Meet The Pastor
Lead Pastor Shane Hicks
Shane and Whitney are college sweethearts, having met at California Baptist University in 2010. Shane and Whitney quickly developed a strong friendship, but natural chemistry and the leading of God made it clear that they were destined for more. The two bonded through a mutual love of animals, many trips to Disneyland, a shared passion for personality studies, church service, and dreams of changing the world for Jesus. Family and friends on both sides encouraged the relationship, and the two became engaged on June 26th, 2011.
Shane and Whitney married on March 23rd, 2013 and started a family together in the adoption of a beat-up street dog they rescued and named Huckleberry. Huck was lonely during the day, so Shane and Whitney rescued Finn, and the two have been best friends ever since.
Shane and Whitney began praying for a child in 2015, not realizing they would be praying for 905 days. They were told they would not be able to have a baby and went through many failed infertility treatments, but they continued to believe in the power of Jesus to do miracles. When all seemed hopeless, Jesus did a miracle and blessed Shane and Whitney with Jesse who was born on September 28th, 2017.
Whitney is passionate about knowledge for the sake of being useful for Christ. She has achieved a B.A. in English, B.S. in Psychology, and an M.S. in Counseling Psychology for Marriage and Family Therapy from California Baptist University. She accepted Christ when she was 16 and has served Jesus through missions, the leadership of a Mommy and Me group, and alongside Shane in all of his ministries. Whitney’s primary life passions are being a devoted wife and mother. Whitney loves to spend time with family, traveling, arts and crafts, fiction books, holidays, and organizing.
Jesse is a miracle baby in more ways than one, having overcome a stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit during his first week of life. Jesse has more energy than most toddlers and has never come close to sleeping through the night. Jesse loves all animals, and has a particular fascination with bugs. He is a comedian and enjoys making those around him laugh. Jesse loves taking daily walks with his Dadda and helping make smoothies and dinner with his Momma. Jesse already loves to pray and intensely waits until he gets to say “Amen.”