Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth intends to appoint Rev. Joel Aosved, Rev. Pat Longstroth,  and Rev. Joe Kim to a superintendency team overseeing the Puget Sound District beginning July 1, 2026. Rev. Mark Galang will continue to serve as Puget Sound District Superintendent through the next appointment year before ending his tenure in the role.

All three members of the Puget Sound District Superintendency team are expected to continue their current appointments to churches in the district. However, the new appointment will reduce the time allotted to their pastoral duties when it arrives in 2026. Rev. Aosved’s continuing appointment is to the United Church of Ferndale; Rev. Longstroth will continue at Vashon UMC; Rev. Kim will continue at Bothell UMC.

In December, Bishop Bridgeforth announced that he would initiate a new supervision model for the Greater Northwest Area. The superintendency team for the SeaTac District (PNW), the first district to shift into this model, was announced in February. The Crest to Coast Superintendency Team, also expected to begin in 2026, was announced in March.

When sharing the news of these new appointments with their current churches, Bishop Bridgeforth pledged the cabinet’s support and expressed gratitude: “Thank you for being a beacon of light in what seems like some dark days. Thank you for allowing your pastor to explore other expressions of ministry while continuing to serve with you.”

The bishop also encouraged church members to pray as they adapt to and embrace this change, “Pray for your congregation and community as you prepare for opportunities to serve those who need hope and help.”

A third superintendency team announced in the Pacific Northwest Conference

Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth is launching this new model of superintendency to root leadership more deeply in the local church context. In response to feedback that leadership can feel “too distant…from the ministry of our local churches,” the bishop is introducing these two- to three-person superintendency teams instead of a single district superintendent model.

“Whenever possible, we will recruit these superintendents from within the sub-district that they will serve,” Bishop Bridgeforth explained. This approach ensures leaders remain embedded in the mission field they already understand, fostering more relevant and responsive leadership. It is hoped that each superintendent will oversee a subdistrict of no more than 20 churches while working together collaboratively, promoting closer relationships and more intentional support.

Bridgeforth acknowledged the shift from tradition, saying, “I am aware that this is different from how we typically do things,” but stresses that this model enables leaders to serve without leaving behind their pastoral calling. By staying grounded in local ministry, superintendents can lead with greater awareness, empathy, and effectiveness.

Careful planning and early announcements, including this one for a team to start in 2026, aim to support smooth transitions. “We want to avoid unneeded disruption to the local church’s ministry and the pastor’s family life,” the bishop noted, underscoring the commitment to effective leadership and congregational stability.

Anticipation and gratitude expressed by the upcoming Puget Sound Superintendency Team

Continuing the Greater Northwest Area’s movement toward more relational and innovative leadership, Revs. Aosved, Longstroth, and Kim have been appointed as a superintendency team to allow each pastor to remain rooted in their local congregation while expanding their role in equipping and supporting churches across the district and beyond.

This shared approach reflects a deep belief in the wisdom found within communities and the power of connection across congregations.

Rev. Joel Aosved shares his enthusiasm for this more interconnected model:

“This new model of superintendency allows us to continue serving the communities we love while staying grounded in pastoral work. It opens the door to a different kind of support—where one community might hold answers to another’s questions. I look forward to working with Pat and Joe as we foster spaces for collaboration and mutual support as our communities do ministry together.”

Rev. Pat Longstroth highlights how this model aligns with the mission of The United Methodist Church:

“I believe this new collaborative model will help us live into our United Methodist mission to create disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. It can strengthen partnerships with our laity and deepen the connections between our local churches and the communities they serve. I look forward to working with Joel and Joe, and I’m eager to see how the Holy Spirit will move through our superintendency teams.”

Rev. Joe Kim offers a vision of hope and innovation as the team begins this journey:

“I’m excited to lean into the possibilities of something new! By reimagining how we organize ourselves—as local churches and as people called Methodists—we may become more open to the Spirit’s nudging toward collaboration, innovation, and transformation in our communities. I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve alongside Pastor Pat and Pastor Joel and look forward to all that God has in store!”

