About Us

Pastoral Staff

Church On The Green's Pastoral Staff is comprised of ordained Assembly Of God ministers. 

Dr. Ben E. Leonard

Senior Pastor


It was Pastor Ben E. Leonard's vision for reaching the retirement communities of the Northwest Valley that inspired him to take on the leadership of First Assembly of God of Sun City West in January 1998.

Loren Gerdes

Music Pastor


Pastor Loren Gerdes and his wife Nancy moved in 2001 from Wisconsin to join the ministry staff. Both are Midwesterners, growing up in Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

Renford Norris

Pastoral Care


Ministry has always been Renford's calling and passion. He is grateful for the opportunity to serve at Church on the Green under the leadership of Dr. Ben E. Leonard.

Our Beliefs

Two years after the founding of the Assemblies of God, members adopted 16 beliefs for the Fellowship. This list, known as the Statement of Fundamental Truths, remains virtually unchanged. Four of these beliefs are considered the major tenets of the Fellowship.




 Salvation Through

Jesus Christ

(John 3:3, 16, 17; Romans 10:13; Ephesians 2:8, 9)


Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God, according to the hope of eternal life.

Baptism in

the Holy Spirit

(Acts 1:8; 2:4; 17, 18, 38, 39)



All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With it comes the enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry.

Divine Healing

for the Sick

(James 5:14-16)



Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers.

The Second Coming

of Christ

(1 Thessalonians 4:14-16; 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52)


The second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible return of Christ with His saints to reign on earth for one thousand years.

History

First Location

From 41 people meeting on April 26, 1989, at the Pima Bank on R. H. Johnson Boulevard to form First Assembly of God of Sun City West, the church has grown to over 400 adherents. The first worship service was also in the Pima Bank on Sunday, June 11, 1989, with its first pastor, Rev. Gordon H. Nelson, officiating.

Shortly thereafter, the Western Savings and Loan building at Stardust and Beardsley was purchased. Subsequent to Rev. Nelson's retirement December, 1997, Rev. Ben E. Leonard became pastor to this congregation of 117 members on January 11, 1998. It was only a few years until the congregation outgrew this facility.



Seeing the need, a very generous businessman acquired the Crestview Center that had been Del Webb's administration building and gave this marvelous gift to the church. In October of 2003, after months of remodeling and landscaping, the church was named Church on the Green and opened its doors to an inviting entry/foyer, sanctuary, hospitality and other rooms. The beautiful dining room that had once been Terrace On The Green restaurant became the fellowship hall where church dinners, ministry functions, Sunday Morning pre-service coffee and refreshments are enjoyed while overlooking the third green of Hillcrest Golf Course with its picturesque ponds and beautiful landscaping.  As God has blessed our fellowship since its inception, we desire and anticipate His continued blessing and growth on the ministry of Church On The Green.
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