The staff of The Anchor Fellowship believes that the Church is the sacred bride of Jesus. Their tasks of shepherding the community, tending to the daily needs of the fellowship, and creating mental, emotional, and spiritual space to explore and grow in relationship to God are carried out in partnership with the Holy Spirit and with sincere humility.
Life is amazing and wonderful, but also complex and challenging. We believe that there is not one script or blueprint for all. Yet the Holy Spirit draws us together while healing and restoring us to wholeness through the Love of God. The staff of The Anchor Fellowship is honored to serve faithfully alongside the community who both individually and corporately seek and express a mature love for God and an earnest love for one another.
Brian Ban, Pastor
brian@theanchorfellowship.com
Brian Ban is on the staff of The Anchor Fellowship as a pastor. As with all of the staff, Brian has many roles and duties as a pastor. Brian is involved with preaching and teaching, curating curriculum for the community, partnering with the Elders, handling the financials of the church, engaging with discipleship of others, and participating in what other adventures the Lord brings to the Anchor’s attention.
Brian has been a part of the Anchor community since 2006 after moving to Nashville with his wife April. Though the two believed they would be in Nashville for only a year, the Ban’s decided to make their home here and start their family, having 3 amazing children. Beginning as lay members, the Ban’s began to invest into the community through a variety of ways. In May of 2008, Brian became an associate pastor of The Anchor Fellowship and was ordained. Brian later became Lead Pastor in May of 2011 and began the process of leading the church to become an Elder-led church in 2013 which is currently in place.
Because he did not grow up in church, Brian is passionate about revealing God’s heart for people. He believes when we respond to Jesus’ prompting to belong, to be loved, and to be affirmed, humans can be healed, restored, and participate in the humble practice of loving one another. This is the Kingdom of God displayed here and now through the hands and feet of people and the power of the Holy Spirit’s mercy and love. Although Brian is an introvert, he loves taking time to know and build relationships one on one. Please reach out to him with questions, thoughts, or a desire to meet up and enjoy a beverage of your choosing.
Mary Moon, Pastor
mary@theanchorfellowship.com
Serving the community for 16 years, Mary is a veteran of The Anchor Fellowship. She first began volunteering with the kid’s ministry in 2008 and then joined the staff in the role of Director of Children’s Ministry in 2011. In January of 2020, she was ordained as a pastor in our community. Her leadership and spiritual mentoring impacts the lives of the children, women, and volunteers within our community. When Mary isn’t ministering directly within our community, she is working diligently to oversee and develop the Anchor’s presence online through the website, social media, and our Sunday livestream gatherings.
Mary’s interests include: Irish Breakfast tea in the morning (instead of coffee), engaging with anything Brene Brown, watching some reality television, and exploring new and exciting ways of organizing her home. Most of all, Mary loves spending quality time with her husband, Wendell, and their 3 boys, Theodore (they call him Teddy) and Twin boys (Hugo & Phoenix).
You can find Mary on social media here.
April Ban, Pastor
april@theanchorfellowship.com
April Ban is one of our Anchor pastors. April has been a part of the Anchor community since late 2006. For many of those years, April participated in the community as a lay pastor and then joined the Anchor staff in 2014. In August 2016, the community and Elders ordained April, commissioning her to lead according to her calling. April has a heart for helping people see their unique value! She deeply desires for people to understand who they are in Jesus and how they are a part of something bigger than themselves. If you've heard her say it once, you've heard her say it a million times: Together we are better. We are all qualified. We are all needed! Around the Anchor, April wears many hats. In addition to pastoral care and teaching, April oversees all Anchor Venue rentals.
A day in the life of April includes the people she loves most, work that she deeply enjoys, and lots of fun! April and Brian have three kids: Owen, Lucy and Amos. Each is wonderfully unique and keeps the Bans on their toes. April is a licensed professional counselor and serves with a local nonprofit, The Next Door, where she offers mental health counseling to women in crisis. Genuinely, this work is a gift from the Lord to April.
In the bits of spare time she has, you can find April bragging on the tomatoes or watermelon she has grown, throwing a ball in the backyard with anyone who will join her, or watching the Office.