Rev. Lauren Michelle Stevens

Rev. Lauren Michelle (LM) was born and raised in the Bay Area. She grew up in Sunnyvale and attended Good Samaritan UMC in Cupertino. As a youth and young adult she was active with conference camps, attending as a camper and later working on staff.

She moved to Moraga to attend St. Mary’s College of California, which offered her the opportunity to study abroad in Ireland, England, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and she received a BA in Environmental Studies and a minor in Politics in 2012.

After graduation, she returned to Ireland for a year and then, upon her return to the United States, served as Director of Student Ministries at Community UMC in Half Moon Bay. Her time as Director of Student Ministries led her to desire further theological education and she moved to Washington DC in 2015 to attend Wesley Theological Seminary.

During her time at seminary, she also worked for Wesley’s field education office, served as a pediatric hospital chaplain intern at Children’s National Medical Center, and ministered to children and youth at Trinity UMC in McLean, VA.

She received her M.Div. from Wesley Theological Seminary in 2018. After seminary, she completed a year-long Clinical Pastoral Education chaplain residency at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, LA, and then moved back to the Bay Area and served as Next Gen Ministry Director at Embrace Church in Alameda. In July of 2020, Pastor Lauren Michelle was appointed to Redding UMC as their Associate Pastor. In July of 2021, Pastor Lauren Michelle was appointed to Lafayette UMC as their solo pastor. She has been appointed to El Sobrante UMC beginning July 2025. In addition to her service in the local congregation, Rev. LM serves as secretary of the CA-NV Council on Finance and Administration and as a member of the Los Rios District Committee on Church Buildings & Location.

Her favorite book of the Bible is anything by Paul, but specifically the Letter to the Romans (or the Book of Judith in the Apocrypha). Although Paul’s writings often get a bad rap, she enjoys delving into the context of his letters and sitting with some of the biblical language intricacies, exploring what Paul’s understanding of the Good News offers those on the margins.

Her daughter Kai means the world to her and they love to go on adventures and hang with their two dogs (Remmy and Buford) and guinea pig (Mr. Duck). They also try different cuisines from around the world (pescatarian food for LM and meat for Kai), check out various ice cream shops (coffee or strawberry for LM, cookies and cream for Kai), and spend time by the ocean.