Our Staff

R. Martin Williams 

Senior Pastor  

Pastor Martin has faithfully served Four Mile church since 1993 when he and his wife Laurie were first called to spread God’s message here in Beaver, PA.  Pastor Martin has been a visionary and leader for the Lord’s kingdom for many years, although he didn’t originally set out as a messenger of Christ.  His first vocation was an electrician and he served in the United States Navy Seabees.  During this time in the Navy, Martin truly met Christ.  He was baptized in the Indian Ocean where he was called to invest his life in building up God’s Church.  He went on to receive his B.A. degree in Philosophy and Religion at Grove City College in Grove City, PA, his Masters degree in Education at Princeton University in Princeton, NJ and his Master of Divinity at the Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ.  He describes his role at Four Mile as a follower of Jesus whose mission is to invite as many people as possible on the journey with Him.  He teaches and preaches and leads the ministry staff team by keeping them focused and energized to do God’s work in this world.

Pastor Martin is happily married to his wife, Laurie and they delight in their three grown children: Caleb, Jessica and Peter.  Caleb lives in Atlanta with his wife, Kelly and their son Rex.  He is a personal trainer in his own gym.  He and his wife are both professional lifters currently trying to make the Olympic team in 2012!  Jessica lives in Nashville with her husband, Peter.  She is a musician and Peter is a graduate student at Vanderbilt University working towards a Masters degree in Theological Studies. Their youngest son, Peter, is a talented golfer and lives at home with his parents while attending college to obtain a degree in business.

Martin is a self-proclaimed ‘bookaholic’ with his favorites including The Lord of the Rings series, Household of God and The Bible - of course!  He also enjoys the great outdoors, woodworking, traveling and any type of competitive recreational activity but what he appreciates most is the deep friendships and relationships that bring energy to his soul.

George Atkins 

Associate Pastor

Director of Adult Connections

George joined the Four Mile family in 2009 and has already impacted the adult ministry in a variety of positive ways.   He grew up in Cincinnati, OH and received his B.A. degree in Philosophy from Ohio University.  He later moved to Chicago, IL where he began his ministry for Christ and received his Master of Divinity from the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  His primary role at Four Mile is to help people get better connected with each other, the church and God.    As a visionary for community fellowship, he brings a new perspective to Four Mile and uniquely leads by combining his own ideas with the inspirations of others.  This is most apparent in the new and growing adult ministries that he directs including Cross Training, Growth Groups, Community Groups and Anvil Men’s Ministry.

Married for 19 years to his lovely wife Joline, George is equally committed to his family.  They have a ten-year-old daughter, Harper, a six-year-old son, Zane and a three-year-old dog, Scout.  He feels most at rest when they have a house full of friends engaging in open conversation and sharing the joys of life.  His favorite books are The Frontiersman, The Divine Conspiracy, Christ’s Call to Discipleship, and The Book of Hebrews.  Some of his special interests include exercising, playing the guitar and gardening but the thing that gets him most excited is glimpsing that moment when eyes are opened to truth.

Erik Kerr

Minister of Music

Erik first moved to Beaver to join the Four Mile staff in 2005 and since then, we have been blessed with his talents for music and creativity.  Each Sunday you can find Erik behind the drums, at the piano, or even on the congas leading our congregation in worship.

Originally from Washington, PA, Erik is a graduate of Trinity High School.  He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA, and his Master of Divinity from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, MA.  He has served the ministry in a variety of roles from residence counselor to Associate Pastor.   Erik and his wife Marlene have three daughters, Cailyn, Liana, and Emilie.  Erik and Marlene share their musical gifts with other followers of Christ by traveling to lead worship for conferences around the United States.

Erik’s creative gifts extend beyond traditional music ministry.  He creates new   music for our worship services, writes original dramas, leads a creativity team to add unique elements, encourages musicians to grow as apprentices of Jesus and creatively leads the 201 core class on spiritual maturity.  He is also currently overseeing the completion of our own music and video studio where we hope to record and produce music and videos for our worshiping community.

