Meet our Team
Gregg Cantelmo
Senior Pastor & Elder
Pastor Gregg Cantelmo has been active in Christian ministry for more than 35 years. He was involved in youth leadership and rural evangelism as a teen at Church of the Open Door in downtown Los Angeles under the ministry of Dr. J. Vernon McGee. As a college student, he served in leadership at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA under Dr. John MacArthur. Pastor Gregg graduated from UCLA with a degree in philosophy and then received his Masters of Divinity from Talbot Theological Seminary. While in seminary, Gregg taught Bible and theology courses at Logos Bible Institute, later serving as Dean of Students and Academic Dean there. He then taught Bible and theology at The Master's College in California. As an associate pastor he served on the Elders' Marriage Council and spoke at a number of Shepherd's Conferences at Grace Church. Committed to personal discipleship, leadership training, and team ministry, Pastor Gregg next served faithfully for almost ten years as Senior Pastor of Monroe Community Chapel in Monroe, Washington. He saw the church grow and develop to become the largest evangelical church in the area. In 1995 he accepted a call to pastor in Arizona where again discipleship and leadership training were key factors. With a strong commitment to biblical teaching and team ministry, Pastor Gregg is excited to see members of the body express their giftedness in serving and caring for one another. His leadership style is one of influence, and along with truth, highly values grace and mercy. Committed to missions, Pastor Gregg is also an adjunct missionary with JARON Ministries International, and teaches "personal purity" seminars and spiritual development to pastors and church leaders in countries all around the world. Pastor Gregg studied for his Doctorate of Ministry degree at Phoenix Seminary where he has taught classes in the Christian ministry department. A few of his articles on biblical and theological topics can be found at www.bible.org. Pastor Gregg has been married since 1976 to his best friend, Kim. They have three children: Anthony, Sarah and Ashley, and eight grandchildren.
P.L.T.
Parent Leadership Team
Our youth group (middle school & high school) is lead by a team of excited parents and college students who love the Lord and all of the students. They are committed to helping the students grow in faith through Bible study and fun fellowship together.
Martin Upchurch
Elder
I was born in 1970 in the small town of French Camp, California. My grandparents, along with my twin brother, raised me until the ripe age of 18 when I left home for the USMC. While in the Corps, I not only did I meet my wonderful wife Shellie, but came to know Jesus as my Savior. Life has never been the same since. From my time as a young believer, Isaiah 55:8-9 has always driven me to know Him more. Who is this God we serve? I knew Him as my Savior, but I wanted to know Him more and more this drove me to find answers. I read everything I could find, attended multiple bible studies, and attended church as often as possible. After completing my service in the USMC I moved on to schooling at Multnomah Bible College. I majored in Bible, and education during the time I was on campus (double major). Responsibility called, and I left school after three years to provide for my growing family (two sons Joshua and Jonny). I then landed working for a dialysis company, and God led me to a career in IT as a Network Engineer. I worked all over Southern California but eventually moved out to Phoenix. Recently I went back and finished the work I started so long ago, and completed my degree at Multnomah University (they changed their name) majoring in Theology. During all this time I have served in various ministries all over SoCal and now here in Phoenix. I have a passion for worship music and theology. Shellie and I have been married since 1993, and our boys are now grown adults. In addition to reading, studying (theology), and music; I also enjoy mountain biking and spending time with my wife, Shellie.
Kenny Porter
Elder
Lori and I have been attending Bridgeway Community Church for many years. We have been married over 45 years now. We sort of grew up together in a church in Phoenix, she a transplant from Michigan and myself a Phoenix native. God has blessed us with 5 children plus a plethora of foster children over the past many years. We are also the proud grandparents of 6 grandkids! I look back to an October in 1959 as my 'born again' birth date. God's love and my sin were shared with me by the pastor of our church in my living room. One of my favorite pastimes is studying God's word and sharing the truth of His word with others. Teaching has always been an encouragement to me and I pray to others. Philippians 3:10 is one of my favorite verses: That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.
Steve Kelly
Elder
Steve Kelly has been active in Christian ministry since coming to Bridgeway in 2001. He has been married to his wonderful wife Kathie since 1990. They have one daughter, three grandchildren and one great grandson. Originally from Springfield, Illinois, Steve graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a degree in Political Science and then received his J.D. from the Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa. After practicing law for 22 years Steve went back to school and became a certified K-8 school teacher in order to have an impact on kids. At the present time though, Steve is self-employed and divides his time between an on-line Amazon book business, personal discipleship of men and and various church ministries. He is currently serving in his second six-year term as an elder at Bridgeway and is one of the corporate officers for the church. Steve has a passion for discipling men, watching them mature and grow in Christ, and studying and teaching Scripture and Christian doctrine. For several years Steve has led a Bridgeway men's group and taught adult Sunday School classes. He has served for many years on the Finance team and is involved with church administration behind the scenes. Steve also greatly enjoys singing and serving as part of Bridgeway's Worship and Music ministry. "God has blessed me beyond all measure--it is a tremendous joy and humbling privilege to serve as one of the elders at this wonderful church we call Bridgeway."
