Ministry Team

Our dedicated and passionate team is here to serve and support our congregation as we navigate our shared journey of faith. With a deep commitment to our Presbyterian values, we work together to cultivate a thriving and vibrant church community.

About

Rev. Paul Barrett

Rev. Paul Barrett has been Lead Pastor of St. Peter’s by the Sea since 2014. His childhood ambition was to be a part of something that would change the world. Paul thinks the church can be just that. Paul shares, “As the Church, we are wonderful and we are flawed, and yet in all things we strive to be faithful to Jesus and his call upon our lives. That call invites us to offer ourselves as a loving presence to and for this world that God so deeply loves. None of us can do it alone, but let’s see what we can do together.”

People inspire Paul. He’s humbled to do what he does because he has the unique opportunity of being invited into sacred spaces of people’s lives. Paul comments, “It is a great privilege to experience and learn from people’s stories. Sometimes I hear stories of where God is present, tangible and alive with them. Other times, as I listen, I am able to point out where I see God tangibly present with them when they cannot. People and their stories inspire me. Anywhere. Anytime.”

Paul grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. He attended college in California and Nevada, and graduated in 2000 from Princeton Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Education. More recently, he completed two years of graduate studies in Marriage & Family Therapy at Fuller Theological Seminary. Paul has also served congregations in Mercer Island, Washington; Westfield, New Jersey; and Hopewell, New Jersey. He has a deep love and affinity for camping ministry as it was formative to his faith and experience of Christian community in his adolescent and young adult years. He currently serves as a Trustee on the Board of Calvin Crest Conferences.

Paul enjoys going on walks, hikes, or a run by the ocean, travel with family and friends, people watching in big cities, sunsets over the Pacific Ocean, and donuts. He thinks it’s rare to find a donut not worth sampling.

Paul lives on the Palos Verdes Peninsula with his wife Devon, and their children, Mayah and Miles.