Staff Profiles
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Dr. Danny Leavins
Pastor
–My favorite thing about Venture is how much it challenges me to follow Jesus and to grow stronger in the grace of Christ. I have been working with Venture since 2004 and have been Venture’s pastor since 2006, and I think that I am growing and learning as much or more than anyone. My staff team, our volunteers, the people who come–they are amazing. We are learning together to believe in and reflect the love of God in Christ.
–My favorite things are my family, college football, and music. I have been married to my wife Kristen since 1996, and we have four children, Abigail, Eliza, Anna, and Benjamin.
–My theological training includes a Th.M from Dallas Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Semitic Languages (Biblical Hebrew) from The Catholic University of America.
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Suzanne Keffer
Director of Women and Community
Naps, sand castles and ice cream cones delight me. Well crafted words draw me. Good food with friends energizes me. Exotic places intrigue me. Seeing God’s creativity in the faces I meet amazes me. Helping others know Christ fulfills me.
God drew me to Him when I was young by giving me a gift I did not want. Slight cerebral palsy caused me to walk on my toes most of my childhood. When the other kids called me broken, my Father whispered that I was His “fearfully and wonderfully made” child. By reminding me Whose I was, He affirmed that neither my disabilities nor abilities would ever define who I was. Rather, He determined my worth in that He — the God of the universe — made me. And He declared me priceless when He spent the life of His only Son to call me Daughter. Today, I thank Him for wrapping the gift of identity in Christ in the box of cerebral palsy.
Just as God used a difficult struggle to make me more like Him when I was younger, He continues to shape me by asking me to trust him with my future — whether it looks hopeful or uncertain. No matter how I’m feeling on a given day, I want to follow God. To know Him better. To trust Him more. In whatever I do, I desire to reflect Him so that when others meet me, they see Him. -
Stephen Procopio
Director of Creative Arts and Community
I joined Venture Staff in July of 2008. A graduate of Messiah College with a BA in drawing and painting, I am consistently seeking out new art in any form. As the Director of Creative Arts I spends most days hunched over a computer obsessing over typefaces.
I strongly recommend that you join a small group.
When I am not glued to a Mac I spend my time drawing people, watching movies and LOST, playing guitar and bass, and reading books.
I feel very blessed to be part of a team that is committed to bringing the Love that Christ showed us to everyone we meet.
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Matt Butterfield
Worship Leader
Between hanging with my lovely wife, playing music, teaching at a local high school, and enjoying the company of some good friends, I stay pretty busy. Some of my favorite things are: creating music with a variety of instrumentation, running, watching clouds and sunsets, a good conversation, “thinking” movies, the original Nintendo, working on my new home, and reading a good book.. And I love introducing friends and family to new music (currently I’m digging Fleet Foxes, the Dirty Projectors, Sharon Jones and the Dapkings, Jon Foreman, and Andrew Peterson)
I’ve been attending Immanuel since 2000 and involved with the music for about the same time. Its been a humbling experience working with Venture, as many of the members and musicians have challenged me in my faith and my vision of what “worship” looks like. I’m excited to be involved with a ministry that strives to raise relevant Christ-followers that are not only following with their minds, but in their daily lives.