ABOUT
Santa Barbara Sending (SBS) is a gathering of followers of Christ who desire to inspire Christians to deeper faith so that they are equipped to make disciples of all peoples.
Board of directors
Dr. Charles Farhadian
Professor of World Religions and Christian Mission at Westmont College and co-founder of Santa Barbara Sending, Charles Farhadian teaches and writes about missiology, non-Western Christianity, nation making, and worship. Having taught in a variety of urban and rural contexts in Asia, he is interested in exploring the transformational power of the gospel in the lives of peoples and cultures. Charles enjoys hearing and telling stories of the surprising ways that the Triune God is working in unexpected ways around the world.
Rev. Ben Patterson
The Reverend Ben Patterson served as Campus Pastor at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California for 17 years and is the co-founder of Santa Barbara Sending. Ben has written several books including: Serving God: The Grand Essentials of Work & Worship, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Deepening Your Conversation with God, The Prayer Devotional Bible, He Has Made Me Glad, and God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms. Ben’s most current work is entitled Muscular Faith. Ben served the New Providence Presbyterian Church of New Jersey from 1989 until his appointment as Dean of the Chapel at Hope College in 1993. From 1975 to 1989 he was with the Irvine Presbyterian Church of California, of which he was the founding pastor. He earned his bachelor’s degree from La Verne University in 1966 and his master’s of divinity from The American Baptist Seminary of the West in 1972. He and his wife, Lauretta, have four grown children – Dan, Joel, Andy and Mary and several grandchildren.
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Phil Beccue
Phil Beccue is the founder of White Deer Partners, Inc., a consulting firm that applies mathematical tools to help people make better decisions. He serves on the SBS Board as CFO. Phil is a member of Christ Presbyterian Church and chairs the Global Outreach Team. Phil and his wife are active in cross-cultural ministry through local outreach activities to international students and mentoring field workers across the globe.
Dan Michealsen
Dan is President of Michealsen Construction Company, Inc., a Santa Barbara firm with a focus on retirement and medical facilities, churches and private educational institutions. Dan loves Jesus, and is thankful to attend Santa Barbara Community Church and worship with the saints and pray for the mission outreach of the church.
Dr. Scott Lisea
Scott Lisea is married to Jamie. They have raised three sons. He has been captured by Jesus for over 30 years, but it’s slow work. He lives in Santa Barbara where he serves as the Campus Pastor at Westmont College. He is a graduate of Westmont College (Economics/Business ’88), completed his Masters in Theology (’98) and Doctorate in Theology from Fuller Seminary (2013). His dissertation was a study in the expansive nature and impact of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has spent his lifetime working with young people, serving on the Young Life staff for 23 years retiring as the Regional Director for the Gold Coast & Central California Region. He served in executive leadership for 8 years in Christian education at Oaks Christian School, and then Providence Christian School in Santa Barbara. He has been involved in training ministry leaders throughout Asia and Africa, speaks at summer camps, and he and Jamie teach a ministry leadership course at Westmont and lead marriage intensives together for Young Life staff from around the country.
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Rachael Lauer
Rachael is passionate about global, gospel-centered child advocacy. She currently works for Compassion International, a Christian ministry seeking to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Rachael has extensive experience working in missions throughout the world (South Sudan, Zambia, Peru, Nicaragua, Benin, etc). Rachael is a graduate of Westmont College.
Colleen Atkinson
After serving for 17 years as the Administrative Assistant to the Campus Pastor and the Coordinator of the Chapel program at Westmont College, Colleen Atkinson retired in 2018. Prior to Westmont she served as the Administrative Assistant to Providence Hall (formerly known as Santa Barbara Christian School) middle school campus. She loves the church and to pray, especially for the expansion of Christ's Kingdom here on earth. Colleen has been married for 50 years to her dear husband, Howard, and has two adult children and one "adorable" 11 month old granddaughter, Colbie.
Rev. Ken Hwang
Ken Hwang is the Pastor of Local and Global Engagement at Santa Barbara Community Church. After graduating from Tufts University (Sociology, 1999) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity, 2002), Ken has served at several churches on the East Coast before switching coasts in 2021. He has led mission efforts in Asia, Africa, and Central/South America. He loves his wife Jeanyoung and son Theo and has a passion for music, working out, and connecting with people of all different backgrounds and walks of life.
Richard Danson
Ever since Richard Danson, MD received Jesus as his Lord and Savior at the age of 17, he has been inspired by Spirit-filled pastors and teachers to fulfill the Great Commission and to practice “market-place ministry.” In private practice since 1983, Dr. Danson specializes in internal medicine. He has held medical faculty appointments at USC, UC Davis, Western University of Health Sciences, Rocky Vista University. Dr. Danson has also been a trustee at Westmont College. His mission experience includes West Timor, Indonesia, Japan, Germany, and Ireland.
Karen Robertson
Karen felt God’s tug to serve Him full-time after graduating from Westmont (’79) and teaching in Santa Barbara for a few months. After working in a Mexican orphanage for a year, Karen taught overseas in Chile, Indonesia, and Malaysia before returning to the US and settling in Santa Barbara. She and her husband John attend SB Community Church, where both have served on the missions committee. Passionate to increase prayer and participation in missions, Karen keeps the church updated on current global and local ministry partners’ needs, as well as writing a yearly summer curriculum introducing SBCC children (and Sunday School teachers!) to the church’s partners.
Josiah Swanson
Josiah Swanson was saved by God's grace at a young age. Growing up on the North Shore of Hawaii, he was constantly surrounded by visitors from all around the world. This caused him to become curious about world religions and evangelism. By the time he was a teenager, he felt that it was time to leave his home and see the world. He spent some time in Indonesia and quickly discovered two things: good waves, and a multitude of lost people, many of whom had never heard of Jesus. Ever since then, Josiah has been endeavoring to support the missionary cause and locally spur on international evangelical conversation. He now lives and works in Santa Barbara, California.
Conference Location:
Westmont College
955 La Paz Road
Santa Barbara, CA 93108
Mailing Address:
Santa Barbara Sending
1002 Cieneguitas Road
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
