Choose a tab below to get to know both our staff and our elders

 

Staff

  • Neal Benson
    Lead Pastor

    Neal has been on staff at Coastline since 2017. He is married to Charity, and they have three kids: Sophie, Leah, and Isaiah. Neal's favorite part about his role on staff is getting a front row seat to life change! He loves being a part of people finding the hope of Jesus and then watching Jesus transform their lives. When Neal is not at Coastline, you can find him fishing, hiking, snowboarding, or going on adventures with his family. A random fact that most people don't know about Neal is that he eats a banana almost every day at 10 AM. 

  • Doug Meye
    Teaching Pastor

    While Doug serves on the staff of Aspire Network as the Developing Pastors Lead, he is part of the teaching team at Coastline, where he served as an interim pastor for several months in 2007. He loves encouraging and coaching leaders and helping Jesus followers live on mission. Doug’s wife, Pat, founded the Renewing Life Center,  and today she continues to do counseling and spiritual formation and direction through the Center.  Their two adult children, David and Kristin, are both married, and currently live in Southern California. They love being with their one grandson, Axel, currently 2 years of age. Doug enjoys hacking at golf, fishing, and working in his yard.  He also loves watching soccer highlights from the European soccer leagues on YouTube.

  • Charity Benson
    Family Ministries Director

    Charity has been at Coastline for almost four years. There are so many reasons she loves serving at Coastline, but getting to connect with women at different ages and stages is her favorite part. It is so fun for her to get to meet with women and get to know them and then help them plug into this community of believers. She has been married for sixteen years to Neal . They have three kids, Sophie, Leah, and Isaiah, and they are in the middle school and elementary school phases of parenting. She is a huge beach fan so living in Ventura is the dream life. She enjoys sea glass hunting, reading, and coffee (which she considers to be a hobby!). A random fact about Charity is that she loves to travel outside of the US. She has been to at least twelve countries and can't wait to add more to that list.

  • Ryan Lafata
    Worship & Student Ministry Director

    Ryan has attended Coastline since 2015 and serves in both youth and worship ministries. Working on staff at Coastline has been a blessing to Ryan. He loves being able to serve alongside creative and intuitive people and see how God has gifted each person with unique perspectives and incredible talents. He's been married since 2019 to his wife, Mika. They have a daughter, Willow. 

  • Nikki Busch
    Connections Coordinator

    Nikki Busch has been a member at Coastline since 2004 and has been on staff as our Connections Coordinator since October of 2020. Besides catering to the Office Cat, Abel, some of Nikki’s favorite parts of her job have been connecting with the people of Coastline, either face to face on Sunday mornings, via text or email or by good old fashioned snail mail! Nikki and her husband Steve were married in November of 2019. They live here in Ventura, with their kitty cat, Jazzy and have several nieces and nephews between the two of them, all of whom they love and adore (and spoil)! Some of Nikki’s favorite hobbies include baking, reading, creative hand-lettering, binging true crime podcasts and spending time with friends and family. Most people might be surprised to find out that Nikki and Steve had their very own commercial played on the local radio stations for several weeks around the time of their wedding. It was a summary of their love story, narrated by Debbie Fox of Fox Fine Jewelry! 

  • Molly Carroll
    Preschool Director

    Molly was born on Long Island, New York but grew up here in Ventura.  She has been with Coastline since 2018.  Her favorite part of her job is building relationships with parents, students, and teachers throughout the week at Coastline's Preschool.  Molly’s son, Nathan, is currently serving with YWAM (Youth With a Mission), and she is incredibly happy to know that he loves Jesus.  Her favorite activities are looking for sea glass on Ventura’s beautiful beaches, and going to concerts where she can dance and hear good music.  Molly hopes to be able to visit Ireland one day.

  • Dorothy Gibson
    Financial Coordinator

    The Gibsons have attended Coastline since 1992, and Dorothy joined the team in 2005. Her favorite part of serving at Coastline is seeing the awesome and mind-blowing ways God blesses His Church and His people. Dorothy has been married to Gordon for nearly 45 years, and their family of seven has grown to 16, with spouses and grandchildren! Her favorite activities are cooking, gardening and traveling. Dorothy has a goal of traveling to all 50 states, and she only has 8 left to visit.

  • Glenn Irwin
    Maintenance

    Glenn has worked for Coastline Bible Church for ten years. His favorite part about his job is getting to serve the Lord Jesus Christ every day! Glenn's family consists of his mom, Arlene, his fabulous fiancé, Sandra, and other relatives in San Diego. Glenn's favorite hobby is bicycling. Most people don't know that Glenn loves to just sit in silence and listen to God's Creation!

 

Elders

  • Jeff Mount
    Elder Chairman

    Jeff has been a member of Coastline since 1999. He is married to Nancy, and they have three adult children. Jeff is the Owner and President of Channel Islands Structures.  In addition to serving on the Elder Board, Jeff also serves as a small group leader and Sunday service host.

     

  • Larry Cox
    Elder

    Larry has been a member of Coastline since 2004. He is married to Lisa, and they have three adult daughters. Larry is retired, but works part time as a Junior Estimator Trainer. In addition to serving on the Elder Board, Larry also serves as a Welcome Center host, and is often seen around Coastline’s campus helping with a variety of projects.

  • Jim Johnson
    Elder

    Jim has been a member of Coastline since 2002. He is married to Vicki, and they have two adult children and four grandchildren. Jim is retired. In addition to serving on the Elder Board, Jim enjoys serving in the Guest Services ministry and being a small group leader.

     

  • Bart Ketterling
    Elder

    Bart has been a member of Coastline since 1993. He is married to Judy, and they have three adult children. You'll see Bart serving on Sundays at the Children's Check-In table. 

  • Michael Romo
    Elder

    Michael has been a member of Coastline since 2006. He is married to Belinda, and can be found volunteering in Coastline's Guest Services ministry on Sundays.