Erik is a core member (drummer) of Club d’Elf, a band that draws from a startlingly wide spectrum of styles including jazz, hip hop, electronica, and prog-rock.  Club d’Elf has won such awards as Best Cutting Edge Band and Best of Boston in Boston Magazine (1998) and Best Jazz Act at the Boston Music Awards (2007).  Erik has a fierce passion for Christ and describes one of his interests as ‘demonstrating the love of God’ which he exemplifies regularly.   He is most at rest when he is alone with God.  Come visit us on a Sunday morning and to see for yourself how Erik’s musical talents, creative expressions and passion for Christ combine to help us connect with the Lord in an uplifting and life-changing way.

Cory and Jen Miller

Co-Directors of Youth Ministry (5th - 12th Grade Youth) and Midland Community Center.

Jen develops and oversees a Four Mile ministry program for 5^th and 6^th graders and their families called ROCK which stands for Radically Outrageous Christian Kids.  Jen has been on staff at Four Mile for many years and during that time, her programming through ROCK has helped students to grow as followers of Christ. By providing consistent opportunities for kids to celebrate God, connect with Him and one another, and contribute to His work in this world, Jen reaches students in this age group in a way that is creative and fun.  Her love and passion for Christ and for children is obvious in all that she does and we feel blessed to have such a hard-working and enthusiastic role model for our youth.

Jen first accepted Christ as her Savior at the age of twelve, but says that ‘He became her Lord’ at the age of 20.  In addition to her own experiences to help her reach this age group in a unique and effective way, Jen has education in teaching.  She has B.S. degrees in Early Childhood/Special Education as well as Elementary Education which she received from Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts and Slippery Rock University in Western Pennsylvania.  Jen is married to Cory, has a daughter, Jordan and a son, Jake and 2 dogs, Odie and Buster.  She loves playing and coaching soccer, roller blading, eating chocolate, reading, and talking.  She is most at rest when her home is filled with laughing kids while she is enjoying ice cream! 

To learn more about ROCK and what Jen and Cory are up to next with the kids, click here.

Joe Simonette

Director of Children's Ministry

Hi, my name is Joe Simonette and I recently joined the staff here at Four Mile as the Director of Children’s Ministry. I recently graduated from Geneva College with a degree in Student Ministry; during this time I was also a family ministry intern at North Way Christian Community in Wexford, PA. My vision for Children’s Ministry is a vision of partnering with and equipping parents to enable their children to become spiritual champions. I envision a ministry with a cradle to college mentality where children are cared about and mentored through each season of life.

On a personal note, I am engaged to my beautiful fiancé, Katie, and we are getting married on July 21st 2012. Katie is a senior at Waynesburg University where she is studying psychology and plans to get her masters degree in counseling. She will graduate in May of this year. We are excited about starting the next season of our lives together and we are excited to be a part of Four Mile Church.

Judi Early

Administrative Assistant

Judi has been employed by Four Mile since 1998 and is happy to say that she loves her job!  While she primarily serves as an administrative assistant, helping Pastor Martin and Pastor George with a variety of day-to-day tasks, she also plays an active role in many of the special events and functions of the church.  The special duties that she is most passionate about include leading the annual Mexico City mission trip  and more recently helping to coordinate the annual Women’s Retreat.  Judi takes her job seriously but performs it with a sense of humor and grace, often serving as a faithful confidant to church members in need of a helping hand or listening ear.
 
She has been happily married to her husband, Jody, for 32 years. They live in South Beaver Twp, and are life-long residents of Beaver County.  They also have one grown daughter, Chelsea, who proudly serves her country in the United States Air Force.  She likes to read biographies, mysteries and Christian discipleship books.  Judi loves traveling, and vacations at the beach with her extended family and feels most rested when she drinks her coffee over her morning devotionals.

Rebecca Fabritius

Secretary / Treasurer

Rebecca started her position as Secretary at Four Mile in August of 2008 as an answer to a prayer for a job closer to her home and family.  Once she started however, she discovered that the position was a blessing beyond what she could have imagined and she soon added Treasurer to her role when the former Treasurer retired.  Rebecca says that becoming a part of the Four Mile church family has had an amazing impact on her and her family.  In addition, she has found true joy in her work as her duties match perfectly with her friendly personality and talent for coordinating.

As secretary, Rebecca publishes the weekly bulletin, the monthly newsletter and many other promotional pieces for events going on at Four Mile. She is also the assistant for the worship, children and youth ministries and coordinates childcare for church events. As Treasurer, she oversees all of the finances within the church.  Rebecca  is blissfully married to her husband, Dan, and they love spending time with their children: an eight-year-old daughter, seven-year-old son, and newborn baby boy.