Kathy Richmond
Ministry Assistant
Though she's lived in Arizona for almost 25 years, Kathy still considers herself a Pennsylvania girl with frequent cravings for sweet Lebanon bologna, scrapple, and really good apple butter. Before moving to Phoenix, she had the never-know-what-each-day-will-bring jobs of middle school math teacher and guidance counselor, using her degrees from Penn State and Lehigh University. Here in Ahwatukee, Kathy and her husband, Randy, have raised two surprisingly great kids, Ally and Will. She homeschooled her kids for many years and was a volunteer and chauffeur for their many activities, which she considered her mission field. Now with the empty nest in sight, she now gets to cheer them on, loudly and embarrassingly, from the sidelines! Their family has been a part of Bridgeway for almost 20 years. Before her role as ministry assistant, Kathy has served in a variety of ways including teaching Sunday school, helping at AWANA, participating in RAVAH activities, teaching “Growing Kids God’s Way,” leading a high school girl’s discipleship group, and directing Children's Ministry. She enjoys dabbling in the kitchen, crafty endeavors, and texting Margaret to ask, "How do I do __________?"
Cheryl Boots
Bookkeeper
Cheryl has been our bookkeeper since July 2018. She has been attending Bridgeway since 1996. Cheryl was married to her husband, Russ, for just over 32 years before the Lord took Russ to his Heavenly Home on Sept. 30, 2021. She has two grown boys (Shaun, married to Amy, with 2 sons- Ethan & Alex, and her son Dylan who is a Deputy with Harris County in Houston, Tx. ) Cheryl also works full-time as the Assistant Controller for Golfland Entertainment Centers, Inc. and has been with them since April, 1999. Cheryl has also been involved in Worship Ministry since first coming to Bridgeway.
Shari Rogers
Women's Ministry
Shari Rogers will be serving as the new Women’s Ministry Leader. Shari and Dan Rogers have been attending Bridgeway for 1 ½ years. Shari has been a Christian since a young age and had been very active in the United Methodist Church before moving to Bridgeway. Shari and Dan have lived in the Ahwatukee area since May 2015 and live close to Vista Canyon Park. Shari works at Arizona State University as an Executive Assistance for the School of Molecular Science with the Center for Materials of the Universe. Shari has worked in the University setting for over 25 years. Shari has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The Ohio State University. Shari and Dan have a blended household with 5 adult children and two grandsons (all living in Ohio). Shari’s father, Tim Moore, lives with Shari and Dan. Fun fact: Shari was born on August 19th and had her first camping trip over the Labor Day weekend. She loves to camp, hike, bike ride, swim, journal, read and play with her grandsons.
Todd Rehn
Worship & Music Ministry
Todd and his wife Wendi (high school sweethearts) have been married since 1985, and they have two grown children, Spencer and Ashley. Todd and his family have been a part of Bridgeway since his job with General Dynamics brought them from California to Phoenix in 1996. Since then Todd has enjoyed being involved in worship & music, discipleship, and missions ministries. Todd is currently leading the Worship & Music Ministry.
Bill Alkema
Facilities Ministry
Bill and Sue Alkema have been married for 37 years and have been coming to Bridgeway Community Church for twenty two years. They have two grown children, Kevin and David. Sue, a transplant from California, has been a Christian since her teenage years and Bill accepted Christ over 28 years ago. They have lived in California, North Carolina, Virginia and now Phoenix, AZ. While out of work a number of years ago, Bill filled his time serving the facilities and men's ministry, and continues to serve as he is able.
Steve Warsa
Web Master
Steve has lived in Arizona with his family since 2000. Prior to that he and his family lived in "cold places" (Illinois, Utah and Minnesota). He started coming to Bridgeway in May of 2010 and has been joyfully serving the Lord here since then! Steve is a software developer and loves developing and maintaining our website. Steve also has a great passion for the study, teaching, promotion and practice of Christian Apologetics. There are many verses in the Bible where we are commanded to be prepared to defend our faith (e.g. 1 Peter 3:15; Jude 3; 2 Timothy 2:23-26; Colossians 4:5-6, and many more) as well of many examples of Jesus and the Apostles practicing apologetics (e.g. Acts 2:32; Acts 18:4; Acts 19:8 and many more). Steve strives to be obedient to the Lord's command to be ready to give a reason for his faith and to encourage others to do the same!