slzjcc.org

Get to Know our Pastors

Lead Pastor: Rod Yee was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.  He traveled south to earn a B.A. from UC Riverside, served on staff with Intercultural Ministries of Campus Crusade for Christ, and graduated with a Master of Divinity from Talbot Seminary.  Pastor Rod is a retired commander with a local police department, having served for over 21 years. He became Staff Pastor of our church in 2003 and Lead Pastor in 2007.  A proponent of bi-vocational ministry, he works as a consultant with the State of California.  He and Koko Tsuneishi Yee have been married for over 29 joyful years; they have a daughter, Annie.

Japanese Pastor: Sunao Shimada was born in Okinawa, Japan.  He came to faith and was baptized at San Lorenzo Japanese Christian Church in 1977.  Pastor Sunao returned to Japan to attend Tokyo Biblical Seminary where he received a Master of Divinity.  He had pastored in Chiba Japan for over 20 years before returning to pastor San Lorenzo. He is married to Tomoko since 1986, and they have four children.  He enjoys sharing the gospel, tennis, and golf.  

Assistant Pastor: Brian Tekawa is a recent graduate of Bay Cities Bible College in 2009 with a B.A. in Biblical Studies with a concentration in Pastoral Ministries and Christian Education.  He is a bi-vocational pastor, working for BART part-time.  He is involved in the adult education and college+ ministries.  He has been married to Kathy Tekawa since 1979, and they have two daughters, Jessica and Justine.

Assistant Pastor: Eric Yata was born and raised in the East Bay.  He graduated from UC Davis in 2001 and worked for PG&E as an engineer for 3 years.  Then, he left PG&E in order to attend Talbot Seminary where he received a Master of Divinity in May 2008.  He came back to the Bay Area in 2009 in order to pastor young adults and develop the small group ministry.  He is married to Pam Yata since 2007 and enjoys cheering for the Oakland A’s and Stanford Cardinal.

Youth Pastor: Scott Shimada grew up in Richmond, CA.  He went on to attend UC Riverside and spent six years in Southern California for school and work before moving back to the Bay Area in 1994.  He started serving as a part-time youth director in 1996 and came on full-time in 2000.  He works primarily with the high school and middle school students and their families.  He is married to Michi and has three daughters.  Scott enjoys rooting for Bay Area sports teams.  He is currently attending Bay Cities Bible College.