John Braland, Lead Pastor 
Pastor John began Freshwater with his wife Kathi in 1999. He has three children; Josh, Sara, and Katie. They have a black lab named “Hunter” who is full of energy and loves to play fetch. John grew up in Burnsville, MN and became a Christian in his early twenties while serving in the U.S. Air Force. He is also a Persian Gulf War veteran.
Several years ago his son Josh was diagnosed with Leukemia. “It was the lowest point in my life,” John says. “But his illness helped me to understand grace, mercy, and healing, in a whole new light throughout Josh’s battle with cancer.” God graciously healed Josh of his leukemia and he now has a clean bill of health.
Pastor John’s favorite verse is John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” He is passionate about living and says that he tries to make the most out of every day through living out his faith in all situations. This shows in his commitment to help people build better lives through developing their faith in Jesus Christ.
Pastor John is an avid outdoors-man, car enthusiast, motorcycle rider, and fan of watching his kids do anything. His favorite book is “Now, Discover Your Strengths” by Marcus Buckingham and his mentor is Leith Anderson, whom he greatly admires. He is currently wrapping up his Doctorate Degree through Bethel University.
John Van Tassel, Operations Manager
jvantassel@freshwaterchurch.org
John joined the Freshwater staff 2004 as the Director of Ministries. Since then he has moved into the position of Operations Manager. He and his wife Deb live in Watertown with one of their three daughters, two of their grandchildren, and their two miniature Dachshunds (who think that they are Dobermans). John gave his life to Christ in a small group over 20 years ago and has had a passion for sharing the Good News ever since.
“I have a true passion for welcoming new people to Freshwater. I love for them to know that they are welcome, however they are. We are all a work in progress, we are all children of the King and we are all striving to become more Christ like.”
One of John’s roles is to help to make people feel that they have a home at Freshwater. John serves in a variety of capacities with the constant look to helping others know what God wants for them in their lives.
Luke Vettel, Worship and Groups Pastor
Luke grew up in North Dakota. He made a commitment to follow Christ at age 19. He is passionate about learning and teaching others, especially music. He has played guitar and piano in various bands, including the musical genres of gospel, blues, modern rock, funk, latin and jazz fusion.
He is a graduate of Trinity Bible College (B.A. in Biblical Studies, with an emphasis in Music Performance and Worship). While attending, he became adjunct faculty and taught improvisational piano. He also started a traveling music ministry where he played for conferences, camps, coffee houses and clubs. His past ministry experience includes being on staff in North Carolina and South Dakota. Music has taken him to many of the states, as well as, Switzerland, Belize and El Salvador.
Luke has a passion to help people grow spiritually. Luke is married to Shonda. They have two boys who love laughing, fishing, wrestling and lego construction projects. He also enjoys songwriting and reading anything on leadership or organizational development.
Roger Stuart, Children’s Ministry Pastor
The Board of Elders has hired Roger Stuart to be the Children’s Pastor at Freshwater. Roger’s first day will be April 2nd. Roger is eager to get to know the Freshwater family and we welcome him into this role. Roger absolutely LOVES children! He truly defines the term “Big Kid” with a big heart for seeing children come to know, love, and honor Christ in all that they do. Roger has a true passion for reaching kids with the gospel of Christ, then training them to serve Him. He believes in raising up Christian leaders of tomorrow to help lead the charge to take Christ to all regions of the world. Roger says “There is nothing in my mind more important than the spiritual growth of a child. With a significant percentage of children already making their minds up about Christ by age 12, it is critical that children receive a strong core foundation of Biblical truth so their faith will not waiver as they transition to the teenage years and beyond. My goal for ministry is to have children on fire for God when they reach their teenage years so they can share Christ with others and help make disciples.” Roger also believes a core component of a child’s spiritual welfare is the parents. Roger will help equip parents to be the spiritual leaders of their homes.
Roger moved to Minnesota from Kansas and is married to Tamara. They have one amazing daughter named Summer and two spoiled dogs, Daisy and Kandi. Roger really enjoys the outdoors, and he is a sports fanatic and promises to be an avid Vikings fan. (He is even excited to learn about the game of hockey which didn’t really exist in Kansas).
Kevin Christian, Student Ministry Pastor
Kevin has a passion for seeing young people come to a saving faith in Christ. He believes in the importance of challenging students and helping them realize their spiritual gifts and talents so they in turn can impact this world for Christ. His philosophy of youth ministry is to make disciples that make disciples. “It is my goal to create the ripple effect in young people. When one young person comes to know Christ and begins to mature, their actions will affect many others around them.” Kevin is certified in general family counseling through the American Association of Christian Counselors and also received a certification in “Critical Incident Stress Management” (CISM).
Kevin moved to Minnesota from Wisconsin and is married to Kelly. They have two daughters, Kira and Breanna and a dog named Bandit. Kevin enjoys spending time with his family, whether that be going for walks, mini-golfing, attending concerts, or going camping. He also likes to ride motorcycles, golf, and play softball.
Courtney Rodriguez, Executive Assistant
Courtney began working at Freshwater Community Church as the Director of Freshwater Learning Center in 2004. Since that time, Courtney has been involved in various ministries at Freshwater and is currently the Executive Assistant to Pastors John Braland and Luke Vettel.
Courtney and her husband Samuel have been attending Freshwater Church since 1999. Courtney says, “We have loved being a part of Freshwater from so early on. We have seen Freshwater become a very integral part of its community and we really enjoy being a part of what God is doing here.”
Raven Derfus, Learning Center Director
Raven graduated from Crown College in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Youth Social Science and a Minor in Christian Studies. She has been married to her husband Derrick since 2001, and they have three “little blessings”: Kjersti, Oak, and Georgie. Raven enjoys spending time with friends and family. She is also very active playing basketball and volleyball. True to her northern roots she likes being outside, as long as the temperature is above zero.
As an employee of the learning center since 2006 she has established firm roots and great parent and peer relationships. Raven has worked with all age groups and has had a main focus as Lead Teacher in the Toddler room. She feels blessed to be part of the amazing development that happens with growing children. As Director of the Learning Center her vision is to continually advance and develop in meeting the needs of the children cognitively, socially, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Her goal is to set up the children for a successful future while providing them with a safe, fun, and loving environment.
Carmein McCurry, Bookkeeper
bookkeeper@freshwaterchurch.org
Carmein began attending Freshwater in 2005 and became the Bookkeeper in 2008. She appreciates the genuine people and all the opportunities to learn and grow spiritually.
She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. The next several years were spent out West, which were pivotal in expanding her world view of cultures and lifestyles. She is also currently a Real Estate agent.
She loves spending time with her family, gardening and traveling the United States. Carmein and Pat live in St. Bonifacius with their son Ben.