Dr. Brian & Pastor Phaedra Alton are not your typical ministers. Whether traveling to Yangon, Burma under the radar to conduct evangelical revival meetings and teaching Christ in underground Bible colleges or traveling to Burne, IN to minister life and freedom in Christ to Amish families, or cleaning Honduran village children’s teeth in the morning, helping their parents to learn a skill-trade in the afternoon, and preaching the gospel to the villagers at night, or taking leadership teams to explore the Holy Land, or jumping out of plane to skydive from 14,000 ft. they believe in living life to the fullest. They have been married for 15 years and enjoy the company of their three wonderful children, Brian Jr. (BJ), Michael David and their beautiful Hispanic daughter Abigail Rose.
Pastor Brian entered into ministry early in life after his initial salvation and infilling of the Spirit at the young age of 16. He has a lifetime of education and leadership experience (30 yrs) in helping people to discover life and purpose in Christ. Still only 47 years old he has been used by God over the last 15 years to found and lead Desert Rose Community Church a thriving community transforming church in Phoenix, Arizona and has established an accredited Bible college in the same community called Gateway International Bible Institute, he has traveled extensively to the nations, serving as a spiritual leader and counsel to church leaders, speaking and developing leaders through the local church, and in regional conferences, and serving on several governing boards. He holds an earned Doctorate degree in Philosophy with an emphasis in Ministerial Training and Church Leadership Development and has served as a guest lecturer at a number of churches and universities.
He is also the author of published books, college level teaching/training curriculums, has composed worship songs, worship CD’s, and frequently appears on radio, television, and online streaming programs, sharing the message of God’s love, favor, goodness, and grace.
The driving force in Brian's life is his passion to build lives through building a "presence driven" church, which he defines as, "a church that is Biblically literate, culturally relevant and spiritually sensitive to God’s manifested presence.” He has and will continue to positively influence a generation of young emerging leaders for the cause of Christ.
Pastor Phaedra serves beside her husband to build a church culture that reflects the vibrancy of heaven, sincerely loving relationships and inspiring environments where people are transformed. She is a lover of God’s word and enjoys sharing the realness and nearness of Christ with others. She loves her husband, her children, worship, the arts, expressive dance, the violin, interior design and traveling to new places. She generously shares her world that is full of color, flavor, music, laughter and friendships.
Dr. Brian & Pastor Phaedra have an amazingly talented team of pastors and leaders, from diverse experiences and backgrounds which helps to sustain the success of both the church and Bible college ministries to the community. They are committed to loving people, building teams, training upcoming leaders, and empowering each believer to discover their own unique purpose and destiny. They generously and passionately serve the cause of Christ in the Valley of the Sun.
