Sara Peterson

 Coffeehouse Ministries

Sara currently leads the team who maintain the Brickhouse coffee, art, and music lounge. She oversees the daily operation of the Brickhouse by training volunteer Barista staff and handling the day to day responsibilities of this ministry. The vision of the Brickhouse is to become known to the greater community as an established art/music/coffee venue that connects people of all
backgrounds.

Ultimately, the Brickhouse ministry has a desire to build relationships and be the church to people who may otherwise not know it.  Sara also hopes to enlarge the scope of ministry by providing a friendly network with other coffee shop owners and baristas in Santa Cruz and throughout California, as well a global impact by helping better the communities and build relationships with those in coffee producing countries. She feels like ministry and working in the coffee industry go hand in hand. 

Sara grew up in Michigan and Ohio with 3 brothers (one of which is her twin!), and decided when she was 18 that she was not meant to stay a mid-westerner for life. She traded in her sneakers for reefs, wore jeans to church for the first time and quickly became a fan of campouts in the mountains and at the beach! Besides a summer serving in Mexico, and a brief 8 month stint in New Jersey, Sara now calls California home.

Sara graduated from Simpson University in 2003 with a BA in Psychology. Redding, California however was not too hip on the coffee scene and as a result Sara spent the majority of her college years drinking really bad coffee and eating the free saltine crackers at Denny’s (with her future husband…) while studying and writing papers. She hopes to offer the Santa Cruz college crowd a better caffeinated experience at the Brickhouse.

After 5 years of friendship Sara married Jon in the little Swedish town of Kingsburg, Ca. After their marriage in 2005 Jon and Sara served together on staff at a therapeutic boarding school for obese adolescents. Sara taught culinary & nutrition, and Jon was the personal trainer. After their time at the school they desired to get into camp ministry so they left the heat of the central valley for the
shade of the Redwoods, and moved to Mount Hermon. Jon is currently the Recreation Director and Sara ran the dining services department before joining our staff. Jon and Sara can be seen serving behind the coffee bar on Sunday nights where they make a great duo steaming milk, pouring shots, and practicing their latte art.

In her free time Sara likes to read at the beach during prime-tanning time (ptt), bake delightful treats in her toaster oven, cook a meal for friends, or go for a run through the redwoods or at west cliff. She and Jon enjoy spending time in the mountains and they like to travel and discover new places together…especially new coffeeshops. Sara secretly desires to own a tandem bicycle, and a pet goat.

“I feel like this position is the perfect combination of what I am passionate about; hospitality and service, creativity, coffee and great espresso, leadership, relationships, and community. It will be like hosting the best party ever…everyday! I feel so honored to be a part of carrying out the vision for the Brickhouse. I’m so thankful to be working with such a wonderful staff and volunteer staff.”