Our staff

All of our faculty are well-qualified academically and are born-again Christians who are dedicated to serving the Lord through the ministry of teaching young people.

Dr. Rick Adams

Dr. Rick Adams serves as the Principal of Greater Portland Christian Academy.

Pastor Adams and his wife, Regina, came to Portland in 1982 to found Greater Portland Baptist Church. He has a passion for winning lost souls to Christ, and is known as an old-fashioned Bible preacher. Through his leadership, and under the blessing of the Hand of God, Greater Portland Baptist Church has grown into a family of believers whose ministry extends throughout the greater Portland area and around the globe.

Mrs. Regina Adams is a Sunday School teacher in the children’s ministry. The Adams' have four children, two who are married, and two who are attending Bible College.

Mrs. Tallie Hein

Tallie Hein serves as the Administrator at GPCA

Tallie believes that everyone has a divine appointment with the Lord. She accepted the gift of Jesus Christ on September 22, 2001 and has been a faithful member of Greater Portland Baptist Church ever since. She is dedicated to sharing the Gospel of the Lord with children and families, and believes that children enrolled at GPCA will reach their full potential thru the teaching and atmosphere there.

Tallie and her husband Clint have two children, and are currently serving together in both the children's Sunday School department and the music ministry at GPBC.

Mrs. Teresa Lukens

Teresa Lukens is the K4 Lead Teacher at GPCA.

She comes with 20 years of experience teaching young children in both Sunday School and preschool. Teresa and her husband John have two grown children and two grandchildren. She currently has the joy of serving at Open Door Baptist Church teaching Children’s Church with First and Second Grade.

Teresa graduated from Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon with an Associate in Early Childhood Education. She later completed her B.S. at Corban College in Salem. She especially values the A Beka Curriculum because of the way the Biblical truths are integrated throughout the curriculum and the strong emphasis on reading fundamentals.

Teresa came to Christ in 1975 as a young mom through the faithful witness of a neighbor and friend. She loves to write Bible Stories for her grandchildren and one of her favorite verses is Psa. 100:5 “For the LORD is good, His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.”

Mrs. Sue Funkhouser

Sue Funkhouser is the co-teacher of the K4 class.

She has been in the teaching profession for 40 years. She is married has four children and 12 grandchildren. In her spare time Sue enjoys music, sewing and gardening.

Growing up, her family attended a fundamental Baptist Church where she accepted Christ as her Savior at an early age. She became very involved in every aspect of the ministry. While attending the U of O in Eugene, Oregon she lived in a Christian girl’s house run by the First Baptist Church. After graduation she married Tom Funkhouser and together they have served the Lord in several different churches.

Mrs. Rochelle Johnston

Rochelle Johnston is the K5 teacher at GPCA.

Rochelle graduated from Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College with a major in Christian Education. Her desire was to teach at a Christian School after graduating. However, after having children, God burdened her heart about teaching her own children. With the help of her husband Ron, she home schooled each of her children and is thankful for that opportunity. Two of their daughters are now graduates of Pensacola Christian college. Their third daughter is married and is faithfully serving the Lord with her husband and family at Greater Portland Baptist Church.

Rochelle and Ron have been involved in teaching Sunday School classes and in Bus and Youth ministries. Both are currently faithfully serving at Greater Portland Baptist Church.

Mrs. Wynae Hinton

Wynae Hinton is the first and second grade teacher at GPCA.

She enjoys working with children and pointing them to Christ. It is her desire to help the parents and staff of GPCA by giving her students the tools they need to be successful in life, which includes a love for the Lord and a willingness to serve Him.

She graduated from The College of the Ozarks in Pt. Lookout, Missouri with a major in family & consumer science and a minor in education. She trusted Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour in August of 1990. In 1995, she and her husband Stephen were accepted as missionaries and since that time have been serving with Rock of Ages Prison Ministry. For the past 12 years she has home schooled their two children.

Wynae, Stephen, and their children are members of Greater Portland Baptist Church where as a family, they serve in various ministries.

Miss. Laura Ann Randall

Laura Ann Randall is the third and fourth grade teacher at GPCA.

Laura Ann accepted Christ as her Saviour in the first grade at Greater Portland Baptist Church. The Lord brought her family to the Philippines where she surrendered her life for the ministry in high school. She went on to study at Grace Baptist Bible College in the Philippines, and later at West Coast Baptist College, CA, where she earned her Master’s degree in Christian Education.

She is a member of Greater Portland Baptist Church where she serves in the Sunday School and Music Ministries.

Mrs. Valerie Buzalsky

Valerie Buzalsky is the fifth and sixth grade teacher at GPCA.

Valerie graduated from City University with a BA in Elementary Education. Her interest in education began in 1989 when her oldest child was in K4. She enjoyed serving as a volunteer teacher at their church's Christian school for 10 years before moving to Vancouver, WA in 1999. Since then, she has had the privilege of home-schooling her four children while attending college herself to complete her degree in education.

Valerie accepted Christ as her Savior on May 29, 1983 at her pastor's house in Bromeswell, England where she was stationed as a Medical Lab Technician in the USAF. She has been a Sunday School teacher ever since.

Valerie and her husband John currently serve in the bus teen department at Greater Portand Baptist Church where she teaches the middle school girl's class. She is also involved in the Deaf Ministry where she serves as an interpreter.

Miss Brittney Welch

Brittney Welch is the seventh and eighth grade teacher at GPCA.

Brittney graduated from Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, Florida with a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in English education. Because she worked for the college as part of her contract to obtain a graduate degree, Brittney was able to gain much experience in different areas such as teaching college and high school classes, working as an editor, and supervising the college’s indoor rock wall and water park.

After accepting the Lord as her savior several years ago, Brittney realized she wanted to serve God in the area of teaching young people and evangelizing. She is passionate about encouraging people in Christ and has worked in jail ministries, youth activities, and has been on mission trips to Mexico and, recently, to Roatán, Honduras.

Mrs. Elaine Powers

Elaine Powers is the Physical Education Teacher at GPCA.

Elaine graduated from Mt Hood Community College with an Associates Degree in Applied Science. Her interest in teaching was spurred through coaching softball and basketball clinics for younger children while in high school.

Elaine is a certified OSAA Varsity Girls High School Basketball Coach. She has coached at the Varsity level for 9 years and overall for about 13 years. She has coached volleyball, basketball, softball, soccer and gymnastics. Elaine has varied interests in sports and the outdoors. She has completed a marathon, triathlon, and climbed several mountains. She has competed in the Junior Olympics in softball and gymnastics.

Growing up, Elaine’s family attended church and she remembered getting baptized, but at the age of 19, while attending Greater Portland Baptist Church, she realized that she didn’t remember ever getting saved. While serving at the Portland Rescue Mission with Greater Portland Baptist Church, she realized that she needed to know for sure that she had asked Christ into her heart. After the alter call, she went forward to another worker and explained that she needed to settle the matter. Elaine has now been saved for 17 years. She teaches the Bus Senior High Girls Class and serves with her husband Chad and children at Greater Portland Baptist Church. Elaine has had the joy of seeing everyone in her family accept Christ.