Nigel Unrau

Lead Pastor

Pastor Nigel, along with his wife Melany and children Jadon, Riley, Evan, and Alayna, arrived in Visalia in August 2016.

Canadian born, Nigel received his Bachelor of Pastoral Theology degree from Alberta Bible College, and a Master of Divinity from Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary, and was honored by receiving the Greek Language Award from Tyndale Publishing. In August of 2015, he was accepted into the D. Min. program at Luther Rice College and Seminary where he began working on his Doctorate.

Pastor Nigel is a gifted leader and teacher, who has a deep love for Jesus Christ. With a previous history of serving as a Senior Pastor, bi-vocational Pastor overseeing a church-plant, youth intern, and owning his own construction company, Nigel came with a well-rounded background in both ministry and business. That versatility has served both he and Parkside well.

Nigel readily confesses, “The Lord has brought my family through many hardships. We have seen Him both in the darkest times and most miraculous circumstances. Faith, hope, and love are all essential and powerful, coming only from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I have been to the edge of all three and have found it is Christ alone who keeps me. Our rich history has given me a unique ability to take on difficult tasks with constancy and endurance. I can say wholeheartedly that with God, all things ARE possible!”

Jeremiah Shawver

Youth Pastor

Raised in Frankfort, Kentucky, Jeremiah Shawver is the sixth of seven children. In high school he interned at his local church, where God confirmed his call into ministry, and his course in life has been set ever since.

Jeremiah attended Moody Bible Institute where he met his wife, Lisa, and they both received Bachelors of Arts degrees in Youth Ministry. It was during his time at Moody that he discovered a passion for helping people learn how God has uniquely gifted them to fit into His Kingdom; that calling has propelled him as he worked with young men in the foster care system and in serving as a youth leader in Louisville, Kentucky.

With a Master of Divinity from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Jeremiah, is a gifted leader, passionate speaker, and is loved by our adults and youth alike. Full of fun and tons of energy, he keeps our youth program energized and active, all while seeking to fulfill the vision of Parkside as they intentionally connect others to the transforming love of Jesus Christ.

We count it a great privilege to have him as part of our ministry team here at Parkside! He is joined in ministry by his wife Lisa. Together they have been blessed with four adorable children – Ivy, Henry, Monroe, and River.

Gordon Lanpher

Children’s Pastor

Gordon holds a Masters of Divinity in Bible and Theology, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Pastoral Ministry, with a concentration in Early Childhood Education. With both his calling and heart for leading children, coupled with his education and experience, we’re blessed to have him at the helm of this important and vital ministry at Parkside!

When asked about God’s calling on his life, he responded, “I believe life is about awareness of what God is up to and connecting to it. By helping people understand the love of Jesus, you allow them to be changed. It is the love of Christ that changes people. Our job as ministers is to show people how to connect because apart from God we have nothing. We can’t produce change but we can show them who can.”

Gordon is married to, Noelle, and they have two beautiful daughters – Megan and Anna.

Ron Story

Community Life Pastor

Pastor Ron retired as the Lead Pastor of Parkside in 2016, having served here for 32 years.  After an intentional two-year hiatus from worshiping with us, he returned as our Community Life Pastor, to help us move forward as we pursue God’s call for us to “intentionally equip and mobilize our church to connect people every day with the transforming love of Jesus Christ.”  Pastor Ron’s official ministry capacity is to lead our Connection Team, Connection Center, LIFEgroups, as well as loving and caring for those who come to attend Parkside.  We are thankful that Ron and Peggy are back home at Parkside and that Ron has resumed his record-setting ministry of writing postcards just to check in on people! We are blessed to have them both still serving at Parkside!

Sharon Alexandre

Office Manager/Administrative Assistant

Sharon was born in Texas and migrated to California in 1987. She received her BA in Psychology with a minor in Music from Texas Woman’s University. For many years, she worked and traveled internationally with a non-profit mission organization. For several of those years, she served as their International Scheduling Director which meant traveling extensively internationally to advance and arrange logistics for mission teams. Following her time there, she did freelance work as an event organizer in international settings, even working as an event coordinator for a conference sponsored by the C.S. Lewis Foundation in Oxford and Cambridge, England.

After marrying her husband, Carlos, in 2004, she decided it was time to work closer to home and came on board at Parkside in 2005.

