Our Team

Alan Hood - Senior Pastor

Pastor Alan has an unwavering commitment to seeing God’s will outworked through the local church. He is a fantastic leader, a man of integrity, full of faith and wisdom, and someone who just thrives on raising, equipping and releasing leaders. His preaching is always positive, uplifting, practical, and full of principles that will help you be all you are called to be. If not catching up with someone from church, seeing how they are going and encouraging them in life, he’ll be on the phone to pastors from all across New Zealand championing them and their ministry. Alan married Elena, in 1991, and they have since shown their dedication to church growth by having four children. Alan enjoys coaching Caleb’s touch rugby and basketball teams, having daddy-daughter dates with Kirsten and Sara, and wrestling with Andre. Alan is fiercely competitive (some would say to the point of ruthless when it comes to Monopoly), would rather not eat pasta or anything with chilli in it, can do a back flip from a standing position, and is an accountant by trade.
Elena Hood - Senior Pastor

Elena is a vivacious, bubbly woman who has an incredible zest for life, and a massive heart for the local church. She spends much of her time mentoring leaders, and is passionate about communicating God’s truth in a relevant (and most entertaining) way! Elena loves looking after her four children, and puts her teaching background to good use. She is involved in the Church worship team and the Mainly Music team. She hails from a dairy-farming background in Matamata, & enjoys getting out for her daily walk (rain, hail or shine)! Elena loves to worship God at home with her guitar (using all seven chords she knows), and likes nothing more than a morning spent op-shopping!
Sharon Van Ameringen - Pastoral Care

Sharon is one of the nicest people you will ever meet! She has a heart the size of the Texas and is passionate about seeing everyone become a vital member of the church family. If you haven’t already met Sharon then it’s probably because you haven’t been to City Church Tauranga yet. As well as looking after Pastoral Care, Sharon also manager our church kindergarten, Shalom. Sharon is married to the wonderful Joel, and has three very cool children; Stefan, Elise and Anna. Stefan has autism and is one of the most enthusiastic worshippers in the church, and both Elise and Anna serve in leadership roles at City Church. If Sharon hadn’t been a pastor, she would have loved to have owned a specialist dessert restaurant; boy can she cook! Sharon loves watching silly movies and TV crime series, pottering around the garden, making cards, and spending at least one whole day of the holidays in her PJ’s!
James Hood - National AoG Missions Co-Ordinator

Ps James is an institution at City Church Tauranga! As the Senior Pastors for 23 years before handing on to Alan and Elena, James and his wife Mary have sown years of love, care, time and energy into City Church. James has a huge heart and love for people, and as well as his new role as the National AOG Missions Coordinator, he also takes a pastoral care role in the church. As a father in the faith he can often be found encouraging, supporting and coaching senior pastors, and is always ready with a kind word and a big hug! James loves hanging out with his grandchildren, is a big fan of Andre Rieu’s music, really enjoys coffee, and if he had not been a pastor could perhaps have made it as a race car driver (watch out Michael Schumacher!).
Sharon Hough - Financial Administrator

Sharon loves being able to work for an organisation that makes a difference in people’s lives. She has a heart for those that are less fortunate, and her favourite job all year is sorting out all the amazing gifts that we give away to every child in CYF’s care each Christmas. Sharon does a fantastic job sorting out all the City Church accounts and financial records. She is the elite sportswoman of the office, and when she’s not out running, swimming, taking care of her family, or sorting out someone’s accounts, you can find her every afternoon poolside at Greerton, coaching Bayswim Juniors for Tauranga Aquatic Programme.
Hannah Reid - City Church Youth Pastor

Hannah has such a zeal for life! She is devoted to helping others reach through their circumstances to find the great hope and fulfilment Christ offers. Hannah has just completed her counselling degree and is now working full time at City Church Tauranga juggling both youth pastoring and the counselling of young people – and she loves it! If Hannah’s not out for a run, then she’ll either be rip-sticking or making the most of Mount Maunganui beach! She loves hanging out with her friends, going on road-trip adventures, and she freely admits that it’s almost impossible for an afternoon to pass her by without needing a sweet treat!
Mark Allan - City Church Youth Pastor

Mark loves working at City Church Tauranga because he loves young people. He thinks hanging out with the guys, helping them make positive decisions and being there even if they don’t is the most important thing. He came to work for Empire Youth and City Church Youth after completing a Psychology Degree at the University of Waikato. Mark loves reggae, coffee, wakeboarding, diving, hanging out with mates, eating, and most importantly, fishing.
Sheryl Wilson - Administration Coordinator

Sheryl has been part of City Church Tauranga since the 19^th of October 2001 and since then has managed to serve on almost every roster (except security, but you never know...). She loves the life changing experience of worship and the community of church where people who may not be accepted elsewhere, are accepted here. Sheryl loves to spend time with her amazing husband Daniel, sing at the top of her lungs, cook a great meal (which doesn’t happen very often) and really enjoys anything competitive but her main love is administration. Give her something to organise and she’s one happy gal! Sheryl and Daniel have their first baby due along very soon!
Jene Hamahona - Creative Arts Director and Facilities Manager

Jene has been a relatively recent addition to City Church Tauranga, but has enjoyed every moment since his arrival in the middle of 2009. Jene is happily married to Therese and thinks that Pastors must be lying when they say they have the most beautiful wife in the world when he, actually, does! They recently had their first baby and they own a cat who doesn't like them much. Jene looks after the Music team which is great because he is completely obsessed with worship and loves to see people communing with God through song. Jene also looks after the facilities at CCT which is not so great because he's about as handy as a foot. On a personal note, he has a slight obsession with all things Japanese - particularly the cuisine and the cartoons - and can often be found tinkering away at his lifelong dream of being proficient enough at the Japanese language to one day return to Japan and know what's going on... it may take a while.
Braden Clark - Childrens Administrator

Braden is all about equipping the next generation. He has been a part of our children’s ministry for eight years and still loves it! His role involves making City Church Kids happen and he always manages to do a fantastic job! As you can guess, administration is not just something he does, but a passion followed closely by his other passion, coffee! Braden used to be an award winning barista and always enjoys a good coffee along with a tasty sweet treat. Luckily he’s an awesome cook so can keep himself (and the rest of the office staff) well supplied!
Kate Field - Empire/Edgechurch

Kate started at Empire Youth in 2001 when she was 11 and has been part of it ever since. She started leading at Empire only three years later and now has the huge privilege of leading the whole programme. Kate's dedication and passion for Empire and Edgechurch are always evident and how could it not be, as she's seen so many youth turn their lives around after coming through the programme. She lives in a flat with her four best friends (and so far the only argument has been about whether or not to buy a hamburger phone!) and you can normally find her studying hard for her Bachelor of Management through Waikato Uni. When she's not out in the Silver Bullet (her car) or on Ralph the Red Raleigh 20 (her bike), she loves doing crafts, shopping, reading and relaxing while watching her fav TV shows.