Meet our Elders & Deacons
We believe that the leadership of the local church should be formed by the ancient Scriptures rather than the corporate world. For us, this means that Refuge Church is led by a plurality (Acts 20:17) of pastor/elders (Titus 1:5), qualified for leadership by the grace of Jesus Christ and in accordance with the requirements given by the Apostles (1 Timothy 3:1–13).
Therefore all of our leaders are not just in authority, but under it as well. Jesus Christ is the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4) of Refuge Church, the senior leader to whom all of our leaders will give an account (Hebrews 13:17).
BRIAN SAUVE
Pastor of Preaching & Liturgy
A child of the military, Brian is not really sure what to say when people ask him where he's from. In 1999 and at the orders of the USAF, the Sauvé family waded the pond from England to Utah, where they had lived for the previous 3 years. More than 20 years later, he supposes he is now a true Utahn.
The Lord saved Brian at a young age through his parents' witness and has been gracious to him through every season of waxing or waning faith since. He met a girl named Lexy in the library of their Jr. High, and the rest is history. Married since 2011, God has since blessed them with six children, their great joy and the reason they occasionally look rather tired.
Brian has a passion for preaching the Bible. In his preaching, you will find a deep concern for the intersection of Exegetical and Biblical Theology, the glory of God in all things, and the primacy of the Gospel in every text. Also, that he likes Lord of the Rings. In addition to his weekly preaching on Sundays, Brian teaches on podcasts like Bright Hearth, The King’s Hall, and Haunted Cosmos, and makes music about all of life.
Brian has a Bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies.
DAN BERKHOLDER
Executive Pastor
Dan grew up in the hardwoods and fields of northern Wisconsin. He filled his days with hunting and fishing in the beauty of the plentiful lakes and bluffs of the Mississippi Basin. His father was an elder in their local church, which had a rich Christian community.
During his time at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, he met his future wife, Amelia. Shortly after graduating with a degree in management, they were married and moved to the mountains of Utah, where they have four boys, an old dog, and a mess of chickens.
He received training from one of North America's most renowned Executive Pastors. He also guided Refuge Church's reformation into the influential church it is today. You will frequently find Dan in his office with vision statements scrolled across his whiteboard counseling people. His passion is to keep everyone focused on the long-term mission of God in Ogden.
He believes so strongly in this mission in Ogden that he was a founding leader of St. Brendan's Classical Christian Academy and New Christendom Press.
Outside work, he can be found hunting in the mountains and marshes of the Mountain West or tending his garden and orchard at home.
ERIC CONN
Pastor of Counseling & Leadership Development
Eric has a degree in sports journalism, attended seminary in Louisville, KY, and has worked for over a decade in the firearms & outdoor media industry as a journalist.
He served as a pastor for several years in a small Western town, Chief of Staff at a conservative media company, editor in chief at Gun Digest magazine, and various other managing editor roles at Guns & Ammo Publications and the NRA’s Shooting Illustrated. He is the husband to one lovely wife and proud father to three strapping young sons.
When he’s not podcasting at The King’s Hall and Hard Men Podcast, he’s probably in the backcountry chasing elk, mule deer, or bear somewhere in the uncharted territory of the West.
KEVIN GRIFFIN
Pastor
Kevin was born in the sunshine state, where he grew in his disdain for shoes and shirts—don't worry he's learned to live with both...in public, anyways—before moving to Utah with his family at 14.
After moving back to Florida for college, then working in the film industry in both FL and NYC, God brought him back through Utah where he would begin his greatest adventure. Kevin's sister told him to marry a special girl named Ashley sight unseen, and he almost did. He put a ring on it and they were wed in 2012.
Kevin and Ashley have been blessed with a beautiful, joyful daughter Norah, born in 2015, and a son scheduled to hit the scene in 2020. They are both miracles—if you'd like to hear of the sovereignty of God, His goodness and His mercy, you should ask Kevin about it sometime.
In his free time, Kevin enjoys fly fishing, board games, building things, and adventures with his family. Kevin and Ashley have a huge heart for hospitality and love seeing people in the church grow in their love for God's word and in relationship with one another. Kevin's passion is in seeing the joy of the Lord overflowing from people's cups; no glass half-empty here, folks.
BEN GARRETT
Deacon/Elder Candidate
Ben was born in 1995 to two loving parents in Northeast Georgia. He lived there until he graduated engineering school in 2018, upon which time (the day after graduation, in fact) he and his beautiful wife packed up the Uhaul and moved to the beautiful state of Utah and the truly amazing town of Ogden.
Ben is grateful for his parents' faithful and constant ministry in his life. It was through their prayers, help, and encouragement that Ben was baptized at five-years-old; since then, The Lord has shown him kindness after kindness in leading him through the paths of life with immense blessing, help, and nearly constant joy.
Chief among those blessings from God are Ben's wife, Allie, who he met in college and married as quickly as he could. In addition to blessing him with a helpful and respectful attitude everyday, Allie has also given Ben two handsome and zealous sons—Abner and Ambrose. Lord willing, she will continue to bless him with yet more children!
Ben's great desire is to give his strength to the office of Pastor and Minister in Christ's Church. Because of this, he is particularly pleased to have served as a deacon of Refuge Church for three years while now being in the process of pastoral candidacy. He is passionate about the Scriptures, and he loves exploring its pages to try and plumb its rich depths as far as he is capable through a confessional and reformed lens. In addition to his ministerial work and aspirations, Ben also loves writing and speaking to things that are a bit...strange.