Pastor Pete & Martha Pera
Lead Pastor
Pastor Pete is the founding Pastor of Rise Community Church. He and his wife Martha are motivated and inspired by the overwhelming impact of the Gospel in their own lives and consider it one of the greatest privileges in life to share the love of Christ with others. They are called to be a part of building a community of discipled believers to be the hands and feet of Jesus. They believe very strongly in the power of serving the community. We love and serve God as we love and serve people. Pastor Pete serves at the Lead Pastor at Rise, overseeing the Teaching Team, Rise University Classes and overall vision of the church.
Pastor Pete and his wife Martha have been happily married since 1992 and have served the Lord in ministry together for over 35 years. They have four beautiful children Marco, Peter, Sophie, and Victoria. Pastor Pete graduated from Nyack Christian College and received a master’s in Education from Nova Southeastern University. His lovely wife is a therapist with a degree in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University. They have lived in the Cooper City area and have faithfully served this community and neighboring communities such as Davie, Weston, Hollywood, Sunrise, and Pembroke Pines since 1995.
Contact Pastor Pete: pastorpete@risecommunity.org
Contact Martha: marthapera@risecommunity.org
Pastor Mike & Teresa Boyd
Teaching Pastor/Admin
Pastor Mike “Chopper” Boyd and his wife, Teresa, are co-founders of Rise Community Church. High school sweethearts who married in 1992, they discovered a shared passion for ministry in 2001 when a friend first invited them to church.
Over the years, Pastor Mike has faithfully served in youth, young adult, and administrative ministries, always striving to share Jesus’ love in a relevant and authentic way. Alongside his pastoral work, he operates several businesses and nurtures his love of the outdoors through hiking, mountain biking, camping, and scuba diving. Teresa uses her gifts in leadership advising and ministry support, helping shape the church’s vision and mission.
They are proud parents of two adult children—Brian and Kayla—and are thankful both have chosen to follow in their footsteps by serving in ministry. Together, Mike and Teresa are committed to creating an environment at Rise Community Church where individuals and families can experience true healing, transformation, and the life-changing power of Christ’s love.
Contact Pastor Mike: pastormikeb@risecommunity.org
Contact Teresa: teresaboyd@risecommunity.org
Frank & Jahna Ares
Teaching Pastor & Children/Youth Pastor
Pastor Frank Ares serves as one of the teaching pastors at Rise Community Church. A true shepherd at heart, he is deeply committed to serving, guiding, and loving the people of Rise. With a passion for creating a welcoming space where everyone—no matter their background or story—can encounter God’s love and acceptance, Pastor Frank’s ministry is rooted in authenticity, compassion, and family. He and his wife Jahna have been married for 10 years and share a beautiful blended family with their children Adrian, Alexa, Frankie, and Brave. Family is at the heart of everything he does, and he strives to build a church where every person feels like they truly belong.
Pastor Jahna Ares leads Rise Community Church’s children’s and youth ministries. With a deep love for the next generation, she is passionate about helping kids and teens grow in their faith and discover their God-given purpose. Her favorite time of the year is youth camp, where she gets to pour into young lives in powerful ways. As a mother and stepmother in a blended family, Jahna brings warmth, empathy, and real-life experience to her ministry. Together, Frank and Jahna offer a unique and unified pastoral voice that reaches across generations, building a church community marked by love, grace, and connection.
Contact Frank: pastorfrank@risecommunity.org
Contact Jahna: jahnaa@risecommunity.org
Brenden & Janell Hojara
Teaching/Worship/Outreach
Brenden Hojara has been an integral part of Rise Community Church since the beginning, contributing his passion for ministry and deep understanding of faith to our community. Raised in a church environment, Brenden has been involved in various leadership roles from a young age, including leading worship since he was 15 years old. He met his wife, Janell at the age of 12 in a youth group and they have been best friends ever since. Married in 2005 they have spent the past 20 years raising their 3 amazing boys, Ezra, Kingston and Hero who are now also involved in the youth and worship ministry at Rise.
Today Brenden serves on the Teaching Team and the Worship Team while also helping with church communication and hospitality. He has a passion to serve the most vulnerable around the world which was instilled to him by his missionary grandmother and his parents who have spent time ministering in Guatemala and Haiti. This passion has also led Brenden to help create opportunities for people to serve locally and globally through our Outreach ministry.
He currently runs a local Marketing Agency and serves the local community in whatever way he can through partnering with existing organizations and connecting them to the church. In his free-time he prefers to be outside hiking the Appalachian Trail, mountain biking or traveling.
Barney & Karen Garwood
Teaching/Youth
Barney and Karen Garwood have been part of the Rise Community Church family since 2023, and their time here has been a true blessing. With a shared passion for serving families and teens, they are excited to walk alongside the next generation and help them grow in faith and purpose.
Both Barney and Karen were born and raised in South Florida and have been active in their local churches from a young age. Barney graduated from Taylor University in 1997 with a degree in Biblical Literature and began working with at-risk youth at West Lauderdale Baptist Church. Karen spent time working in local Christian radio, using her voice to inspire and encourage listeners.
The two were married in 2003 and began their joint ministry journey leading youth at Trinity Church of God in Boca Raton. In 2006, they joined Church of Healing Rain in Cooper City, serving in various ministry roles. Barney was ordained as a pastor in 2008 and later went on to serve with 4KIDS of South Florida, caring for children and teens in crisis situations. Today, Barney works as an educator and Karen is with The Inspiration Company, but their hearts remain deeply rooted in ministry.
With over two decades of marriage and ministry together, Barney and Karen are passionate about teaching, discipling, and encouraging families. Their hope is to see the families of Rise thrive in faith and community. They’ve been married for 22 years and are proud parents of two amazing teenagers, Tristan and Ember. In his spare time, Barney enjoys tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering—often alongside friends from church.
Michael & Kayla Brubeck
Teaching/Media
Michael and Kayla met at Rise Community Church and have been married since 2021. Together, they lead our Media and Tech Ministry, and Michael also serves on the teaching team.
Michael has a passion for missions and spent three years serving abroad in various countries. He also loves teaching others about the Word and Spirit of God.
Kayla has been active in ministry since 2008, primarily serving in youth and children’s ministries, and shares Michael’s passion for missions. She is the daughter of Pastor Mike and Teresa Boyd—one of the founding families of Rise Community Church—and joined the Church Board as Secretary in 2023. In their free time they enjoy trying new restaurants and playing board games.
Reid & Vicky Becker
Finance
Reid is the Treasurer of Rise Community Church and has been attending the church since 2019. He is a retired CPA and was the Controller for Community Asphalt Corp. for thirty years. Reid eagerly took over the responsibilities of Treasurer in 2023 and has worked diligently to maintain clear and precise accounting records. He has assisted the church board with planning and budgeting, providing them with a clear picture of the church’s financial condition.
Vicky and Reid met in 2007. They had both been attending Calvary Chapel Sawgrass for a few years but never crossed paths. One day while setting up chairs for the church, they finally met. During the next several months, they kept seeing each other, and finally, Reid got up the nerve to ask Vicky for a date. She said yes, and seven months later, they were married. Vicky and Reid each have a daughter, Brittany and Jessica, and a darling granddaughter, Stella.
In addition to his role as Treasurer, Reid serves on the worship team, playing bass guitar. He is also a clarinetist for the Broward College Symphonic Band and Ft. Lauderdale Symphonic Winds.