John Piasecki

I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, lived in Tullahoma, Tennessee until I was five years old, when in the spring of 1964, my family moved to California. I spent first grade in San Jose, and then we moved to Sunnyvale, where I lived until I came away to UOP as a transfer student in 1979. I graduated from UOP in 1981, moved back to the bay area to work at a YMCA for a year, and then returned to Stockton and UOP in 1982 to work on my teaching credential. I lived and worked in the dorms as a head resident, got married to Sharon in 1983 and finished my credential work about a year and half later. In 1986, after a year and half of teaching at Mable Barron School (Lincoln Unified), we moved to Fresno to begin work with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Fresno State and Reedley College. After five years of working in college ministry, in August of 1991, we moved back to Stockton, where my application for teaching moved to the point of receiving a job offer to teach at Claudia Landeen School. We moved on Brandon’s 2nd birthday and have been here ever since. I was raised in a church going family in the Roman Catholic tradition, where I was an alter boy and played guitar in the “folk mass.” I can say that I’ve always believed in God, but getting involved with the YMCA during my high school and junior college days had a great impact on my young faith. Through several influential directors at the Y, who all loved God and followed him with their lives, I began to understand what it meant to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord, and to trust him with my life. During my senior year at UOP, I got involved with IVCF and grew deeper in my walk with God. When I returned to UOP to work on my teaching credential in 1982, I got back involved with IVCF and attended a before-school leadership retreat. We decided to go to church together on the Sunday of that weekend and ended up coming to Stockton Covenant Church with Cindy MacDonald, (the UOP IVCF staff worker and a Covenanter who grew up in Peninsula Covenant Church). Sharon and I happened to be engaged at that time and she was living in southern California. After my first visit, I felt like this was a church where we could both grow in our faith and find places to serve. After we married, we ended up coming here. Over the years I’ve served on the Christian Education board, Deacon board, been a small group leader, was an interim youth leader for a summer, helped with several summer mission/spring break mission projects, and more recently, have served on the leadership council in the area of Congregational Care, and have been a part of the worship team. Currently, my focus has been in the area of worship ministries. Some may not know that I have been involved as a lay leader with different aspects of worship here for more than 10 years (planning services, being a part of the worship band, leading worship). But now I have the responsibility and joy of working with many talented and gifted people as our director of worship, as well as serving as the vice-chair on the leadership council. It is my hope that we continue to involve a variety of gifted people in the worship ministries here, and that we continue to grow in our understanding of worshipping God with our whole lives, each and every day.

It is my hope that we continue to involve a variety of gifted people in the worship ministries here, and that we continue to grow in our understanding of worshiping God with our whole lives, each and every day.