Pastor Terry & Sharon Zull - Senior Pastor
Pastor Terry Zull has been the senior pastor of the Beaverton SDA church since November 1996. He came to the Beaverton Church from the Gladstone Park Church where he served as the senior pastor for 11 years. Prior to this he served as the pastor of the Medford Central Church. You can tell from this that he has spent a good part of his ministry in Oregon. However, he began his ministry in Texas and served as an intern in many of the churches. The last church that he served in Texas was Corpus Christi Church. He made the big move to NW and has been enjoying his stay here.
Pastor Terry was born in Chicago and received his early education in Chicago. His defining moment came when he least expected it in Atlantic City, New Jersey, while he was attending the North American Youth Rally. At this time, he was a student at Lane Technical High school in Chicago. At the end of these inspiring youth meetings, Pastor E.L. Minchin made an altar call. Pastor Minchin had a special appeal to all the young men to make a commitment to go into full time ministry. Pastor Terry felt the calling of God although he was only 14 years old. He stood up and made his commitment that day and never wavered from it. After graduation from Lane Technical High School he went to Andrews University to pursue a college education. After acquiring his BA degree he went on to Andrews University Seminary where he graduated with a Master of Divinity degree. This provided a great background to pursue his dreams and his commitment to the Lord.
During his tenure as a minister, Pastor Terry served in many capacities at the Conference, Union and General Conference levels. He served on the General Conference Committee from 1985 to 1990 representing the pastors of the North Pacific Union. He also contributed much to the General Conference Fall and Spring Councils. He was an official delegate to the 1985 and 1990 sessions.
At the Conference level, he has served on various committees. During camp meeting time, Pastor Terry has the honor of being the Camp Pitch Director. In this role, he assigns camp duties to all the pastors in the conference. When the President of the Conference attended the Beaverton Church, he commented on what a great influence Pastor Terry was to all the ministers in the conference. To this honor, he modestly says, " I am the older pastor and they give me the honor because of my age". We know it is a lot more than that; his positive attitude goes a long way in bringing about a team spirit among the Pastors. The Conference wide recognition for his leadership is not taken lightly, and the Beaverton Church is certainly blessed to have him as their spiritual leader.
Pastor Terry brings excitement and passion to his job as he tries to meet the spiritual needs of the church. When asked about his workday, he says that he spends his time in the mornings at the church office making himself available to the needs of the members. The needs are many for a large church in terms of members facing spiritual, physical, and financial needs. He spends his afternoons and evenings visiting, counseling and attending meetings of the church and conference. When asked what a typical day in his life is like, he answers as he reflects his daily work - "You never know what a day is going to bring - what opportunities come to touch peoples' lives". What ever it is, he is always ready to help, ready to relate to the situation and ready to comfort the soul.
You can tell how much he loves being a minister of God, when he says, " It is a privilege to be a partner with God, reconciling and bringing men and women to God." He smiles and continues "I love to see people grow and fall in love in their friendship with God."
Pastor Terry loves going for quiet walks immersing himself in God's creation. He loves the Oregon coast. He enjoys traveling and seeing new places.
When asked to sum up his ministry in one sentence " I want to be known as a man who helps people enjoy their walk with the Lord - to find joy and happiness in their relation with God."
Finally he says - "I came from a generation where people thought ‘Serving God is hard’ ”. For him it was just the contrary. He serves God with joy and has fun doing it even though he says it is a serious task. You see this, as you listen to his sermons and talk to him. He truly is a servant of God. If you have not taken time to get acquainted with him, please stop by and get to know one of the best spiritual leaders of our time!
"The personality of the church is shaped by its leaders - leaders that emulate our ultimate leader - Jesus Christ".
Mrs. Sharon Zull - Pastor Terry's Wife
Sharon Zull is an amazing pastor's wife. She works in the background to make the activities of the Sabbath run smoothly. However you will never know that she does this. She is very unassuming but manages to get the work done greasing the gearbox of the church constantly.
When asked about her calling she recalls, "When I was a young girl, I wanted to be a pastor's wife". She felt it was a very important calling. It is amazing that she was able to fulfill her childhood dreams!
Sharon was born in Mansfield, Ohio into an Adventist family and was raised as an Adventist by very godly parents. She feels truly blessed to have been educated in the Adventist school system. She received her early education in Ohio and went to Shenandoah Valley Academy for her secondary education. Like Pastor Terry she went to Andrews University to pursue a college education and secured a degree in Home Economics education. Trained to be a teacher, she made a career of teaching. Her position as teacher always complemented Pastor Terry's ministry as she ministered to the children and their parents each year. For the last 17 years, she has been teaching second grade at Portland Adventist Elementary School in Gresham, which is quite a record in itself!
When asked how she met Pastor Terry, she talks of how her childhood dreams came true when her eyes discovered a handsome young man at Andrews University Seminary. She recalls that this young man was a serious student and wondered how she would connect with him. It is funny how friends play an important role in making things like this happen. Their friendship grew and blossomed into something very special. God blessed this union and they have been happily married for 35 years. She has been a great helpmate to Pastor Terry throughout these years.
Her greatest contribution is her ability to sense the hurt that people are facing and because of this, she is able to touch so many people in a marvelous way. This is a gift from God and is used extremely well!
She has also devoted her life to the deaf members at the church. It is beautiful to watch her every Sabbath as she ministers to this community, helping them hear through their eyes. She takes this job very seriously and makes sure that every expression and emotion is captured in her translation. Her commitment is truly commendable and we are glad to add this feature to the church, which certainly enriches the church in many ways.
She feels that some are leaders and others are followers. She takes a lot of pride in being a good follower. She is very happy and content being a follower, a helpmate and an un-proclaimed minister serving in the role she does so well - "Pastors' wife"