Together, Joel, Joe, and Pat will serve with a shared commitment to nurturing leadership, encouraging connection, and listening deeply for the Spirit’s guidance. Their work continues the Greater Northwest Area’s investment in sustainable, grounded, and collaborative ministry that strengthens churches for faithful witness in a changing world.

Rev. Joel Aosved was a pastor’s kid growing up in the PNW Conference before attending seminary at Boston University. Upon graduating, Joel and his wife Laura moved back to the PNW, serving churches in central Idaho and the Palouse before starting Winds of Grace, a chaplaincy for those living aboard their boats. Feeling called back to parish life, he now serves the United Church of Ferndale. Joel experiences ministry as incarnational and the life of faith as swimming in God’s loving presence. Having launched their three children into the world, Joel and Laura enjoy land life with their cat, Luna, and Lab/Golden retriever, Cedar.

Rev. Pat Longstroth grew up in the Midwest, where she served as an elementary school teacher. Following her call to ministry, she first served in chaplaincy.  She later pastored local churches in the Great Plains Annual Conference before transferring to the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference, where she served in urban and rural contexts.  Some of her ministry passions include discipleship, spiritual formation, community engagement, anti-racism work, and creation care.  She currently serves Vashon UMC.  Pat and her husband love the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, where they enjoy taking time out for hiking and nature photography.

Rev. Joe Kim serves as Lead Pastor of Bothell United Methodist Church. He has served in and with communities of faith for almost 20 years in local churches and the non-profit sector, including with the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church at the United Nations and on Capitol Hill. He believes in the power of story and journeying alongside people as they live into their belovedness. Joe is married to an incredibly talented artist and justice-seeker, Joann; parent to two amazing humans; walking buddy to their dog; and caretaker of their chickens and modest farm (read: garden beds). He enjoys cooking, hiking, kayaking, and playing catch.

Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth intends to appoint Rev. Katie Ladd and Rev. Bruce Smith to a superintendency team overseeing the Crest to Coast District beginning July 1, 2026. Rev. Kathleen Weber will continue to serve as Crest to Coast District Superintendent through the next appointment year before ending her tenure in the role.

Additionally, Bishop Bridgeforth intends to appoint Rev. Smith as pastor of Camas United Methodist Church in Camas, Washington, and as interim pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon, beginning July 1, 2025. His appointment to Trinity UMC will be for the next appointment year, after which he will join the superintendency team while continuing as pastor of Camas UMC.

Rev. Ladd will continue to serve in her current appointment to Queen Anne United Methodist Church in Seattle, Washington, where she has pastored since 2011.

In December, Bishop Bridgeforth announced that he would initiate a new supervision model for the Greater Northwest Area. The superintendency team for the SeaTac District (PNW), the first district to shift into this model, was announced in February.

In sharing the news of these new appointments with their current churches, Bishop Bridgeforth wrote, “You know the many gifts your pastor brings to every space. Imagine how other congregations and communities will flourish as they experience those gifts.”

Asking them to pray for Revs. Ladd and Smith, the bishop noted, “[t]his model of pastors serving as part-time superintendents to form a team is new and different, but it is a challenge we face together.”

Adopting this new model is one way Bishop Bridgeforth hopes to align conference leadership with a desire raised during the Ministry Priority conversations last year for leadership “closer to the ground.”

Another step toward the goal of announcing superintendency teams in the Oregon-Idaho and Pacific Northwest Conferences

When he first announced the new superintendency model in December, the bishop promised to share the anticipated transitions of the district superintendents across the Oregon-Idaho and Pacific Northwest Conferences. He also expressed his desire to announce superintendency appointments that will be fixed this June and in 2026, as he did.

With this announcement, Bishop Bridgeforth is taking the next step in naming leaders who will move into these roles. This will give those beginning their service in 2026 additional time to prepare and learn from those who will first live into this new model this appointment year. In the coming weeks, he expects to name additional superintendency teams for the other districts where transitions are expected in 2026.

This new model of shared superintendency continues our area’s commitment to innovation in leadership and care for local churches, offering both continuity and creativity in service as we share the good news in a Wesleyan way.

