Pastors & Support Staff
Kevin Schaal
Senior Pastor
Mark French
Administrative Pastor
Jason Wermager
Assistant Pastor
Kristopher Schaal
Youth & Discipleship Pastor
Caleb French
Director of Worship
Susie French
Worship Secretary
Rhonda Van Emmerik
Church Secretary
Tim Waycaster
Administrative Assistant
Tami Wermager
Office Assistant
Karen Cheek
Outreach CoordinatorKevin Schaal
Senior PastorKevin Schaal graduated from Bob Jones University, Greenville, SC, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984. He then earned a Master of Divinity from Calvary Baptist Seminary of Lansdale, PA, in 1987, and a Doctor of Ministry from International Baptist College, Tempe, AZ, in 1995. He has served as the pastor of Northwest Valley Baptist Church since its beginning in 1987. The church’s mission outreach has planted five other churches, four in Arizona and one in Puebla, Mexico. Dr. Schaal teaches as an adjunct professor at colleges in the States and overseas. He also serves as an executive member and advisor on various ministry boards. Dr. Schaal and his wife, Sandra, have five children.
Email:info@nwvbc.org
Mark French
Administrative PastorAfter earning his bachelors and masters degrees, Pastor French has served in various assistant pastor roles in three different ministries since entering full time service in 1984. He joined Northwest Valley Baptist Church in June 2010 and assumed the primary ministries as administrator of Arrowhead Christian Academy and business administrator for NWVBC. He and his wife, Susie, have three children.
Email:info@nwvbc.org
Jason Wermager
Assistant PastorPastor Jason has served at Northwest Valley Baptist Church since August 1997. He oversees the missions committee, and buildings/grounds. He leads the Connections Growth Group class. Jason earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from International Baptist College in Tempe, AZ after serving four and a half years in the United States Air Force. Jason is married to Tami, and they have two grown children.
Email:info@nwvbc.org
Kristopher Schaal
Youth & Discipleship PastorPastor Kris grew up here at Northwest Valley Baptist Church, where he received Jesus Christ as Savior in elementary school and began serving in the church as a teen. He earned a Bachelor’s in Church Music from Bob Jones University and a Master of Divinity from International Baptist College and Seminary. He is also an ACBC level 2 certified counselor. During his seminary years, Kristopher served as Pastoral Intern at NWVBC and Junior Camp Speaker at Ironwood Christian Camp in southern California. He then served as a pastor at Life Point Baptist Church in Apple Valley, CA, for 6 years before returning to NWVBC in 2020. Kristopher also serves as the Executive Director of Growing Fathers—a ministry focused on encouraging Christian dads. He and his wife, Elise, have 5 growing children.
Email:info@nwvbc.org
Caleb French
Director of WorshipCaleb received a Bachelor’s degree in Bible from Bob Jones University in 2010. He went on to complete a Master’s degree in Church Music in 2014. He has had a connection with Northwest Valley Baptist Church since he served as an intern during the summer of 2008. After several more summer internships, Caleb eventually joined the staff at Northwest Valley as its director of music. Caleb also does some graphic design work for the ministry, leads the Young Adults Growth Group, and oversees the music program of Arrowhead Christian Academy, where he directs choirs and teaches one of the Bible classes. He and his wife, Heidi, have two children.
Email:info@nwvbc.org
Susie French
Worship SecretarySusie French joined our staff in the fall of 2012 and is the wife of Pastor Mark French. She is the secretary for our music director, serves on the worship planning team, teaches the ladies’ Bible study and is a help to her husband with the Young Marrieds Growth Group class.
Email:info@nwvbc.org
Rhonda Van Emmerik
Church SecretaryRhonda joined the staff in 2016 as an ACA teacher. She then changed roles to church secretary in the summer of 2021. During her time as a member of NWVBC, she has ministered to children in the Kids4Truth program and in the nursery. Rhonda is a graduate of International Baptist College (Tempe, AZ, now located in Chandler). She has three children.
Email:info@nwvbc.org
Tim Waycaster
Administrative AssistantTim Waycaster grew up at Northwest Valley Baptist Church, where as a young man he received Christ and began to grow. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Bob Jones University. Tim served for one year as administrative assistant to the director of Ironwood Camp in California and worked at Amazon.com for five years in shipping and as a safety process assistant. He brings this experience to bear on his role as administrative assistant to Pastor French. Tim also manages tuition accounts for the Christian school. He and his wife Jillian have three children.
Email:info@nwvbc.org
Tami Wermager
Office AssistantTami has been serving on the staff since 2006. She is the wife of Pastor Jason Wermager. She assists in the office, and also serves as wedding coordinator and in various capacities among the ministries of the church. Tami is a graduate of Lancaster Bible College of Lancaster, PA (BS). She and Jason have two grown children.
Email:info@nwvbc.org
Karen Cheek
Outreach CoordinatorKaren Cheek joined the staff of Northwest Valley Baptist Church in May 2025, having been a faithful member since 2018. She holds a Bachelor’s in Industrial Engineering and a Master of Business Administration. Karen has over 26 years of experience in healthcare revenue cycle management and brings a thoughtful, servant-hearted approach to ministry.
Email:info@nwvbc.org