Born and raised in Monmouth County, Matt Agresti happily lives in Shrewsbury with his family. He and his wife Amanda have three boys (Zeke, Eli, and Jonah). Before earning his mDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, Matt was an electrical engineer. While he enjoyed being an engineer, his heart lies with helping people hear the good news of Jesus Christ. What drives him as a pastor is seeing the church be a community where anyone and everyone who enters can find a home, and begin to connect with God.

He’s an avid reader of theology, listens to everything from punk rock to folk, lives and dies during every Giants game, and is fairly addicted to Pep-O-Mint Life Savers (but he’s working on it).  Matt formerly served as a chaplain in both hospital and at-home hospice settings, as well as a pastor (and other roles) at Park Church in Tinton Falls for 15 years.

Feel free to contact Matt anytime.

Samantha Talmage (Sam) grew up in Wisconsin & Iowa, moving to New Jersey in 1995.  She is a graduate from Viterbo University in LaCrosse, WI and majored in vocal performance and music education.  She organizes the choir and the praise band. The choir rehearses each Thursday night during the school year from 7:30-8:30.  The Praise Band performs each Sunday and usually the members practice before the service.  Sam is married with 3 children.  She also teaches music in elementary school and has produced original musicals and plays with her husband Bob. One of them “Who is this Man” had a 10 year run. A member and soloist with the Concordia Chorale, she has had the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall.  Sam also cantors the 4:00 Sunday mass at St. Michael’s RCC in Long Branch, performing Contemporary Christian music.  She is active in the Atlantic Highlands arts community.

Rebecca was born and raised in Atlantic Highlands, and now lives in Middletown with her husband and two boys. She was the Kids and Youth Director at Park Church in Tinton Falls for years, before moving on to go to Fuller Theological Seminary (and graduating in June of 2023!).  She’s did an apprenticeship here at Central in the fall of 2022, officially joined our staff in January of 2023 on a part-time basis, and is now our Next Generation Pastor. And we couldn’t be more excited to have her! She does a little bit of everything, with a focus on Kids, Youth, and Young Adults.