Pastor Dan has served Friends Congregational Church, United Church of Christ  (UCC), since September 1, 2005. During that time, his devotion to the inclusion of all people in the life and ministry of our church, his heart for youth being the future and present of the Church, and his passion for social justice that carries the congregation beyond the walls of our sanctuary have fostered the identity of Friends Church as a Gospel-rooted community that seeks to love God, love  people, and love creation in all that we do. Whether he is in the pulpit preaching, in the classroom teaching, at the coffee shop listening, in the public square marching, in the sanctuary strumming guitar, or at the table of communion breaking bread and pouring the cup, Pastor Dan leads by demonstrating that it’s more than okay to be human, it’s altogether good. 

In the College Station community known as  “Aggieland,” Pastor Dan serves as an Aggie Ally, providing support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students of Texas A&M University. In April of 2013, he was awarded the Phyllis R. Frye Advocacy Award by the Department of Multicultural Services at TAMU for showing “great leadership in the advancement of GLBTI (Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Intersex) civil rights at the infrastructural and/or interpersonal level.” He has also served on the Board for United Campus Ministry of Aggieland since 2005, which ministers to college students of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the UCC at Texas A&M University and Blinn College of Bryan. 

In service to the wider church, from 2013 to 2017, Pastor Dan served on the UCC’s  South Central Conference Board of Directors as Vice President (2013-2015) and then President (2015-2017). He also served on the Nominating Committee for the National UCC from 2013 to 2017 as Vice Chair for the 2015-2016 biennium, and Chair for the 2016-2017 biennium. 

Pastor Dan previously served as the Associate Minister to Youth at Highland Park  Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, and, prior to that, as the Interim Youth Minister at First Baptist Church of Austin. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism in Public Relations from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. He was ordained into the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on January 20, 2002. 

Rev. De Leon is married to Stacy De  Leon, and they are proud parents to son, Mac, born in March of 2005 and daughter Ruthie, born in January 2008.

Contact: pastor@friends-ucc.org

Pastor Trent began his ministry with Friends as Associate Pastor in 2016,  although this is not his first time serving with us. He served as Pastoral Intern in 2006-07 during his final year of seminary. 

A native of Waco, Texas, Trent attended Baylor University where he earned a BA in Religion and History. He pursued his Master of Divinity degree at TCU's Brite Divinity School, where he was awarded the Faculty Book Awards in Preaching and Pastoral Theology. Ordained in 2008 in the United Church of Christ, he served congregations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey before returning to Texas in 2016.

At Friends Church, Pastor Trent works closely with adult spiritual formation, stewardship and finance, communications, technology, and our small group ministry. He also enjoys preaching and worship leadership. In the wider church, he has served on the South Central Conference Board of Directors as both Vice-President and President.

Trent is married to John Brady, a native of Boston, Mass., and together they make their home in Bryan along with their dog, Riley. In his spare time, Trent enjoys movies, used book stores, college football, and classic cars.

Contact: pastortrent@friends-ucc.org

A native of Iowa, Chris Hoffman - tenor, pianist, and conductor -made his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 18, singing vocal jazz. Since then, he has graduated with a Master’s degree in vocal performance and has enjoyed an operatic and piano performance career that has led him to perform in 13 countries. Locally, many have seen him as a soloist with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra in its performances of operatic and oratorio masterworks. As a pianist, Mr. Hoffman has served as the pianist with the Texas A&M Century Singers and Women’s Chorus for three years, and served as the pianist for the Brazos Valley Chorale for seven years. He is frequently called upon to do collaborative work with other musicians in the Brazos Valley, and has assisted in many recitals and chamber music concerts. Mr. Hoffman was also on faculty at Blinn College in Bryan for eight years, where he taught Music Appreciation classes and started and developed the campus’ Choir and Private Voice Study programs. Mr. Hoffman has also served as the music director with The Theatre Company in Bryan, coaching vocals and conducting shows from behind the piano.

Mr. Hoffman has served at Friends Church since 2006. As the Director of Music Ministries, his responsibilities include conducting the Chancel Choir, Children’s Choir, and Handbell Choir ensembles. Highlights include conducting Rutter’s Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Mozart’s Requiem for the Christmas and Good Friday Cantatas. In February 2020, he took the Chancel Choir to Carnegie Hall, where the group made its debut performing Rutter’s Requiem.

Mr. Hoffman currently maintains a private voice and piano studio, and continues to perform in the Brazos Valley, and around the country. He resides in College Station with his husband Matt and their canine children.

Contact: choir@friends-ucc.org

Pastor Brooke first joined Friends Church in 2017, singing in the choir and teaching Sunday school, before discerning a call to ministry which would plant Brooke back in an unexpected place, their hometown of College Station. Brooke served as Pastoral Intern while completing her Master of Divinity from Brite Divinity School and was called to serve as pastor to the Friends Church Youth Group and young adults in 2022. While Brooke enjoys teaching the youth, she hopes that they never doubt how much the world is learning from them.

Prior to pursuing ministry, Brooke received a BA in International Studies and French from the University of North Texas. In the wider community, Brooke co-facilitates a local LGBTQ+ youth support group offered by the Pride Community Center and serves on the Board of Directors for United Campus Ministry. Pastor Brooke also currently serves as Youth Director for the South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ. In their free time, Brooke enjoys horror films, painting, and anything to do with the Titanic. 

​

Contact: pastorbrooke@friends-ucc.org

​

Contact: office@friends-ucc.org

Olive Okoro joined Friends Church in October 2023 through the encouragement of a good
friend. She grew up in a megachurch and was looking for a congregation that was more
personable and found Friends along her journey.

Olive is currently studying to receive her Master of Science in Economics at Texas A&M
University with a focus on economic development. She is passionate about content creation and the power of social media. While building her own brand, Olive is also serving as Friends Church’s first-ever Social Media and Content Creation Manager.

Olive is an advocate for queer Christians on her profiles and in the community. She has done
nonprofit work for Jane’s Due Process and has served in leadership positions within multiple
organizations in Texas A&M University. In her free time, Olive enjoys reading, traveling, content creation, and modeling.

​

Contact: socialmedia@friends-ucc.org

Sean has been attending Friends Church since before he can remember. Born and raised in
College Station, his parents brought him to Friends while searching for a church to raise their
family in. They quickly fell in love with Friends—and so did Sean. He grew up in the youth
group, attending Sunday school and going on mission trips. He’s grateful for this church, which has been such an enriching environment to grow up in, teaching him that everyone is welcome and that God’s love is for everyone.

Sean went to the University of Texas at Austin (hook ’em!) and graduated with a bachelor’s in
computer science. He has since moved back to College Station to save money as he applies for jobs and figures out what’s next in life. You’ll most likely find Sean in the AV corner of the
sanctuary, drinking matcha during services. He’s always happy to meet new people—and happy to recruit folks to record intros for the podcast, too!

​

Contact: av@friends-ucc.org

​

Jeremy is from College Station and Friends Church; he's committed to community involvement through teaching, volunteering, and building a better tomorrow.

After graduating from MIT with a BS in Materials Science and Engineering, he worked in industry for a few years before finding a need to be more involved with hands-on community engagement.

While teaching English-as-a-Second-Language and high school marching band, he spent his weekends with this church family to help expand the A/V position into further evangelism of our church's missions and ministry. To this day he still archives and publishes our sermons to the Friends Congregational Church Sermons podcast -- available anywhere you listen to podcasts (if you need a link: https://linktr.ee/FriendsUCC).

Jeremy is an avid reader, animator, musician, game designer, and cook!

​

Contact: podcast@friends-ucc.org

​