Leadership

James graduated from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO in 1997 with a degree in Missions and Biblical Studies. Since then, he has served with various churches in Florida and Pennsylvania leading youth, young adult, small group, and teaching ministries. James has also served with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for several years in South Florida. In 2008 God laid on his heart to plant a new church here in Martin County, which eventually became Coastal Life Church.  

James and his wife Kirsten met in college and were married in 1996. They have two incredible adult children, Kaleigh and Caleb. James and Kirsten have served alongside each other over these years and have a desire to spiritually invest into people by sharing life and the Gospel with them (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

Jason graduated from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO in 1999 with a degree in Missions and Biblical Studies.  After serving a two-year internship, Jason and his wife, Nadia, spent almost 13 years as church planning missionaries in the country of Nicaragua. For the last eight years, Jason pastored in Jacksonville, FL. In November 2022, Jason felt God leading him in a different direction in ministry, which led him to Coastal Life Church.

Jason and Nadia met in college and were married in 1999. They have three adult children, Katie, Hudson, and Hunter. They also have one son still at home, Harrison. Jason and Nadia are so honored to be a part of CLC and look forward to helping people of all ages come to saving faith in Christ and grow in Him!

After teaching in Christian elementary schools for 18 years, God brought Jeremy, his wife, Joy, and their 4 daughters from Southern California to join the staff at CLC in the summer of 2015.  They are so excited to be a part of this ministry and have quickly grown to love the people here, the priority that God's Word holds, and the passion for "being the church" that is so pervasive. Jeremy looks forward to seeing what God will do in and through the children of CLC as they grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. His prayer for them is that they would "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" so that their light would "shine before men" to bring glory to our Father in heaven.

Kaleigh has been a part of Coastal Life Church since the very beginning. Kaleigh, her brother and her parents, James and Kirsten Pendleton, started Coastal Life as a family in their living room. Kaleigh attended Liberty University and graduated in May of 2019 with her Bachelors in Interdisciplinary Studies and Education. Kaleigh and her husband, Tanner Boyett, got married in January of 2021 and lead our high school and middle school ministries. Kaleigh’s heart and passion is for teenagers and mentoring young girls through these crucial years, which makes her a great fit to lead our student ministry. And they welcomed their first baby boy, Hunter, in January of 2024.

Born into a ministry family, Alex grew up being a part of the church at an early age. Around the age of 15, Alex felt God leading him to pursue ministry with a focus on biblical worship through music. This led him to pursue his calling and passion further, eventually graduating from Toccoa Falls College located in Toccoa, Georgia with a degree in Music & Worship Arts. He has been leading worship for over 10 years in various capacities.

Shortly after college, Alex met his wife, Brianna, and got married in 2022. Both Alex and Bri enjoy serving the Lord through the worship ministry. Alex’s passion is to help encourage people to encounter the Lord and live a lifestyle worthy of true biblical worship and reverence.

Nadia graduated from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO with a degree in Missions and Elementary Education. She served alongside her husband, Jason, during a two year missions internship that led to serving the women and children of Nicaragua for almost 13 years.  For the last eight years, she has served in Jacksonville, FL in many different facets of ministry.

Nadia and Jason were married in 1999 and have four wonderful children, Katie, Hudson, Hunter, and Harrison.  Nadia is so excited to help the children at Coastal Life learn to know and love Jesus!

Casi, her husband, Norm, and their two children, Jake and Lyla, have been a part of the Coastal Life family since March of 2015. She grew up in the ministry as a pastor's kid and has served alongside her family her whole life. She also is a native and was born right here in Stuart! Casi joined our part-time staff in March of 2020 and enjoys helping with the communication needs through our social media platforms, website, weekly emails and so much more. Casi's passions and skills are a perfect fit for our Coastal staff team.