Bishop Bridgeforth announces appointments to SeaTac District Superintendency Team as new leadership model begins to take shape
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.
Incoming SeaTac Superintendency Team
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.