Dr. Rick Mandl, Senior Pastor

Pastor Rick is a native Southern Californian who grew up about 15 minutes from ERBC.  Before becoming a pastor, his career goal was to work in radio. He completed an associates degree in Broadcasting and then took a job as a deejay in Santa Maria.  He soon discovered that dreams aren’t all they are cracked up to be and decided to return to college to get training in something more mainstream, in case he ever needed to get a real job.

It was in 1977, while he was completing his degree at California State University Los Angeles that Rick was introduced to Jesus Christ through some people from Eagle Rock Baptist Church.  Shortly after beginning a personal relationship with Jesus, Rick wanted to learn more about God's Word and so entered seminary.  It was there that he felt that God was calling him to serve as a pastor.  He received his Masters Of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Talbot School of Theology. 

Since 1990 Rick has had the privilege of pastoring the church where he came to know the Lord, was baptized, married, and has watched his children grow up.  Rick and his wife Judy are the proud parents of three daughters, Kari, Kelcie, and Kimberly. 

One little-known fact about Pastor Rick: Although he hasn’t been behind a radio mike since 1975, he has been in front of a TV camera as a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, Scrabble, Hot Potato, Match Game, Pyramid, Bowling for Dollars, and Lingo. 

Becky Bibelheimer, Family Ministries

Becky hasn't always been a Bibelheimer.  She started out as a Higgins and lived with her family in Simi Valley after a brief stay in Northern California and three years in Madrid, Spain.  She attended public schools in Simi Valley and has fond memories of growing up there with her parents and two brothers. She left Simi Valley to attend Biola University where she got her BA in Liberal Studies in preparation for becoming a teacher.  In May of 1980 she married her husband Bruce.

Becky and Bruce came to Eagle Rock Baptist Church in 1980.  They were a part of the exciting Young Married's Class in which they made lifelong friendships.  They served together in the nursery and in the Young Married's Class.  Their daughter Erin was born in 1985.  Bruce died in 1986 after a short fight with brain cancer.  Becky credits the prayers and support of members at ERBC as the reason she was able to get through those difficult days.  Sarah was born in December of 1986, just five months after her daddy's death. 

Becky taught from 1980 until 1984 at Village Christian School in Sun Valley. She started working at Eagle Rock Baptist Church about eighteen months after Bruce's death and worked here in various capacities of Children's Ministries until she returned to teach at Village in 1994.  She stayed at Village for several years before returning to full time work at ERBC.

In 2004, Becky's desire to have a son came true when Christopher joined Becky's family.  Becky's greatest joy is when all of her kids are home together and the family spends time enjoying one another's company.  Becky is excited about the privilege of serving the children and women at ERBC and is thankful for this opportunity to work full time at the church.

Jordan Schumacher, Pastor of Ministries

Jordan calls many places home. He is originally from Denver but moved shortly after his birth to the great State of Alaska. Although the pristine beauty of Alaska was breath-taking, after ten years of the harsh winters his family was so ready for a change that they decided to move to the opposite extreme in temperature—Houston, TX. Jordan remained in the scorching Texan sun for high school and college. Upon graduating from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Industrial Distribution, the Lord revealed two things: 1) his true passion lay outside the business world, and 2) he desired a more manageable climate. As such, he moved to Pasadena to pursue a Masters of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in preparation for vocational ministry. Although he finished his degree in December 2008, he has no plans of leaving the splendid Southern California weather. Rather, Jordan married a beautiful So-Cal native in July of 2010 (Mrs. Tonia Schumacher) and is enjoying soaking in the sun and jointly doing their passions—recreating (hiking, climbing, skiing, surfing, weightlifting, going to the beach, and playing any sport with a racket or a ball), watching movies (especially action and dramas), and serving our great God by ministering inside and outside the local church.

What is a “Pastor of Ministries,” you might be wondering? Great question! Jordan oversees our small group, connection, and community outreach ministries, as well as helps to coordinate domestic and overseas mission trips. If you are looking to get plugged-in at ERBC, he’s the guy to see.

Prior to being hired as ERBC's Pastor of Ministries, Jordan served as Junior and Senior High School Intern at Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy, TX and as College and Young Adult Intern at First Baptist Church in Pasadena, CA. In addition to leading mission trips to Mexico, Jamaica, and Trinidad, he also spent the summer of 2007 as Young Adult Intern at Alongside Ministries in Albania. After graduating from Fuller, he was hired at ERBC as Director of Community Outreach and was ordained at Kingsland Baptist Church in May 2009.  Along with pastoring, Jordan enjoys working part-time as a spiritual and academic mentor for at-risk college students in Downtown LA with Ascending Lights Leadership Network.

Andrew White, Director of Youth Ministries

Andrew grew up on the East Coast in a rural suburb of Philadelphia. Growing up in an old farmhouse with acres of land to maintain is a far cry from his urban residence here in Southern California. He’s quite content, however, to reside in the land of perpetual summer for as long as God will have him here. Having attained an undergraduate degree in liberal studies from West Chester University in more years than he would like to admit, Andrew felt God calling him to undergo the academic gauntlet one more time. This time God saw fit to sweeten the deal and directed him out west. Andrew made the move to California with two bags and little else on New Years Day 2006.  His plan, to pursue a Masters of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary, and eventually a life of full-time ministry to the Church. 

Having grown up in a church, but not in any way “active” during his middle teens through his early twenties, Andrew has a particular passion for student ministry.  His heart aches for students who don’t think that God is relevant to their lives, or that have no interest in Christianity because it’s “boring.” One of his greatest joys is seeing students come to the realization that God is least of all boring, and following his Son is, quite literally, the only way to live.

Prior to joining the staff here at ERBC, he served in youth and young adult ministries in various churches and parachurch ministries in both Pennsylvania and Southern California.  While nobody is counting, he’s closing in on ten years of ministry experience working with youth in a lay or staff capacity.

If you sit down for a cup of coffee with Andrew, you’ll no doubt encounter his passion for God and His word, as well as big dreams for the Church. Lest you think he’s all business, Andrew’s a bit of an exercise fanatic and loves watching the food network and trying out new recipes. For fear of alienating a large percent of Los Angeles, he only brings up his love of all Philadelphia sports teams at moments when it’s an absolutely required of him…such as days ending in Y.

James Bean, Director of Worship

James was born and raised in Eagle Rock and has attended ERBC since he was 7. He met his wife, Kari, in Joyful Noise Children’s Choir at ERBC in 1990, and they were married in 2005. James and Kari are the proud parents of Hannah Joy, born in 2010. Growing up at the church, James volunteered in children’s, youth, and worship ministries. After graduating from Azusa Pacific University, James joined the ERBC staff as full-time youth director and served in that position for 6 years.  In 2010, James switched hats and began serving as the full-time Director of Worship Arts at ERBC, but you may still find him playing dodgeball or chasing Jr. High and High Schoolers around the patio.  James is currently continuing his graduate education in Pastoral Studies at Azusa Pacific University. 

In his spare time, James is a LegoÓManiac.  Although having a baby in the house has slowed down his literal brick-building, he still enjoys designing with LegoCad programs on the computer.  Click here to see a lego version of ERBC that James designed.