Leadership
Rev. Z. Bulut Yasar, Pastor
Pastor Bulut Yasar was born and raised in a culturally Muslim yet spiritually atheistic home near Antioch (Antakya), Turkey. As a teenager, his family moved to Tarsus, the ancient hometown of the Apostle Paul. He attended Aegean University in Izmir (aka Smyrna in antiquity), majoring in English and American literature. He experimented with atheism, agnosticism, and pantheism in college, but came to faith through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ and started attending a Reformed Presbyterian Church. As Pastor Yasar matured in his faith, he discerned that God was calling him to full-time ministry and evangelism. God provided a way for Pastor Yasar to attend Westminster Seminary in Escondido, California, and he graduated from there in 2016. Prior to accepting the call to pastor Covenant OPC in St. Augustine, Pastor Yasar served as co-pastor of New Life OPC in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He is married to Ayrian, whom he met at seminary, and they have one child, Quinn William Yasar.
Rev. Bill Hobbs, Associate Pastor
Rev. Bill Hobbs
Pastor Hobbs has been associate pastor at Covenant since 2016, after retiring as pastor of Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, which he served for 24 years. He holds degrees from Davidson College, the University of Virginia, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. Before entering the ministry, he was a cost accountant in North Carolina and a diaconal missionary in Africa. He is married to Mimi and has two children and four grandchildren.
Elders
Phil Montgomery
Elder
Phil Montgomery
Phil became a Christian at the University of Michigan, and soon developed a heart for evangelism. Phil appreciates both the joy of sharing the gospel and the encouragement of God enabling him to do what doesn’t come naturally. Recently retired from the software industry, Phil and his wife, Lea, enjoy golf and time at the beach.
Bill Anderson
Elder
Bill Anderson
Bill is married to Sharon with 1 adult daughter and 1 granddaughter. He is a retired Medical Oncologist and Hematologist, most recently from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Bill came to Covenant from the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Maryland and enjoys wildlife photography, swimming, and surf fishing.
Joe Provenza
Elder
Joe Provenza
Joe and his wife Melinda have four adult children. After serving many years in IT leadership roles, he is currently an analyst for Gartner. Joe enjoys time with family, playing various musical instruments (none of which he will ever be any good at), and an occasional round of sporting clays.
Tarrence Dickerson
Elder
Tarrence Dickerson
Born and raised in St. Augustine, Tarence is married to Patricia and has 3 daughters and 8 grandchildren. He is especially grateful for the focus at Covenant on loving both the Word of God and the God of the Word and is committed to his role of serving the body and strengthening the church in its faithfulness to God.
Doug Duggan
Elder
Doug Duggan
Doug loves welcoming visitors to Covenant, having lived and traveled all over. He is married, with 3 adult children and 11 grandchildren. Doug works in real estate, with prior experience in aerospace and technology, and enjoys playing guitar, weightlifting, and reading.
Edward 't Hart
Elder
Edward 't Hart
Ed is husband to Emily and father of 2 beautiful girls. He works as a metallurgist/process engineer in mineral processing/mining.
Ed grew up in Australia, and joined Covenant in 2015 when he moved to the area from Canada.
Deacons
Rob Price
Deacon
Rob Price
Robert is married to Jayme and has 4 young children, 3 girls and 1 boy. He grew up in Jacksonville and only left when he served in the Army from 2006-2010, 14 months of which was spent in Iraq. He currently works at GORUCK. He enjoys CrossFit, hunting turkey, and Florida Gator football.
Sam Osborne
Deacon
Sam Osborne
Born and raised in the Presbyterian mainline, Sam moved to the Presbyterian Church in America for its theological conservatism while attending Flagler College. Later, he discovered the OP and fell in love with its grounded, confessional fidelity at Redemption Presbyterian in Gainesville, FL. Sam transferred his membership to Covenant when his career as a graphic designer and marketing specialist brought him to the First Coast in 2016. A native of Lake City, FL, Sam's maternal forebears came to North Florida from Germany's Black Forest by way of Charleston in the 19th century, where they helped found the state's oldest Lutheran congregation in Florida, Bethlehem Lutheran, in 1859. His father's side has roots in the red clays of Georgia from the colonial period, and his grandfather was a long-serving Southern Baptist deacon (Sam's direct inspiration for seeking the office). Sam lives and works in South Jacksonville for a specialty healthcare staffing firm. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, cooking, fishing, traveling, trivia nights (ask him about his time on Jeopardy!), and Gator football in the fall. Sam wishes for the people of Covenant to be salt and light to the Ancient City and for that same Gospel that redeemed both the city and county's namesakes to be preached boldly in this generation.
Jesse Laprees
Deacon
Jesse Laprees
Jesse was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1978 and has an older sister and younger brother. Jesse grew up in East Tennessee where he spent most of his time hiking the mountains and playing soccer. He grew up in a loving Christian family where God was important but approached somewhat casually. At the age of 13, Jesse visited a primitive Baptist church one night where he was convicted of his sin, heard the Gospel preached and was converted. Jesse has lived in Saint Augustine for 12 years now with his lovely wife Lindsey, son Moses and Daughter Scout.
Stephen Kyle
Deacon
Stephen Kyle
Stephen is married to Allison and they have two children. A financial planner in Jacksonville, he and his family have been attending Covenant since 2015 after previously attending Calvary OPC in Tallahassee, FL. Stephen enjoys spending time with family, listening to music, and reading.