others. If you would like to learn more about Pastor John, you can follow his blog by clicking here, or email him.

Derek Whalen | Elder, Assistant Pastor | dwhalen@upccmail.org

Derek was born in Norristown, Pa., spent his childhood in Royersford, Pa. and is
excited about coming back to the area where he grew up. After graduating from
Cedarville University (’89) and then Grand Rapids Theological Seminary (’93), he
has served in 3 churches in the Midwest (Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio) over the past
25 years. While he has served the local church in many different roles his main
passion is to help people follow Jesus, be changed by Jesus, and live on mission with
Jesus. His wife, Christy, was born and raised in Grand Rapids, MI and is excited
about living on the East Coast near extended family. Derek and Christy have 3 adult
children: Derek (Miamisburg, Oh), Deanna (Raleigh, NC), and Charis (Miami
University, Oxford Ohio).

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Nate Sims | Ministry Assistant, Youth | nathan.sims@cru.org

Nate grew up in Quakertown, PA where he met his wife (Virginia), became a father (Evelyn, Judah, and Elizabeth), and pursued God’s calling into vocational ministry. After graduating from Cairn (Philadelphia Biblical University) in 2012, God called him into full-time mission work with Cru on college campuses in the Lehigh Valley. During this time, he also accessioned as a Chaplain in the Army National Guard after graduating from Evangelical seminary in 2020. Nate continues to serve as a full-time missionary with Cru in a division called “Church Movements” that specializes in equipping local churches regarding evangelism, discipleship, and church-planting needs. With having ample college experience, he looks forward to discipling and developing students in Jesus Christ that prepares them for their upcoming transitional steps in higher education or vocation.

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