Pastor Campe was born and spent his youth in South Minneapolis.  He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1962.  He is a product of the tumulus 60's filled with demonstrations and social upheaval.  He first attended college at Gustavus Adolphus and then received his first college degree from the University of Minnesota.  Later, in 1966, he received an educational teaching degree in Speech/English and Social Sciences from Mankato State University.

Pastor Campe's first professional employment was at DeLaSalle High School in downtown Minneapolis where he taught Speech and English along with coaching a number of teams in drama and athletics. After two years at DeLaSalle he went on to teach and coach for seven years in the Robbinsdale School District as a Speech Teacher, athletic coach and a coordinator for dropouts and potential drop outs in a work/study program.

Pastor Campe earned a Master's of Divinity from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in 1979 and later earned a doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton New Jersey. His primary course of postgraduate study was the role of the church as it relates to the education and change process of faith.

Dr. Campe has served United Methodist churches in Brooklyn Center, Eden Prairie, and North Oaks, all in Minnesota. He currently serves as Pastor of The Recovery Church, with two campuses: Central Park United Methodist Church in St. Paul, and Wesley United Methodist Church in downtown Minneapolis .  He is the father of two adult children, grandfather of two, and lives with his wife in St. Paul. Dr. Campe has been a part of the recovery community for over fourteen years and lists that as one of the most important parts of his whole life. His hobbies include boating; fishing and hunting along with long hours spent watching the sunrise at his lake home in Ely, Minnesota.

Deb was born and raised in Winona, Minnesota, and moved to the Twin Cities area in 1974.

She has worked with Pastor Campe since 1997. In 1999, Pastor Campe moved to Central Park UMC and invited Deb to join him.

Deb has worked with Pastor Campe through several challenging transitions to what is now called "The Recovery Church."

She has been married for 35 years and lives with her husband, Jon, in Fridley. She has two grown children… and five grandchildren - who are the passion in her life. Deb devotes most of her spare time to her family.

Molly Campe is new to The Recovery Church staff.  As the new volunteer and event coordinator, Molly works part-time to assist volunteers, brides and grooms, and meeting planners.  She was raised in Minnesota and attended Grinnell College in Iowa. 

After graduating with a degree in Sociology, Molly has lived all over the country (and world!).  Her three favorite past jobs include teaching aerobics and English to women in a prison in Guatemala, working on an organic farm in Maine, and coordinating the intergenerational volunteer program for the Minneapolis Public Schools. 

Molly was married over 5 years ago and realized then how much fun it was to plan meaningful wedding ceremonies and big, fantastic parties.  She is excited to be doing it as her job now.  Molly and her husband, Joe, have two children, Kai and Ruby.  She enjoys gardening, belly laughing, spending time with her loved ones and long walks by the river.

Joe works for The Recovery Church on a part-time basis. Joe is the "evening" face at the church. He keeps the building spotless and makes sure that everything is secure at the end of the day. Joe started working for The Recovery Church when we opened our new building on State Street in 2010. He has been a dedicated volunteer at The Recovery Churchfor several years.

Joe grew up in the Twin Cities area. He currently lives in Mounds View.

Gary Upp has been on staff at Central Park UMC (The Recovery Church) for over 25 years. He provides music each Sunday, as well as, at special events. He plays piano, and was an expert at making our pipe organ sing in the old church.

Gary lives in Roseville and spends much of his time helping to raise his grandson, Michael.