Peter Ellis

Vitals

Peter started his journey here in this world by being born in El Camino hospital back in 1977 and has lived in the Bay Area his entire life. He was raised in a Christian home, but did not feel that his “faith became his own” until the Lord took him through the fire of adolescence and young adulthood. His call to worship ministry began more than 10 years ago as he led in lay capacities in several churches until God called him to Bernal and to the position in which he now serves. Peter describes his background and experience as being fairly “eclectic” having received a degree in information systems from Santa Clara University and having worked in the tech industry for the past 7 years. His passion for worship, as he describes, is born out of the brokenness that comes with seeing God’s immeasurable grace poured out on his life. Stepping into the position of worship pastor at Bernal, although a change, represents an opportunity full of blessing and promise and has been an “absolute joy” to him since he began serving there in April of 2005. The other profound joy in his life is his new wife Courtney, whom he married on May 28th of this year.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Music - “I am passionate about music being a medium for self-expression that is both subtle and powerful all at once. You would find me listening to just about anything including alternative, rock, some rap, reggae, classical, and on and on. Style and arrangement is less important than if I connect with it in some way. Most often, naturally, my heart has me listening to music that glorifies the Lord.”

Sports - “I am a huge baseball fan and absolutely love the experience of a good Giants game with friends and BBQ’s mixed in. Football, basketball, hockey are all enjoyable to me as well. You would find me participating in most outdoor activities (which stems back to my days in Boy Scouts) and can even be occasionally spotted hunting for gold high in Sierra rivers and streams (not sure this is considered a ‘sport’ but thought I would throw that in there anyway).”

Movies - “My wife and I have a pretty sizable collection of DVD’s at this point. Favorites of mine include “Field of Dreams,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and a handful of cult classics that we have lying around.”

Books - “I love to read when I have the time. Aside from the Bible, my reading has taken me everywhere from Jules Verne to C.S. Lewis to John Piper and Erwin Raphael McManus. There a lot more, but that’s a good cross-section.”

What if you weren’t in ministry?

“Well I wasn’t until recently, so I would probably still be working in some tech company wishing I could be in ministry.”

What if you could spend time with any famous historical person?

“It would probably be, in no particular order (except for the first and last ones), Jesus, the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Paul, King David, Abraham Lincoln, and maybe George Bush.”

Contact Peter at: peter@bernalchurch.org