Haley Kirkpatrick, M|C Kids Coordinator

Haley grew up in a Christian family and attended church from infancy, but truly began a relationship with the Lord as a teenager. As someone who grew up in a wonderful children's ministry setting, Haley is passionate about instilling biblical truths from a young age in a fun, exciting way. Born and raised in Alabama, Haley made the big move to NYC in February 2021 with her husband Justin, and their precious daughter, Emma. Haley works as a family nurse practitioner in the Brooklyn area.

Nate Jones, Worship Pastor

Nate serves as an elder and Worship Pastor at Mission City Church and is humbled by the opportunity to bring heartfelt music and leadership to the congregation. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, he followed a path that led him to New York in the summer of 2019, initially driven by his work in the technology industry. However, it was through his service at Mission City that his purpose shifted towards a commitment and desire to serve and lead worship in the church.

From a young age, Nate's passion for music was nurtured by his father, a lifelong worship pastor. Despite never envisioning it as more than a personal enjoyment, the chance to lead worship at Mission City became a humbling reality for Nate. Alongside his management role in the technology industry, he has developed an interest in technology, leadership, and business, which further enriches his understanding of his faith.

In 2020, Nate married his (stunning!) wife, Xenia, and together they established their home in Brooklyn, NY. They find joy in sharing moments with their friends and family, often taking leisurely walks around Park Slope.

Nate embraces his calling to create an encouraging worship environment at Mission City. He and his wife Xenia and excited to continue to walk in the calling of the Lord as he directs their paths of church leadership and service.

Xenia Jones, Communications Coordinator

For Xenia, being a member of Mission City is an answer to prayer. In 2019 she prayed that the Lord would use her to serve in an urban church plant; within one year she was living in Brooklyn with her husband Nate and faithfully serving at M|C. After living in the city for a couple of years, she can confidently say that she would rather live nowhere else and do life with no other community than the one she has found at Mission City. Xenia loves serving as the Communications Coordinator which gives her the space to dream and flex her creative muscles outside of her day-to-day job as an accountant. She considers herself a pop-culture girlie and loves talking all things celeb news & gossip!

Junior Tavarez, Technical Director

Junior grew up on Long Island and has lived there most of his life. He came to know the Lord with the help of a friend who brought him to Mission City. He now serves on the production team and finds purpose and joy in sharing the good news with others.

Ann Marie Chapman, Operations Coordinator

Akron, Ohio is the birthplace of two celebrated icons: Lebron James and Ann Marie Chapman. She is very humble and super funny. Ann Marie grew up in the church, witnessing her parents and grandparents serve faithfully year after year, and she credits them for both her love for the Lord and commitment to serve the body. In 2017, she moved to New York to attend The King's College where she received her B.A. in Media, Culture, and the Arts and a minor in Theology. Ann Marie is now creating an NYC dogsitting empire in her free time and lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Harrison.

Garrett Raburn, Lead Pastor

After rediscovering his faith in college, Garrett began full-time service to the local church in 2012. For six years he worked with Watermark Community Church’s young adult’s ministry called The Porch, a weekly gathering of thousands of 20s and 30s in Dallas-Fort Worth with extension sites around the country. Garrett holds doctoral and master’s degrees in Christian education from accredited seminaries. He and Gabi married in 2016 and moved to New York City in 2019 to start Mission City Church. They have two daughters. Garrett also serves as a member of Mission City’s elder team.

Stephanie Newsome, Women’s Director

Stephanie, despite growing up in the church, was captured by the Lord’s affection in college where she began a personal relationship with Jesus. She married her long-time crush (like 3-years-long time), Preston Newsome, and together they moved to South Carolina where she completed law school. Team Newsome continued to follow the Lord’s leading and their dreams moved them to NYC in 2021 where Stephanie and Preston thrive in the slightly aggressive hustle culture of New York. You can find Stephanie drinking coffee, running around the city (literally), watching The Office, and compulsively reading rom-coms. Oh, and she has a 110-pound German Shepherd hound, Henry, who is still loved despite almost not being included in this bio.

Ciera Beal, M|C Kids Coordinator

Born and raised in Southern California, Ciera grew to love the Lord from a young age. She grew up going to a large church with her family of 6 and followed her older brother and sister to Fort Worth, Texas, where she graduated from TCU. During her time in college, Ciera grew in her understanding of who the Lord was and the depth of His love for her. She worked as a college event coordinator with her church and pursued a career in HR. Ciera moved to New York in 2023 with her sister to chase a new adventure and is loving every minute of it. You can find her at any given moment walking her golden doodle, Stark, at Prospect Park.

Ariel Eide, Community Engagement Coordinator

Ariel Eide grew up in a “Christian home” with her five other siblings in the non-heart of Texas (but at the beauty of the US and Mexican border). Ariel set off to literal greener pastures to go to college at Colorado Christian University and fell in love with Colorado (and her now husband). In college, Ariel became intentional about her faith and began discerning how to live like Christ through the guidance of the Spirit. Passionate about justice, Ariel has spent the past few years understanding what Biblical justice truly means. Her dream job brought her to New York City, a place she never imagined living. In her pursuit of learning how to love the most vulnerable, Ariel and her husband were asked to lead Mission City’s efforts in serving the local community. Although she didn’t initially think she would love NYC, she now recognizes that the Lord always knows better.

Brandon Eide, Community Engagement Coordinator

Brandon serves as one of the Community Engagement Coordinators at Mission City. Born and raised in Sioux Falls, SD, he grew up in a Christian home surrounded by faith-based values, which provided a foundational understanding of how to treat others with love and care. His adventurous spirit landed him in Colorado, where he fell in love with his wife, Ariel (and the mountains). After beginning their marital years moving across the front range of Colorado and serving at their churches, they moved out to NYC to chase career dreams.

Throughout his college years, as Brandon began living into his faith, one verse became most clear to him. Micah 6:8, where the Lord instructs us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before our God. This verse has been a reminder for him and Ariel of how we as Christians need to be on a continual pursuit to close the gap between what should be and what is.

While NYC has a few less mountains than Brandon would like, he and his wife Ariel have truly loved being part of Mission City over the last few years. They help in leading church members in their journey to make Mission City Church a foundational, instrumental part of the local Brooklyn community.

Gabi Raburn, M|C Kids Coordinator

Originally from Florida, Gabrielle (Gabi) was raised in a Christian home and is thankful that God’s grace has been guiding her for most of her life. After graduating from Texas Christian University with her nursing degree, she started working in pediatrics and has never looked back. She loves kids and is passionate about the next generation knowing the gospel. Gabi and her husband Garrett moved to NYC in June 2019 to plant Mission City Church. She currently works as a pediatric nurse in Manhattan but is most enjoying her most recent role as mama to her two daughters.

Harrison Chapman, Community Engagement Coordinator

A man without a hometown, Harrison grew up in a family that moved around the east coast, Germany, and Texas before he finally found a home in NYC. He attended The King’s College and after graduating with a B.A. in Religious and Theological Studies in 2022, Harrison found a career at The Bowery Mission, the oldest rescue mission in the United States. He served as Volunteer Coordinator from 2022-2024, and is now an Associate Development Officer, working in the Partnerships team to strategically connect various organizations in support of guests and clients being served at the Mission. Harrison is excited to bring his experience to the Community Engagement role at Mission City, helping to mobilize church members in serving at non-profits and charities across the city. Now married to Ann Marie, he enjoys going on runs, cooking, and ranting about the latest excellent or terrible movie he just saw.