Leadership

Trace Martinez and his wife, Kristy, have been married since 1997 and have two children, Adrian and Kiki. Trace proudly served as a U.S. Marine for 20 years and retired in 2016, and Kristy is a veteran Marine of 4 years. Before planting with Pillar Church, Trace has been involved in ministry in a number of churches all over the country, including various worship settings, youth pastor, men’s ministry leader, and as an elder and rotating teaching pastor at Generation Church North Oceanside. Trace holds a B.A. in Music from Thomas Edison State University and an M.A. in Music Education from Boston University.

Michael Young and his wife, Audrey, have been married since 2001 and have two children, Gabriel and Hannah. Michael proudly served in the U.S. Air Force 9 nine years. During his time in the Air Force, Michael graduated from Bible College in Los Angeles. After separating from the USAF, he was licensed and ordained and entered full time ministry serving as associate Pastor and Worship Leader. Michael holds a B.A. in International Business from Southern New Hampshire University and an MBA from Syracuse University.

Carmen was born and raised in New York. She considers herself a "New York Rican" since her family is from Puerto Rico. She has raised five children, all grown now, and has 14 grandchildren. Carmen moved to California in 2018 for the purpose of being available to her Marine son and his friends. She also works on Camp Pendleton at the Lincoln Military Housing office and works directly with military families.

Carmen presently serves in the Children's ministry, hospitality team and leads the Ladies' Ministry and is a Fight Club coach. Carmen especially loves the Children and Youth ministries and believes it is vital to the life of the church. Her prayer is that God will make Himself real to them through His Word and Spirit before they reach adulthood.

Carmen says, "It is a privilege to serve people as unto the Lord and see God change hearts". She strives to glorify the Father and to be a living epistle that others may see as it states in 2 Corinthians 2:3 "You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men."

John is originally from New Haven, CT and served as a United States Marine for 22 years. He and his wife, Jacque married in 2003 and together they have 4 adult children, Vincent, Dante, Sean and Heidi, and one grandson, Jackson. John has been a Sr. Mortgage Banker for RWM Home Loans for the past 15 years. John is a leader of Church Logistics, which includes the church trailer, setup team, and audio visual teams. He says, "I really enjoy serving others by being a part of a welcoming environment and helping to make sure others are being able to connect in every aspect of our service."

John is an avid golfer and enjoys traveling and spending quality time with friends and family.

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Jacque Martin is a native Californian, born in Redding and and grew up in Huntington Beach. She has been married to her husband, John, since Feb 2003. They have a blended family of 4 children: Sean, who is married to Alicia (both school teachers) with grandson Jackson, Heidi, who lives in Carlsbad and is an instructional aide for Special Ed classes, Vincent who is married to Priscilla (both active duty Marines), and Dante who lives in New Jersey with his mom. Jacque has a degree in marketing, and is a sale executive for Brown and Bigelow selling promotional products.

Jacque started Pillar's amazing Hospitality Team with John (they are 1 of the 2 original founding families of Pillar Oceanside), and she is currently the leader of the Guest Services area which includes, Hospitality, and Welcome Team, as well as several other auxiliary teams. She says, "I have loved seeing Pillar Church grow. Doing hospitality has provided me the opportunity to speak with and get to know people. (Almost everyone stops at the table to get something!) It is exciting to see how the team has grown and how others that have the passion like mine have come together."
Currently, Jacque's favorite Bible verse is Galations 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Stuart was born in Brawley, CA, and his wife Mary (who also serves as a deacon at Pillar), and two girls Aila and Kira moved from Orange County to Oceanside. He works as a Software Development Project Manager and has a BA in English Lit from CSUF and 3 years undergrad of Computer Science from Biola.

Stuart says about Pillar Church, "I love that we're a church full of people willing to serve and proclaim the gospel." His favorite scripture is Colossians 3:17 "Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." Stuart enjoys reading and playing board and computer games.

Audrey Lee Young was born in New Orleans, LA, raised in Atlanta, Ga, but considers herself a Californian. She and her husband Michael moved to San Diego county in 2002 after meeting in the United States Air Force and have lived there ever since. They have two adult children, Gabriel and Hannah.

Audrey graduated from ministry school in the early 2000s and went on to earn an Associates' Degree in Music Performance with an emphasis in voice. Audrey began serving as a worship leader in 2012 and has been the worship leader at Pillar Oceanside since 2016. 

Audrey's favorite scripture is Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Brian is originally from Kansas City, MO, but has been a California native for decades. He is married to his lovely wife, Arlene, and has 5 children, Derik, Cherisse, Talal, Brandy, and Mika. Brian is the lead custodian at Del Rio Elementary and has been with the school for over 30 years. Brian is a true picture of servant leadership, and some of the things he loves about serving at Pillar and specifically in his ministry is "the preparation for service, making sure everyone has what they need so they can serve, and I love interacting with all the guests and members."

Brian's favorite Bible verse is Psalm 27: 2-4,

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.

Jerry is a San Diego County native. He's married to his lovely wife, Adri and is an Army Veteran. Jerry has been a retail manager for over 20 years, and he loves entertaining their community through a movie night that he and his family host in their neighborhood.

Jerry had revitalized Pillar's Aftershock Youth Group and also serves on the worship team. He says, "I love playing and singing and the teaching the teens for God."

His favorite scripture is 1 John 4:4, "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world."

Adri is originally from Lancaster, CA. She is married to her husband Jerry and she has 2 children, Alex and Luke. Adri is a retail manager and is currently going to school for biblical counseling. She loves to be outdoors and involved in any outdoor activities.

Adri oversees our Safe Families ministry at Pillar Church. Safe Families for Children is an organization that strives to step in and help families in crisis in an effort to keep children out of the foster care system. Adri says, "I love how generous our church is. They are not afraid to share their blessings with others and give overabundantly."

Adri's favorite verses are 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love."

Kristy is originally from Roswell, NM and has been married to her husband, Trace since 1997. They have 2 children, Adrian, a music composition major at UCSD, and Kiana, a history major at UCSB. Kristy is a veteran Marine, has BA in Early Childhood Education Administration, and is working towards her MA in Theological Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Kristy oversees the Children and Families Ministry, serves as Pillar Church's Communications Director, and she also heads up our KidsGames outreach each year. Kristy loves Pillar Church and the culture of quick, but meaningful, lasting, and effective connections. She says, "Given the transient nature of our congregation, we may only have people for a season. It's so important to get them plugged in, love them as hard as we can for however long we have them, and prepare them for their next mission in the Kingdom, all while pointing them constantly back to the Cross." Kristy's go-to scripture is Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Julie is from Oceanside, CA, and is retired after 30 years at Palomar College in the Reading Dept, and says that she is now happily available full-time for the Lord. She describes herself as a lifelong learner and has degrees both in Mathematics and Advanced Electronics.

Julie oversees our Welcome Team and says, "Pillar is one of the most loving church families I’ve ever been a part of. Basically, we are one big Welcome Team. What a joy it is to welcome new people into our church and watch them thrive." Julie shares that one of her favorite activities is connecting people with the perfect Bible and encouraging them to read it.  She states, "The perfect Bible, is the one you will read. My prescription is: A chapter a day, keeps the darkness away."

The Bible verse she uses to check if she is in alignment with the Lord is 1 Corinthians 16:14 “Let all that you do be done in love.”