Rick Bixler

Director of Four Mile Childcare Center

Rick and his wife Heather have dedicated much of their lives to the education and care of children.  Rick’s primary duty is to supervise the day to day operations at the Four Mile Childcare Center which include overseeing the staff, organizing the marketing for the childcare center, and managing the finances within the center.  He makes sure that the childcare center meets the highest safety standards.  By regularly interacting with the staff, parents and children of the childcare center, he is able to ensure that each child receives exceptional Christ-centered care.  In addition to his director duties, he also makes time to play games with the children, help out with feeding toddlers at mealtime, or rock an infant to sleep anytime an extra pair of hands is needed.   His dedication to the childcare center is obvious as he approaches his daily duties with diligence and a warm smile.

Born in Fombell, PA, Rick attended Riverside High School and attained his B.A. degree in Business Management at Slippery Rock University.  He loves spending time with his daughter, Lily and his wife who is a teacher at Beaver Area High School.  He enjoys golfing, playing softball, going on family vacations and taking his dog, Rex to the dog park.  He loves to read sports-related books and highly recommends Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey.  For more information about the Four Mile Childcare Center, click here.

Marcy Helm

Preschool Director

Marcy serves Four Mile in a variety of areas starting with being the director of our Preschool where she manages the day to day business including 8 staff members and 89 children this school year. She also functions as a teacher’s aide in our 3-year old classroom. In addition, Marcy works at the Four Mile Childcare Center where she maintains children’s files according to DPW regulations and serves as our Keystone Stars Coordinator.

Originally from Beaver County, Marcy is a graduate of Center Area High School and Garfield Business Institute.  She is also in the process of completing her certification as a Child Development Associate.  She has been married to her husband, Phil for 22 years and they have 2 boys, Alex (20) and Andrew (16).  In addition to her work duties at the Preschool and Childcare Center, she also volunteers tirelessly at Four Mile including being an adult leader for the CrossFade Youth Ministry and the Advancement Coordinator for Boy Scout Troop 416.  She loves reading and spending time with her parents, sister and nephews but she feels most rested when she has her husband and boys all together under the same roof. For more information about Four Mile's Preschool, click here.

Marlene Luciano-Kerr

Choir Director and Worship Leader

Marlene was born and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and studied voice at the New England Conservatory and the Boston Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts.  At Four Mile, we feel so blessed to have such a talented musician and passionate Christ-follower to direct the choir and coordinate the music for 4Kidz, our children’s ministry program.  Marlene’s talents go beyond her lovely voice and musical skills as she serves as a graceful leader to many in the church who find respite in her gentle and compassionate heart.

Married to Erik, our minister of music, Marlene also reaches outside of our church and shares her musical gifts with other followers of Christ around the United States.  She loves spending time with her girls: Cailyn (11), Liana (9) and Emilie (7).  Her favorite things include listening to salsa music, watching movies, cooking Puerto Rican food, shopping, playing the recorder and ensemble singing.  Marlene finds spontaneous gatherings with friends irresistible but is most at rest at home with her husband and children or in Puerto Rico with family.

Laurie Williams

Children’s Ministry and Drama

Here at Four Mile, Laurie organizes children's programming for children age 4 - 4th grade on Sunday mornings, which includes directing 4Kids, a family worship service held on the first Sunday of each month.  This initially was an interim role for Laurie that became permanent in 2006, a circumstance that she feels is part of God’s calling for her as she has found great joy and purpose in her job.  Laurie’s original position, which she started in 1999, is drama director which grew out of directing dramas produced on Sunday mornings.

A native of Western Pennsylvania, Laurie received a BA degree in Christian Education at Westminster College and studied to become a Certified Nurse Assistant at the Community College of Beaver County.  Laurie has been married to Martin for 28 years and has three children:  Caleb (25), Jessica (22), and Peter (21).  They are also blessed with one grandchild, Rex.

Laurie enjoys reading the Bible, The Chronicles of Narnia, and the Harry Potter series. But when possible, Laurie prefers to be outdoors where she finds rejuvenation through gardening, backpacking deep in the wilderness, or swimming.  She also enjoys traveling to new places and spending time with her family. For more information about children’s programming, click here.