Mike Katz

My History: I was born in Long Island, New York but moved to Las Vegas when I was around 8 years old. I was raised in a Jewish family; both my mother and father were Jewish. I was Bar Mitzvahed at the age of 13 but got involved in the crazy Las Vegas lifestyle until I repented and believed in Jesus as my Messiah and Savior at 19 years old. I worked in the gaming industry most of my life until the Lord called me to full time vocational ministry, where I served as a Children’s Pastor for 3 years and then as an assistant pastor for 9 years.

My Family:

My wife Claudia and I met while working in a local Las Vegas buffet. She had recently moved to Las Vegas from Bogota, Colombia and when we met, our first date was church. We did have a bit of a communication gap as I didn’t speak Spanish and Claudia spoke limited English, so we carried an English/Spanish dictionary around to help us when we didn’t understand each other. We were married in September 1991 and were blessed to raise two beautiful daughters, Milena and Corinna. We now have an amazing son in law, Zack.

My Heart:

Love God and Love people! My hope is to serve Spring Valley Baptist Church by fulfilling those two commandments. My passions are teaching children the Word of God, discipleship, and reaching the lost for Jesus Christ. I’ve had the blessing of being able to do all three of those things to the glory of God and my desire is to continue grow, to serve, and to love God and His people at Spring Valley.

My Hobbies:

I got saved through my karate instructor who taught me about Jesus and how to defend myself and others. In early 2000, I developed a system of karate called “Christian Karate” where I implemented the bible while simultaneously teaching children and adults self-defense. It’s such a blessing to run into a student I used to teach and they can recite Galatians 5:22-23 and other scriptures because they trained with me.

Barry Tweedy 

Over the next four and a half years of college life, God took my love for music and propelled me forward into many opportunities to serve Him using the gift of music as the vehicle for service. I began serving my first church at the age of 21 while in college and served with them until I completed seminary in New Orleans in 1988. In October of 2013 the Lord extended the opportunity to join the ministry team at Spring Valley Baptist Church.

I  have had the opportunity to serve as a pastor for over 30 years in the capacity of worship pastor, senior adult, student and children’s pastor and God has given me a heart to reach the lost for Christ. I have a Master’s in Church Music from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a Bachelor’s in Music Education from the University of Southern Mississippi. I have had the opportunity to teach for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s Leavell College church music certificate program, teaching and coaching worship pastors as well as serve as a music specialist for the Mississippi Baptist Convention and LifeWay Christian Resources. I have also served as a curriculum writer for the Children’s Music Series for LifeWay. My family and I have been in Las Vegas since 2011 involved in church planting and equipping missional house group leadership, endeavoring to reach the Valley with the truth of hope found in Jesus Christ.