The Cause Church has a great team.
Here’s your chance to meet them all.
Lead Pastors John and Jenny Reeve
Lead Pastors
John and Jenny were married in 2004 and have three children, Nevaeh, Cohen, and Eliana. A few months after getting married, they helped John’s parents, Pastors Bob and Sherry Reeve, plant The Cause (Community) Church in Brea in January 2005. John was the first staff member hired to serve alongside his parents, where he and Jenny led the youth ministry for several years. As the church grew, John’s role did as well. He became the Executive Pastor, helping his parents oversee the Staff Team, ministries, and the direction of the church. In January 2019, Jenny left her full-time position at Azusa Pacific University and joined the staff as the Children’s Ministry Director. Together, John and Jenny served as the Family Pastors until Pastor Bob graduated to heaven in February 2021. A few months later, in May 2021, Pastor Sherry transitioned into the role of Founding Pastor and commissioned John and Jenny as the new Lead Pastors. The greatest honor of their lives was serving alongside Pastors Bob and Sherry for 16 years, learning from their teaching and example, and now leading and shepherding God’s people at The Cause.
John has a B.S. in Business Finance from Cal State Long Beach and a M.A. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He has served the Lord in full-time ministry for over 20 years. Prior to serving at The Cause Church, he served on staff in youth ministry at Faith Community Church in West Covina for four years. In addition to serving at the church, John enjoys spending time with his family, watching sports, working out, reading, and eating Mexican food, especially Jenny’s cooking. His heart is to see people come into relationship with Jesus, grow in Him, and live passionately for His Cause.
Jenny graduated from Life Pacific College with a degree in Biblical Studies and Leadership. After coming to Christ when she was 20 years old, she began volunteering in the church and passionately serving the Lord. For the past 20 years, she has served in and helped lead many ministries, including children’s, youth, young adults, women’s, prison, marriage, and parenting. Jenny’s favorite things to do are spend time and make fun memories with her family, bake delicious desserts, read, and learn new things, travel to beautiful places, and creatively decorate her home. Her heart is to love God, love people, and equip families to disciple their children.
Pastors Bob & Sherry Reeve
Founding Pastors
Pastors Bob and Sherry founded The Cause Church in January of 2005. Currently, Pastor Sherry serves as Founding Pastor. Sherry graduated from Azusa Pacific University where she met and later married her husband, Bob. They were married for over 40 years before he graduated to Heaven in February of 2021.
Sherry has her M.A. in Education, was the founder of Jubilee Preschool and Elementary School, and operated a learning center for behavioral problems and learning disabilities. and is an experienced teacher who ministers to both adults and children. She has written curriculum for preschool and elementary children and has worked with children who have various learning disabilities, behavior problems, and ADHD.
Sherry is a gifted, anointed, powerful teacher of the Word of God and is practical and humorous. Sherry has traveled internationally speaking to large and small groups about marriage, family life, parenting and educational challenges. She also wrote, produced, and co-hosted a local cable television program entitled, "Encouraging Word."
Bob met the love of his life, Sherry, during their college years at Azusa Pacific University while he played baseball and majored in Biblical Literature. He wisely got "Smart" and enjoyed being married to Sherry for over 40 years.
He was a proud father of two sons, John and Joshua, and one daughter, Shannon, and even prouder grandpa to his nine grandchildren. He served God wholeheartedly in ministry for 25 years at Faith Community Church in West Covina before fulfilling God's call to lead The Cause Church in Brea for the last 16 years of his life. He traveled internationally with Sherry to speak to large and small groups about marriage, family life, and parenting, yet poured his heart and soul into his family. His honest yet humorous approach to teaching made you laugh and learn about yourself and pointed you toward becoming a fully functioning follower of Jesus.
Pastor Bob's "Legacy" Library
You are invited to explore this “Legacy Library” honoring the life and teaching of Pastor Bob Reeve. Here you will find a collection of powerful messages, small group teachings, and resources and books which will help you know the Lord and become a fully-functioning follower of Jesus. Pastor Bob served the Lord in ministry for over 45 years and taught thousands of people about knowing and obeying the Lord, living a life of purpose, being filled with the Holy Spirit, marriage, family, and parenting, and many other topics from the Bible. We hope that you will enjoy and grow from this valuable resource in your Christian walk!
Find it below on our dedicated site and learn from all of Pastor Bob's great teachings!
Pastor Chris Garrigue
Executive Pastor
Pastor Chris began volunteering to run sound for the children’s ministry in junior high. Decades later he is still serving the Lord with the gifts and talents God has developed in him. Pastor Chris attended Citrus Community College where he received an A.S. degree in Behavioral Sciences.
After Citrus, he attended DeVry University where he received an A.A.S. in Electronics and Computer Technology, and then went on to also achieve a B.S. in Technical Management with honors. He married his wife Lorraine in July of 2003, and has four children. While God has blessed him with the knowledge for technical things, it is the people that he has brought around him that truly make things happen. He loves working with other volunteers and seeing them grow and develop a hunger to know and serve God.
