MEET THE AMAZING TEAM BEHIND
CELEBRATION CHURCH.
lead pastor // DR. GARY & JOY TANGEMAN
Gary grew up in Southern California and felt God’s call to full time ministry during the summer of his junior year of high school. After graduating from BIOLA University, and later earning his Doctor of Ministry degree from Talbot School of Theology, he has pastored for over 40 years serving churches in California and Washington.
Gary and his lovely and talented wife Joy have been partners together in life and ministry for over 37 years. He loves working out at the gym, vintage Mustangs, the Lakers, Seattle Seahawks and USC football.
In his spare time he enjoys creating historical dioramas (historymadesmall.com) and teaching pastoral health and leadership courses at Tozer Theological Seminary in Redding California. He is also the author of The Discipling Making Church in the 21 Century and loves mentoring and encouraging ministry leaders and church planters.
Pastor of the Celebration On-line Cambodian Congregation //
Sonly & Phalla Goy
Sonly was born and raised in Cambodia by his mother. It was in 1974 during the civil war in Cambodia that preceded the Killing Fields, that Sonly, while attending a Christian and Missionary Alliance church, was convicted of his sin and invited Jesus to forgive him and come into his life. This was the beginning of a completely new direction for him. Following his conversion, Sonly was forced to endure the horror of the Killing Fields in Cambodia, one of the most horrific events of the twentieth century. From 1975 to 1979, nearly a quarter of the population were killed. By God’s grace Sonly survived and the Lord used this horrible ordeal to build character in his life as a young man. In 1984, after the Cambodian Genocide he escaped to a refugee camp in Thailand where he stayed until 1989. While living there he filed an immigrant application to attend a Bible school in Canada. God was preparing him for full- time ministry as he graduated from Prairie Bible College in 1995.
In April 1996, he met and married his beautiful wife, Phalla from Cambodia. She has been a wonderful partner in ministry, and God has blessed them with two college age sons. Ministry is their passion, as they serve the Lord with a burden for the Cambodian people. A great darkness continues to hover over Cambodia, and God is using them to minister both in the country of Cambodia as well as pastoring a large on line congregation engaging people in seven counties of the world.
Associate Pastors of cambodian worship // paul and christy kham
Paul & Christy Kham
Paul was born in Pailin, Cambodia back in 1961. His father was a Christian and taught him to love Christ and to share the gospel at a young age.
In 1978, during the war in Cambodia, Paul fled to Thailand and stayed at the Khao-I-Dang refugee camp until 1983, when he immigrated to the U.S. (Long Beach, CA) under the Refugee Act of 1980.
In 1985, Paul married his beautiful wife Christy, and they began to serve together in various ministries of the Cambodian Evangelical Church, under the Christian & Missionary Alliance. The C&MA began sharing the gospel in Cambodia back in 1923, as third generation Christians, Paul and Christy are a living testimony. Paul and Christy enjoy cooking, exercising, traveling and serving on short mission trips to Cambodia. They have three beautiful daughters and enjoy spending time with their family and building community with others.
community outreach // Pastors Carlos & Wendy GUERRERO
From the start of their marriage in early 2000, pastors Carlos and Wendy Guerrero have felt called to serve in full-time ministry. As a teen Carlos was involved in gangs, drugs and violence and found himself falling into an increasingly dark cycle that dragged him in and out of County jail and prison. It was during a 16-month stretch of solitary confinement in Corcoran state prison that Carlos surrendered his life to the Lord Jesus Christ and found a deep hope and true understanding of God’s grace. He turned away from his former destructive path and began studying God’s Word and attending church regularly with Wendy. They began pastoring in 2011 in the city of Stanton, CA.
Before meeting Carlos, Wendy had drifted from a traditional Christian family upbringing into her own troubles with drugs, alcohol and abusive relationships. It was only through the power of God’s grace and a surrendered heart that Wendy found peace and healing in her life as well as the strength to walk in forgiveness and faith. She has since served as pastor, trusted counselor, women's ministry leader and a mighty prayer warrior.
Since 2016 Carlos and Wendy have served as pastors of the Breakthrough congregation at Celebration Church which centers on family, restoration of broken relationships and community.
They have a heart and passion to minister to gang members, victims of abuse, drug and alcohol users, and the less fortunate living on the streets. They serve with Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the Santa Ana school district as well.
They are a blended family with 3 grown children and 2 grandchildren.
Carlos and Wendy are also Shepherds at Standing Stone Ministry, an organization that offers counseling and support for fellow pastors in the field. Their foundation scripture is,
“So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.” Colossians 1:28-29 (NLT)
Ministry Assistant // Bridget McDowell-Kissee
Bridget grew up in the San Joaquin Valley (Central California) and has been a part of the church since she can remember! She was formally a Preschool Teacher at a Christian private school and also worked in Children’s Ministry at her former church. In 2022 she moved to Orange County, California.
Bridget is now married to David Kissee who leads worship at the New City service. David is working on getting his PhD at UC Riverside. The two married in 2023 in Laguna Beach after having met online because of their shared love for God (and video-games). They both enjoy being a part of Celebration Church and look forward to all God is doing in their lives as well as those around them.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:10
ASSOCIATE PASTORs OF SPANISH WORSHIP // JOEL & Alma solis
Joel was born in Orange, California and grew up in a pastor’s family. He has been a bi-vocational pastor and church planter for over 25 years.
He is a design engineer by trade and loves to teach and play both piano and guitar. He enjoys playing chess and loves basketball. He is also a translator and interpreter (Spanish) for public speakers, having translated several ministry oriented books.
Joel’s ministry targets 1st and 2nd generation bi-lingual Hispanics. Alma is a teacher in Santa Ana where she is also actively involved in the community having served as clergy spokesperson for immigration reform and as a consultant in several prison mentorships.
