Richie Marshall
Executive Pastor
There are some people whose impact on Port City Church is easy to see on a Sunday morning. And then there are people like Richie Marshall, people whose faithfulness, leadership, wisdom, and steady presence have quietly shaped the foundation of our church for more than two decades.
Richie has been part of Port City Community Church since 2001 and has served on staff for 23 years. What began as stepping into leadership around small groups eventually grew into overseeing many of the operational structures that help our church function and grow today. From finances and budgeting to staffing, systems, and long-term vision, Richie has faithfully helped steward the church through seasons of incredible growth, change, and challenge.
But if you ask our Senior Pastor, Mike Ashcraft, Richie’s contribution goes far beyond operations.
“Richie has a very unique combination, he understands the details and what it takes to get something done, but he has a pastor’s heart and never loses sight of what really matters, especially during times of stress and pressure.”
Mike and Richie’s story together stretches back decades, including years of running together, long conversations about ministry, and eventually Mike trying to convince Richie to come on staff full-time.
“It was miles and miles of the same conversation over and over again… and I finally wore him down. And now we’ve been on staff together for 24 years. I don’t think I would do this without him.”
One of Richie’s favorite things about his role is helping people succeed, whether that’s staff members, volunteers, or someone discovering meaningful ministry for the first time. That heart has shaped the culture of our church in countless unseen ways.
Mike shared that while much of Richie’s work happens behind the scenes, his greatest contribution may actually be underneath the scenes:
“Richie’s greatest contribution is not behind the scenes, but underneath, creating the foundation that we all get to build on.”
Richie’s own story with God deeply shapes the way he leads. After walking through a difficult season years ago, he found himself searching for something more, and was uncertain whether the church would even be a place where he would be accepted because of his work in the beer industry at the time. What he found at Port City was a welcoming community that helped him discover not just religion, but relationship with Jesus.
Today, that same heart for people still fuels him.
“I so deeply believe in the mission of our church. It met me where I was 25 years ago, and I believe we can do that for someone today.”
Richie, thank you for your humility, steadiness, faithfulness, wisdom, and the countless ways you help make Port City what it is. We are deeply grateful for you.
Polly Clawson
Care Community Coordinator
For more than 18 years, Polly Clawson has been helping shape the heart and culture of Port City Community Church through prayer, discipleship, compassion, and a deep love for people.
Serving on staff for more than a decade as part of the Care Team, Polly’s heart has always been centered on helping people encounter God “afresh and anew together.” Whether through conversations, prayer, teaching, encouragement, or simply showing up consistently for others, Polly has spent years faithfully walking alongside people in every season of life.
But over the past several years, Polly’s own journey has also been marked by deep grief, unexpected hardship and loss, and significant health challenges. Yet even in the midst of it all, she continues to radiate confidence in the goodness and faithfulness of God.
“It isn’t always easy, but it is always true that God is good and He is faithful.”
That confidence has become one of the defining marks of her life and ministry.
Leeanne Milks from our Care Staff Team shared:“When you think of Polly, you think of PRAYER. When Polly says she will pray for you, she truly means it. She will stop whatever she is doing and bring you into the presence of God.”
Leeanne also described Polly as someone who faithfully cares for people in ways most others never see, through texts, coffee meetings, check-ins, encouragement, and consistent prayer over countless people and families.
“The number of people she keeps up with would overwhelm most people, yet she still remembers the smallest details and continues faithfully lifting them up in prayer.”
One of the most beautiful reflections of Polly’s impact came earlier this year after some health complications, when staff and church members began bringing notes, gifts, and encouragement to her home.
“The outpouring of love was unbelievable,” Leeanne shared. “It revealed just how many lives she had impacted through her faithful love and service.”
Polly says one of the things she loves most about this church is experiencing firsthand that “the Church” is not just a place, but a people who genuinely love and carry one another.
And if you ask almost anyone who knows her, they’ll tell you the same thing: Polly deeply loves Jesus, and that love flows into every room, every conversation, and every person she encounters.
Polly, thank you for the way you faithfully pray, care, teach, encourage, and remind so many of us what it looks like to walk closely with Jesus. Our church is better because of you.
Brooks Joyce
Worship Director
For more than two decades, Brooks Joyce has helped shape the worship culture, discipleship, and community of Port City Community Church.
Brooks first connected to Port City as a teenager after hearing that a local rock band invited Pastor Mike Ashcraft to open one of their shows in prayer.
“At 16 years old, I thought that was the coolest thing.”
That curiosity led him to visit Port City for the first time, where he found not only community, but a calling.
Brooks joined staff in 2005 as a student ministries intern, splitting time between production and worship ministry. Over time, his role evolved into helping shape and lead the discipleship side of worship ministry, something that deeply reflects both his gifts and heart for people.
One of the things that most shapes Brooks’ leadership is his awareness of his own limitations and his dependence on God and community.
Reflecting on Moses in Exodus 4, Brooks shared: “God is fully aware of Moses’ human limitations. Likewise, I’ve learned not to deny my own human limits, but look to God and my community to make up the difference.”
That humility and groundedness are part of what make Brooks such a steady and trusted presence on our staff team.
Carson Goslee shared: “Brooks is humble and wise. He lives his life in such a way that invites people to come close in friendship and leave with a better understanding of who God is and what discipleship truly looks like.”
While many people know Brooks through worship gatherings, there’s also a tremendous amount of unseen work and intentionality behind the scenes.
“Brooks stewards a lot of behind-the-scenes work that ensures the worship music we engage in throughout all of our church gatherings is really well done and beautiful to listen to,” Carson shared. “All the while ensuring the team is personally growing in their walk with God.”
What keeps Brooks passionate about ministry after all these years is surprisingly simple: “God has an endless awareness and affection for all that is good and true and beautiful… So what keeps me passionate about ministry is continually renewing my capacity to see the goodness, the truth, and the beauty in all that we do.”
And if you know Brooks, you know that his humor is just as consistent as his faithfulness. Carson joked that although Brooks was in his wedding, he still reminds him (nine years later) that he was the seventh groomsman standing so far away he “wasn’t sure if he was even there.”
Brooks, thank you for the consistency, wisdom, humility, humor, and discipleship you bring to our church family. We are deeply grateful for the way you continue helping shape a culture of worship and formation at Port City!