Carlos Lopez
Lead Pastor
Carlos was born in Juárez, Mexico and raised in both Juárez and El Paso, Texas. He and his wife Olivia have been at Canyon Hills since 2000 and have three children: Carlos II, Ian, and Alexis. Carlos currently oversees the vision and mission of Canyon Hills Friends Church and is passionate about reaching, teaching, mending, and sending.
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Larry Mendenhall
Founding Pastor
Larry was born in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and grew up on a farm. He graduated from Barclay College. Larry and his wife, Shirley (deceased, cancer, 2018), started Canyon Hills in 1990. They have three married children, two granddaughters and three grandsons, and love water sports and sand rails. Larry’s passion is to carry out the vision God put in his heart over 30 years ago to build more and better disciples for Jesus Christ.
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Matthew Dietz
Associate Pastor
Matt grew up in Tustin, California and graduated from Hope International University with a degree in Biblical Studies focusing on Greek and Hebrew literature. Matt and His wife Tiffini have been at Canyon Hills since 2013 and have a young son named Oliver who loves to greet people with waves and high fives. Creative teaching is one of Matt’s passions and he is always seeking to find new ways to make scripture come alive for all who hear it. Matt currently oversees our Sunday worship experience, helps lead our weekend teaching, connects people to our Life Group ministry, and helps manage all IT and Live Stream needs on campus.
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Micah Darden
Equipping Pastor
Micah was born and raised here in Orange county. After graduating from El Dorado High School, he began interning at the church he grew up in while working at Chick-fil-A. In 2015 Micah married his wife, Mia, and graduated from Azusa Pacific University with a B.A. in biblical studies. He spent the next many years leading high school and young adult ministries while working on a masters degree. In 2021 Micah graduated with his masters degree and began work here at Canyon Hills as an Equipping Pastor. Micah is passionate about preaching and building active communities of believers.
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Chase Barnhart
Youth Pastor
Chase was born and raised in southern Orange County and graduated from Vanguard University with a degree in Pastoral Leadership. Chase is currently overseeing the Jr. High and High School ministries at Canyon Hills. Both being in a successful youth group in High School, where he was called to be a pastor, and being a part of other youth groups as a leader/pastor, Chase is passionate about seeing students develop foundations of discipleship that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Outside of leading the youth group, Chase is working on a Master's degree in Old Testament Theology at Talbot Seminary. When not at work or school, Chase is passionate about snowboarding, reading, beach days, and going out to eat with friends/family.
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Josh Powers
Children's Pastor
Josh grew up a mile and a half from Canyon Hills and has lived locally since. His wife, Shannon, also works for the church in our Child Care. They have three wonderful school-age daughters: Bethany, Keilah, and Hannah. Josh has a wide variety of education and experience serving as a youth and children’s pastor that contribute to his encouraging and pastoral gifting. Josh is passionate about bringing the truth, excitement, and fun of Jesus to the growing minds of our children, and cherishes this time of encouragement, love, and assurance in the future of our faith. He is a man of many talents, and his passion for growing closer to Jesus and building into kids makes him a great fit for our Canyon Hills team!
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Wesley Haugen
Administration Pastor
Wes was born and raised in Orange County. Wes has been at Canyon Hills since high school when he started dating his wife, Allison, who began attending Canyon as a child the day it opened. They now have three children. His passion is to see people grow in their faith as they share the love of Jesus through serving others both locally and internationally.
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David Nampi
Worship Pastor
David grew up in San Diego and graduated from Cal State University San Marcos with a degree in Business Administration. David has been serving in worship ministry for 8 years, with 4 of those years being in the Worship Director role. He mainly sings and lead with acoustic guitar but is also familiar with the common instruments found in the worship setting. David also has a passion for both the creative and administrative side of the ministry and believes in leading genuine, intimate, and God pleasing worship.
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Tiffini Dietz
Office Administrator
Tiffini grew up in Orange County and at Rose Drive Friends Church. While at Whittier Christian, she felt the call to ministry. She graduated from Ohio Christian University with a major in Christian Ministry and Leadership. Tiffini has been at Canyon since 2013 and started volunteering with the College group, the high school group and the worship team. Tiffini is married to Matthew, the Associate Pastor, and they have a son, named Oliver, who loves to say hi to everyone and run around the campus. Tiffini currently serves on the Worship team and as the Office Admin. When not at work, Tiffini enjoys reading and writing, hanging with her cats, playing video games with Matthew, and being with Oliver, watching him grow up.
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Amber Welch
Childcare Director
Amber has been in childcare for the past 20 years, first working in the classrooms and then getting promoted to Assistant Director in 2005 followed by Director in 2019. Amber has worked in the same preschool for the past 16 years and is truly blessed by the knowledge she gained. God has been placing it on her heart to work more closely with a church-based center, so she was overjoyed that He led her to Canyon Hills Friends. She has one daughter who keeps her very busy with her various activities. They love attending church together and getting involved in small groups. She looks forward to getting to know each and every one of you and can’t wait to see what God has in store for the childcare at Canyon Hills Friends.
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