The Team!

Bay Vineyard is led by Sam Harvey with a stack of support from his wife Jen.

Sam and Jen are originally from Wellington and they met when Jen was studying at Bible College and Sam was co-pastoring a church there. They now have three busy, handsome boys – Eli, Judah and Asher.

Sam graduated from Bible College of New Zealand (now Laidlaw) in 2003 with a Bachelor of Ministries majoring in Spiritual Formation. He’s been in full-time ministry since 2003. Before they moved to Napier, they lived in Christchurch where he was part of the senior leadership team at Grace Vineyard Church, leading the Worship ministry and pastoring the Beach Campus. As well as leading BVC, Sam is also the national coordinator for 24-7 Prayer in New Zealand.

Amidst the busyness of raising three boys, Jen has spent the last few years mentoring and helping run various church ministries. Jen is a pilates instructor, and leads our sung worship ministry.

Charlotte Buxton is our Children and Families Pastor, and is one of the leaders of our Manawa Ora Community Trust. She loves big introductions, and is learning to sew!

Luke Buxton oversees the Home Church leaders and the Men’s ministry. He likes giving deer a bit of a scare while hunting.

Steve Bradley is our Church Manager, overseeing our budget, staff and is the liaison point between the Board and our team. He is also on the board for 24-7 Prayer New Zealand.

Rachel and Josiah Meehah serve as youth pastors at BVC. Josiah is on staff for a day a week, but together they help serve our young people, creating environments of fun, depth and helping grow devoted discipleship to Jesus!

Simone is Ministry Assistant to Charlotte, our Children and Families Pastor. She also plays a valuable role in the Care Team, and in the Children's programmes on a Sunday. She lives with her husband Simon and their beautiful 13-year-old son David.

Chrissy Rowe has three married children and 11 grandchildren. She is originally from Palmerston North. She leads the Care team at Bay Vineyard Church and has been involved in pastoral care for many years, upskilling to train as a counsellor. Another passion of hers is writing. She has achieved diplomas in basic writing, proofreading and editing and a certificate in Te Reo. Chrissy is a widow and wrote a book in recent years called ‘You are missing from me’ to encourage others going through similar circumstances.

Karen joined the team as church administrator in 2024, after running an IT business with her husband for the past ten years. She enjoys connecting with people from all walks of life and providing administrative support to the team. She is making the most of having teenagers at home before they head off on their own adventures.