OUR PASTORS & STAFF
LEAD PASTOR | ELDER
CASEY CLEVELAND
The Avenue Church is planted in 2010…and I grow increasingly aware of my desperate need for Jesus…while preaching a gospel I love but struggle to believe in the everyday occurrences of life…and somehow God keeps allowing me to fall more in love with him in the midst of anxiousness, selfishness, and weakness…and through this I am thankful, that my greatest delight has become the person of God …and so the story, rescue, and renewal continues…And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Rev 21:5a
EXECUTIVE PASTOR | ELDER
MITCH THOMPSON
Through the pain of addiction and alcoholism I found Jesus and The Avenue Church. The Lord has and continues to transform and redeem my life through this body of believers. I have deep passion and desire to minister to those struggling with addiction and love to help birth new ministries/efforts for His glory! I have met and married my wife Jolene, had my son Gunner baptized, and now get to shepherd at The Avenue Church. I am forever endeared to this church and look forward to helping bring more and more radical gospel renewal to our church, homes, and cities!
YOUTH PASTOR
SAM POWERS
My wife Clara and I got married in January of 2016, and we are loving the married life! We both grew up in Merritt Island, Florida. I came to faith under the teaching of my Student Pastor, and I remember God using him and other leaders to begin to draw me to ministry. Clara and I both attended Palm Beach Atlantic University, and after college, I began working at Spanish River Church and Christian School. Spanish River was so good to us! I loved my time in student ministry there, and eventually, God called us to Delray. Clara and I are very thankful for where God has placed us. Getting to serve in the student ministry is a ton of fun, and having the opportunity to speak the gospel into student’s lives is an incredible privilege.
DISCIPLESHIP AND CARE PASTOR l ELDER
I was blessed to grow up in a family and church where the Gospel was faithfully presented, and at a young age Jesus captured my heart. As I have grown in the faith, God continues to help me grasp more fully His great love for me and the multifaceted preciousness of the gift of salvation--Jesus is my Savior, God, Friend, Treasure, and so much more! I love Him and His Church and believe the local church is the hope of the world! God graciously called me into the pastoral ministry, and after serving churches in the Cayman Islands and Michigan, God brought us to The Avenue Church in the summer of 2019. Along with my beautiful and amazing wife Allison and our three precious daughters, I get to serve with this beautifully broken family of believers and servant-leaders. There is nothing else I would rather do!
VISION STRATEGIST AND WOMEN'S MINISTRY LEAD
Through much struggle and brokenness, God has shown me Who He is and that He wastes nothing. Originally from Queens, New York, I moved to South Florida in 2002 and met Jesus on Christmas Eve, 2004. God soon called me into full-time church ministry, and later blessed me with my best friend Jon! We married in October of 2015 and moved to Michigan where Jon pastored, and where God decided to give us three fun daughters: Selah (4), Abbie (3), and Naomi (3). Now back in South Florida, I flourish in using my gifts of planning and intentionality to help vision become a thriving reality. I also get to pour into other women, engage in the messiness of life, and speak the grace and truth of Christ into whatever their circumstances.
Administrative Assistant