Anticipation and gratitude expressed by the upcoming Crest to Coast Superintendency Team

As part of the continued evolution of leadership across the Greater Northwest Area and in the Pacific Northwest Conference, Rev. Bruce Smith and Rev. Katie Ladd will serve together in this shared superintendency role. Their appointment reflects a growing movement within the Church toward more collaborative, relational, and contextual models of ministry—ones that mirror the very nature of Christ’s call to community and transformation.

With deep gratitude for the opportunity, Rev. Bruce Smith shares his vision for ministry in this new role:

“I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to serve the Annual Conference as a Superintendent. While the church is continually changing, I am optimistic that the 21st-century church will grow as we continue to participate in God’s transformation of the world. What we shall be has yet to be revealed, but we know we shall be like Christ, whom we follow.”

Rev. Katie Ladd sees this appointment not only as a shift in structure but also a return to the Church’s relational roots:

“Jesus called his disciples into community; he sent them in pairs to serve as community. This new model of superintendency returns us to that deeply relational way of being church. By remaining in a congregation, serving with Bruce, meeting new people, and supporting congregations, we are being called into community where liberation, care, and joy can be found. I’m excited!”

Together, Revs. Ladd and Smith bring complementary gifts and a shared hope for the Church’s future—one rooted in the belief that meaningful connection, faithful service, and openness to transformation can guide the Church into its next faithful chapter.

Rev. Katie M Ladd is passionate about new/old ways of being church; that is, learning from the wisdom of our spiritual ancestors while innovating for today’s world. She came from the South to the PNW in 1996. A graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College with degrees in biology and religion, she worked in environmental chemistry before receiving her MDiv from Vanderbilt University.

Katie’s passions include interfaith/ecumenical work, public theology, empowering laity, and spiritual formation. She lives in Tacoma with her wife Melissa and her kitty George, and she currently serves Queen Anne UMC and its intentional community, The Well.

Rev. Bruce Smith was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. After graduating from Washington State University in 1992, he attended Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Graduating in 1996, he served two circuits for the Methodist Church in the United Kingdom. 

Bruce has served appointments in the PNW Conference at Davenport Edwall, Longview, Vancouver Mill Plain, Yakima Wesley and Vancouver First. He has served the PNWAC on the Camping Board of Stewards, the 2008 Jurisdictional Conference delegation, the chair of the Order of Elders, the Board of Ordained Ministry and the PNWAC Trustees.

Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth intends to appoint Rev. Shalom Agtarap, Rev. Ferdie Llenado, and Rev. Elizabeth Schindler to a superintendency team overseeing the SeaTac District beginning July 1, 2025. In addition to this new appointment, Revs. Agtarap and Llenado will continue to serve their current appointments, Tacoma First United Methodist Church (UMC) and Fairwood Community UMC, respectively.

It was previously announced that Rev. Derek Nakano, the current SeaTac District Superintendent, would receive an appointment to Des Moines UMC in July.

In December, Bishop Bridgeforth announced that he would be initiating a new supervision model for the area beginning with this opening in the SeaTac District, writing, “As superintendents roll off the cabinet, I will appoint two- to three-person superintendency teams with a three- to four-year commitment instead of replacing them with full-time superintendents. These teams will include pastoral leaders who serve part-time in the superintendency role and, most often, part-time in the local church to which they are currently appointed. They will work collaboratively within the district and beyond, with each superintendent overseeing a subdistrict that will not exceed 20 churches.”

This change is one way Bishop Bridgeforth hopes to align conference leadership with a desire raised during the Ministry Priority conversations last year for leadership “closer to the ground.”

“Some of what we heard last summer and fall spoke very clearly that the folks across our area want leadership that is contextual. Churches want leadership closer to them and are asking to be resourced in ways that matter within the local church.”

Revs. Agtarap and Llenado already serve churches within the SeaTac District, and Rev. Schindler lives nearby (currently on Family Leave) and has served several churches in the district; the superintendency team is well rooted in the area and already connected with many of the colleagues they will support in this new ministry role.

Subdistricts will allow for more affinity and collaboration

When discussing this new model of superintendency, Bishop Bridgeforth notes that part-time superintendency is not the same as being a part-time district superintendent. Where District Superintendents have most often been assigned to oversee large districts with lines that can appear arbitrary, the new model will allow for more affinity with traffic flows, people patterns, and cultural connections, helping to determine the subdistricts of approximately 15 local ministries that each superintendent will relate most closely too.

