Elders
Kevin Nicolello
Kevin grew up in San Pedro, CA and resides in Rancho Palos Verdes Kervin is the owner of Peninsula
Maritime Consultants, LLC and has worked in the port for 35 years. Kevin has been married to his wife
Lisa for 33 years. Kevin and Lisa have three children, Bree is 29, Jacob is 27, and Caleb is 25. Kevin loves
traveling to Kauai and cooking at church.
Kevin and Lisa have called Peninsula Community Church home for 23 years and raised all three of their
children at PCC. Kand Lisa, served in the Junior High and High School ministry and served on the
Deaconate Team Kevin and Lisa have a cooking ministry preparing meals for small and large groups.
Kevin is on his second term as an elder
Bob Wade
Bob grew up and attended college in Ohio and then law school in Washington, DC. After practice as a trial lawyer and in corporate law, he worked as a Toyota executive until retirement in 2013. He and his wife Carolin are empty-nesters, with three adult children, Jason, Rebecca and Lindsay, and three grandchildren.
Bob has a passion for service. As current Chairman of the Palos Verdes Estates Planning Commission, he tries to bring the love of Christ to local government. At Peninsula Community Church, he and Carolin have served as co-leaders of the Good Neighbor Team. You’ll often see him at the front door ushering or blowing leaves off the church patio on Sunday mornings. No job too small!
Ken Garland
Ken Garland retired at the end of 2015 after a nearly 50-year career in ministry and seminary professorship. He resides with his wife of 54 years, Karen, in Rancho Palos Verdes. Ken and Karen have four married children and 11 grandchildren. He teaches an adult Sunday school class at PCC and preaches a few times each year at the request of Pastor Jim Welch.
Jeff McBurney
Jeff McBurney grew up on the northern side of Los Angeles County in the Antelope Valley. He is devoted to praying for the strength to show Christ’s love in his daily walk and is honored to serve on the board at Peninsula Community Church. During his day job he serves as a teacher and literacy coach supporting kids in the classroom. He is thankful to God for his beautiful family.
Bruce McGregor
Bruce McGregor was born at West Point in New York. He has lived in multiple countries as the child of an Air Force Officer, even Palos Verdes in the ’60s. With his beloved wife Lilia, he has four adult children: Jack, John, Katie and Diana. In 2020, he welcomed his son-in-law, Pastor Andrew Staffieri, to the family as Katie’s new husband. Bruce is currently a private defense attorney and delights in showing God’s love and grace to his clients, and mentoring young adults. He particularly enjoys playing his guitar and watching documentaries. In his younger days, he was an avid surfer.
Rob Sherwin
Robert “Rob” Sherwin grew up on a farm in Indiana. Prior to living in Southern California, he lived in Oak Park, Illinois. He has two grown children and six grandchildren. Rob is mostly retired but continues to do some consulting in the areas of finance and economics. With his wife, Kristen Willard, he serves on Peninsula’s Mission Support Team. In addition, they have travelled extensively to Africa and Asia to help spread the gospel through humanitarian aid.
Les Sheckman
I’m originally from the east coast, born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Delaware. I retired from the Air Force in 1990 and moved to the South Bay. I worked for an aerospace company for over 20 years living both here and Washington, DC. I’ve been married to my wonderful wife Joei for about 50 years. We have no kids but an amazing cat. In addition to currently being on the elder board, I volunteer at Little Company of Mary in both San Pedro and Torrance. I primarily talk to stroke patients sharing my story, especially sharing with them the part God played both in my recovery and life. I love to travel, eat and almost all sports; but I still like most Philly teams even though I live here.
Jim Welch, Senior Pastor
Jim is married to Christie and the father of three great kids: Jeremy, Lindsey and Danny. He is the Senior Pastor at Peninsula Community Church. He grew up in Downey, and spent four years in Dallas and nine in Rancho Mirage. He has lived in the South Bay for almost 32 years – and loves every cool breeze that blows! He enjoys going to Israel and college football…especially the Trojans.