Having been raised in a Pastor’s family, Sharon has spent most of her life working in missions and ministry settings. Although to some it may be an office job, she is fond of saying that “behind every piece of paper is a soul.” Whether it is typing Pastor Nigel’s sermon notes, doing the sermon PowerPoint, or purchasing office supplies, it is all-important and goes to furthering the Gospel of Christ which in turn will change lives.

She also enjoys gardening, singing, spending time with family and friends, and a good game of Scrabble.

Donna Romer

Communications / Design

Donna has spent much of her life serving on the staff of Christian organizations. With a long history in event organization and management, she has coordinated numerous Missions Training Camps, recording projects, banquets, and previously served on the Operating and Executive Committees of the international non-profit, Celebrant Singers, where she worked for 12 years. In 2006 and 2007, she was the Event Manager for BizTalk Business Conference, and in 2009 she was called to serve at Parkside. She enjoys the design element of her position, creating Parkside’s print and digital materials, editing sermons for radio, creating video “shorts” as an outreach tool, and is the administrator of Parkside’s website, mobile app, and social media pages.

Married in 1991, Donna and her husband, Chuck, have three children: Brandon — 2019 graduate of ORU in Tulsa, Oklahoma, (married to his beautiful bride, Sarah), along with their younger adult children – Ben and Krista, who are both in the process of continuing their education.

Besides working full-time, her life is busy caring for her mom in addition to serving in various ministries, alongside her husband, Chuck, who has been a Worship Pastor for many years. She enjoys spending time with her husband, growing closer to Jesus through Bible study, reading thought-provoking books, and the serenity of landscaping.

Carol Greenfield

Ministry Assistant

Carol was born in Tennessee and spent her early childhood in Georgia before moving to Santa Clara, California. She graduated from Fresno Pacific with a B.A. degree in Political Science. She met her husband, Rod, while attending college and they have been married for 50 years. They have a daughter, Janine, who lives in Santa Barbara.

Carol enjoys gardening, tending to roses, baseball games, and traveling, especially to Santa Barbara to visit Janine and to Giants games in San Francisco.

Carol has been involved in church ministry for many years. In the early years of their marriage, she served alongside her husband who was a youth pastor and associate pastor. She has been a member of her home church for 30 years. She was employed as an executive assistant for some very interesting companies during her career including a stock brokerage company, architectural firms, and a computer hardware/software firm. However, she found her greatest joy and fulfillment in serving God and others in Christian organizations. She was on staff at Fresno Christian Schools serving as Executive Secretary to the Superintendent and Registrar, and on church staff teams for two churches in Visalia. She “retired” in 2011 after 26-1/2 years of service.

Carol’s arrival to our Parkside team in 2016 was an answer to prayer. Her extensive ministry experience, well-honed skills, professional demeanor, and genuine love for Jesus are evident in all that she does.

Jamie Hitchcock

Facilities

Jamie is a man of many talents. From possessing the unique ability to fix just about anything, he manages Parkside’s facilities with incredible care and perfection. Typically, before we even know something needs to be repaired, Jamie’s on it! Along with his incredible work ethic, he brings even more laughter to the church office. His entrance through the front door is announced with his melodic baritone voice as he announces, “Good Mornin’!”

Though you might not know it when you meet him, he is actually Frank Sinatra in disguise! As a Central Valley star and talent, Jamie performs all of Frank Sinatra’s songs in a show that will take you back to the good old days. With a dead ringer voice, smooth delivery, and vintage wardrobe, he keeps his concert-goers spellbound! Jamie has performed for many clubs, fundraisers, and clientele throughout the Central California Valley such as the Visalia Country Club, Vintage Press, Lion’s Club and is a regular at the Wyndham Hotel where he swoons for the many international travelers who happily sing along. He also loves the stage and starred in the musical production “My Way” at the Icehouse Theater in Visalia.

In Jamie’s spare time, he also maintains numerous rental properties throughout the Visalia-Tulare area and has a great reputation. He’s been involved in renovating many historical sites and Tulare County artifacts and is known for his care of vintage collectibles. Jamie’s wife, Tammi, is his #1 fan and promoter!

Jamie’s famous parting words as he leaves the office at the end of a long day, “Well… I guess I’m gonna ‘skadoodle.’” We appreciate Jamie as an indispensable part of our team at Parkside!