Sean - Guitar - Vocals 

Hey, thanks for visiting our site.  Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Sean and I was born on April 21, 1973, in Port Jervis, NY.  Currently I live in Lewistown, PA.    My home church is Evangel Baptist in Lewistown, where I serve part time as the Minister of Worship. 

I saw a need for the Savior in my life and accepted HIM as my personal Savior when I was 7.  One of my favorite passages of scripture is Eph. 2:8-9.  In these verses, we see the very stronghold of our faith.  The apostle Paul is openly confessing that we are SAVED through our FAITH in CHRIST and as a result, God’s GRACE is openly given to us.  (Want to know more??  I would love the opportunity to share this with you!!) 

Music has always been a part of my life and I grew up singing solos and duets in church.  I attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert in 2001 and thought that it would be really cool to learn how to play the guitar!  Shortly thereafter, I began my journey of learning the guitar and was mentored along the way by a friend.  By the summer of 2002, I was playing my guitar and singing in front of people and was active in the church praise team.  In the fall of 2003, Bob (a really cool guitar player!) and I spent some time together working on music and shared the same passion and vision of getting music into the community.  Out of this conversation and prayer, came the inception of Messenger.  It has been a wonderful journey and we have seen our group evolve along the way, but the one common thread has always been JESUS!  It has been a huge blessing to serve our Lord together and I consider my band mates as my very best friends!  He has blessed our group in so many ways and we’ll keep singing until He guides us elsewhere.

When we play, I use either a Taylor acoustic or an Epiphone electric guitar.  Also, I use an EV microphone. 

When I’m not playing, I enjoy spending time with (3) ladies—my beautiful wife, Tera and our (2) wonderful daughters, Victoria & Brielle
 

Lori - Keyboard & Vocals

I was saved when I was 8 years old after a Sunday evening service.

One of my favorite Bible passages is John 10:27-29. This passage helps me to feel safe and secure in the hands of God, my Heavenly Father, and Jesus, my Lord and Savior.

I have been with Messenger since 2007 and have loved every minute of it! (Well, almost!) It is very humbling to use my God-given talents to spread the gospel through song. I am truly blessed each and every time!

Music has been part of my life for a long time! I started taking piano lessons at the age of 8 and sang in many different choirs in the church and high school. Singing with Messenger has stretched me musically and spiritually, something I am eternally grateful for.

My hobbies include tennis, golf, and watching all kinds of sports. My favorite thing to do however, is to spend time with the three men in my life – my wonderful husband Rick and our very active boys, Nathan and Conner!  

Pam - Vocals

My name is Pam Simonetti. I was born on October 12^th in New Paris, Indiana. I was saved as a 5^th grader. I remember wondering if anyone at school noticed the change on my face because I sure felt a change inside of me.

I work at the Lewistown Hospital in the CT Department.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Ecc.4:9-10. “Two are better than one… If one falls down, a friend can help him up…”

I have been singing as long as I can remember. I grew up listening to Broadway Musicals, Hymns, and Peter, Paul and Mary. I learned to sing alto in the children’s choir at church because I loved to hear the harmony.  I was introduced to Contemporary Christian Music in college. Listening to Honey Tree, Phil Keaggy, and The Imperials started my journey to Messenger.

When I am not leaning new music, I can be found behind my camera or sitting at the computer “fixing” the photos I have snapped. I also enjoy my flower-gardens and reading.

Nelson - Bass

My name is Nelson Rieffannacht, and I was born November 15, 1983. I was saved in 3rd grade.

One of my favorite passages of scripture is Psalm 120:1-5. It talks about how we as the body of Christ are to rejoice and support each other through the good and the bad . 

I play a Jackson JLS 40 Bass Guitar and use a Crate XL165 Bass Amp as well as  a Audio Technica Digital DR-1500 Wireless guitar system 

When I’m not working or playing I like to spend time with my wife Kimberlie.

And just simply goofing around.
 

Dale R. Wilburne - Drums - Tech Support

Early musical influences include: my grandmother, my dad, Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa.

“Hello web surfers!”   “Welcome to the Messenger web site and thanks for visiting!”

The Holy Bible is my roadmap for life, the Holy Spirit my companion and guide. His grace is enough for me – check out:

2 Corinthians 12:9, 10

⁹And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  ¹⁰Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

The Messenger ministry is a blessing from God, especially the fact that I get to be part of it.  Messenger exists in a lost and dying world to spread the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through songs of praise and worship.  The others in Messenger are my brothers and sisters in Christ and my best friends!  Christ has used them to reveal Himself to me and to hold me accountable.  I am indescribably thankful to Him for that.

I’ve been playing drums and working with sound reinforcement for most of life, starting July 4, 2006 with Messenger as I was invited to fill in on drums for one outing that evening (long story).  Since then, I’ve become fully committed to the ministry and we’ve become full time praise team at our home church (www.evangelb.com).   It keeps us busy and provides many opportunities to do what we were made by Him to do.  

My family is very supportive of all of this including my beautiful wife Debbie, 3 sons, Dane , Drew , James and my precious  grand daughter Adeline.   

My work career is in Information Technology.   I enjoy my work and get to be involved with exciting technologies.  Other things important to me include involvement in the local church and community, enjoying family time, the outdoors and sports.

Please join us for church and or a Messenger event real soon.  We’d love to meet you!

The Crew

Bill Aurand   -  Sound Engineer & Stage Manager 

Bill has been the Sound Engineer and Stage Manager for Messenger since the band’s inception.  His technical and administrative role allows Messenger’s musicians to focus their efforts on the music and on their onstage ministry presentation.

Bill attributes much of his “soundman” skills to the teachings and support of his good friends Dale Wilburne and Chris Simonetti and to his musician / sound engineer son, Matthew.  Bill is usually accompanied at the sound board by his right hand man, Andrew “BJ” Alexander.

For his day job, Bill works as a Product Development Engineer at Blatek Inc. in State College, PA where he designs and develops custom ultrasound transducers for a wide variety of medical applications and customers.

When Bill isn’t pushing the mixer sliders or coiling and uncoiling the half mile or so of cable that it takes to support “Messenger”, he enjoys spending time with his wife Karen, and his 2 children and their spouses. Bill and Karen are very active in many ministry activities at our home church, Evangel Baptist in Lewistown.  Bill is also an avid handgun hunter and fisherman and loves to spend time afield with his dad, son and his close friends.

Favorite Bible Verses – Isaiah 40:31,  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10,  Proverbs 3:5-6

Andrew - Assistant Sound Tech

My name is Andrew Timothy Alexander, but most people call me BJ which stands for Bill Junior (think about it a sec, you’ll get it). I was born on January 15, 1991. I was saved in November, 2001 at AWANA clubs that were held at the church I now attend, Evangel Baptist. I also work at Sears as a sales and stock person.

One of my favorite passages is Psalms 139:7-10. It talks about how God is with us wherever we go and how he is always watching over us.

Well I use a lot of gear but my primary equipment is a Dell 6400 Laptop Computer that I use for both projection and live recording and a Alesis MultiMix 8 that I use for live recording