Pastor Judy Walker
Associate Pastor
Pastor Judy is a Texas-transplant who moved to California in 2004. She has been attending The Cause since its first days in the movie theater and joined the staff in 2016. She graduated with honors from Liberty University with a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Religion/Foreign Language).
Overseeing the Next Steps and Small Groups ministries, Pastor Judy is passionate about helping people grow in their relationship with the Lord, connect to other members of His family, and live out His purpose for their lives.
Pastor Tony Salerno
Intern Pastor
Tony Salerno began his ministry to youth and families after graduating from Vanguard University. From a local youth ministry, he went on to be the founder of an international youth organization, which led to his work today with an emphasis on providing media resources and materials for kids and families. Tony is the recipient of numerous awards including 8 Grammy® nominations and five Dove awards, with recordings that have Gold and Platinum status.
Tony serves in the capacity of an advisory and helps role to various areas of the church, with a focus on the children’s and youth department. His desire is to see this generation have a hunger for God and His Word. He and his wife, Kathy, have one son, Anthony.
Pastor Julie Valenzuela
Children's Ministry Director
Julie has been serving youth and their families for 30+ years in the performing arts industry. For approximately 25 of those years, she and her husband were entrepreneurs of a Christian performing arts school with two locations and six satellite locations located in preschools, elementary schools, and high schools throughout Southern California. In these locations, she mentored teachers, developed traveling ministry outreach teams, ran arts camps, wrote and developed large scale productions, activated kids of all ages in ministry, discipled children, youth, and adults in the Word of God, and trained people of all ages to use their gifts to glorify God.
Julie is happily married to Joe. Together they have four kids: Danny, Linda, Jordan, and Joey. She considers her family her greatest treasure! Julie has an Associate’s Degree in Christian Ministries from The King’s University with plans to further her education in the area of Christian counseling.
Ministry Directors
Sarah Hernandez
Worship Director
Sarah and her husband have 3 beautiful boys. Sarah has a B.A. in Music Theatre and Education from UC Irvine and an M.A. in Education from Hope International University. She has been serving in the worship ministry at The Cause for 9 years and has been the Worship Director for 3 of those years. In addition to serving at The Cause, she loves playing with her kids, eating good food with her husband, surfing, and enjoying a movie or a concert. Sarah's desire is to see people encounter Jesus through worship and grow closer to Him through the power of His presence.
Gary Tung
Music Director
Gary serves as The Cause Church’s Band Director and helps lead the church in worship through this role. If you want to laugh, spend a few minutes with Gary, whose light-hearted approach to life will result in comical thoughts. Gary and his wife, Esther, are proud parents of two boys.
Deanna Knickerbocker
Director of Outreach and Celebrate Recovery
Deanna has been serving God’s kingdom through Celebrate Recovery for the last thirteen and-a-half years. She started her journey with the Lord in her residential treatment center for women while recovering from drugs and alcohol. Deanna grew up Catholic and always knew that God loved her but needed to experience deep darkness before she could appreciate and find the light in 2009. She met her husband, Pete, in recovery and has been married for 10 years. They have two beautiful daughters, Madison and Makayla. Her life is now fully devoted to bringing others to Christ as she speaks in jails and institutions, in rehabilitation centers, as well as domestic violence shelters to share the hope she has found in the Lord. Deanna has her B.A. in Business Management from Cal State Fullerton and is going back to school in the Fall to start her master’s program in Christian Leadership. She is thrilled to take the next step towards God’s immense calling on her life, to set the captives free.
Chris Costello
Ministry Director of Cause Youth and Cause Young Adults
Chris Costello grew up in a Christian home. When Chris was 20 years old, he moved from the small town of Bishop to Tustin where he pursued his dream and passion for Mixed Martial Arts. Shortly after moving, Chris had an encounter with God that led to him recommitting his life fully to Jesus. With a new passion and love for God, Chris found his walk with Christ to be difficult and discouraging without a community to fellowship with and learn from. One night as he drove back home from his job at a pizza place in Brea, he broke down and cried out to God. "I can't do this alone" he said. "I need other people to help me. A bible study, a worship night, a church, I just need other people." The next day Chris went to work and had his first delivery. When he arrived at the address with the pizza, he found himself at The Cause Church. He was invited to a young adult service that day and from then on, The Cause Church was his home church. Chris went on to compete in MMA professionally while serving as a youth leader at The Cause. Chris later became the High School Director at The Cause and then stepped down to answer God's call to full time youth ministry with The Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In June of 2017 Chris met his beautiful wife, Esmeralda. They soon after married in January of 2019. Esmeralda, who also has a strong calling on her life to ministry, became a youth leader alongside Chris. Together they share a great vision for what God wants to do in and through this generation of young people.