While they will each work closely with their respective subdistrict, the SeaTac Superintendency Team is also being asked to initiate a team-based collaborative model, allowing each member to lead from and bless the whole with their strengths. As they balance the superintendency’s expectations with other responsibilities, they will also lean upon each other to attend to necessary administrative tasks and work with district lay leadership to identify shared opportunities for mission and training.

Early hopes from the SeaTac Superintendency Team

The three appointed leaders—Rev. Shalom Agtarap, Rev. Ferdie Llenado, and Rev. Elizabeth Schindler—bring a rich diversity of gifts and a shared passion for equipping churches to thrive. Together, they will walk alongside clergy and congregations, fostering creative partnerships and building a vision of ministry that is both sustainable and impactful.

Rev. Shalom Agtarap highlights the significance of this appointment as an opportunity to engage in more relational and transformative work:

“As connectional as we are, we rarely get to work as a ‘we’ in day-to-day ministry. This appointment marks an intentional shift toward collaboration, building power in the same community for greater impact and embodying a commitment to eliminating racism. I’m excited to help shape discipleship that makes a meaningful difference in the world.”

Rev. Ferdie Llenado expresses curiosity and hope for what this new model of superintendency can bring:

“I’m eager to see how this new way of leadership can foster fresh energy and vitality in our district and conference. By forming creative intersections between churches and fostering shared ventures, we can discover new ways of being the Church of Jesus. When challenges arise, I believe they will only strengthen our resolve to grow and innovate. I look forward to building strong team chemistry with Elizabeth and Shalom and consider it an honor to serve alongside them.”

Rev. Elizabeth Schindler sees this appointment as a chance to lead with authenticity and embrace new possibilities for the district:

“I’m honored to serve alongside Shalom and Ferdie, knowing that together we can lead with deep relationships, attentiveness to context, and openness to new ways of doing and being church. Though we each bring different gifts and experiences, we share a common love for our local churches and a desire to see them flourish. I hope that as we challenge and learn from one another, we not only serve the district well but also model a more sustainable way of carrying out the work of superintendency.”

This new superintendency team reflects a spirit of collaboration and innovation, seeking to empower congregations and leaders across the SeaTac District. As they step into this new role, they invite the district to join them in embracing fresh possibilities for ministry, deepening relationships, and living into the call to be the Church in transformative ways.

Rev. Shalom Agtarap is an ordained Elder who builds community through relational organizing. She is a graduate of Wesley Seminary and is an experienced antiracist facilitator. Her roots are in the church and are watered by many streams as she intentionally cultivates connections across racial and ethnic lines, religious traditions, and socioeconomic backgrounds for the common good. She is a proud pastor’s kid, and she and her spouse are raising three children in Tacoma’s Lincoln District. She has served First UMC of Tacoma for six years, out of which Common Good Tacoma, a grassroots organizing hub and nonprofit, was founded.

Rev. Ferdie Llenado is the Lead Pastor of Fairwood Community UMC. Before coming to Washington, he also served in Alaska, New Jersey, and the Philippines. He earned his Doctor of Missiology degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. He intentionally creates collaborative spaces where mutual discipleship, lay empowerment, and authentic relationships flourish. Ferdie is still learning how to be a dad to three amazing teenagers and an energetic labradoodle. He is the proud husband of a successful CNOR Nurse named Louie. Recently, he started running and, in a slow and steady phase, just completed a 5K.

Rev. Elizabeth Ingram Schindler was born a Southerner but has called the PNW home for almost twenty years. She’s a graduate of Southern Methodist University and Duke Divinity School and will soon earn a master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from Arizona State University. She is passionate about helping people respond to God’s call and building the systems that support ministry. She served local churches for 15 years before taking three years off for rest, discernment, and learning, and she is excited to return to active ministry at this crucial time when the church has such a vital role in tilting the world toward love and justice. She is a proud resident of Issaquah, where she lives with her brilliant spouse, two remarkable teenagers, and an unruly little dog.