Church Staff

Pastor Koikoi

Pastor Raphael K. Koikoi

Rev. Raphael Koikoi, a native of Liberia, is a proud Wesley Theological Seminary alumnus. He came to the United Methodist Church while attending Morgan State University, which began as a Methodist Ministry. While there, he discovered Northwood-Appold UMC, which he joined. It was this congregation that gave support to his acceptance of his call to ministry. The majority of his early ministry was in Youth Ministry and Christian Education.

 
Recently, he completed his second year under appointment to Warren: Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh District). He formerly served as Upper Allegheny Valley Director of Ministry Development and Community Engagement (Butler District). In that capacity, he worked to connect congregations, communities, and related organizations including non-profits with a vision of discovering ministry opportunities and building them into connected ministry. He also did fundraising (grants) to support the developing ministries. This work enabled at least one school district to develop a clothing service for its high school students, enabled two Summer Lunch Programs, and a Clothing Ministry amongst others.
 
Pastor Koikoi enjoys all things ministry-related, especially small group ministry. He believes that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26) and that discipleship is a lifelong journey. As a practical theologian, he lives out his faith in community by leading and encouraging congregations to connect, and where necessary, reconnect to their communities. He believes congregations should be active participants in the lives of communities. 


Pastor K is married to Bishop Cynthia M. Moore-Koikoi, a life-long United Methodist who currently serves as Resident Bishop of the Pittsburgh Episcopal Area. His passions include social justice, incorporating culture into worship, mentoring and working with young people, and finding ways to connect young and older Christians. His hobbies include biking, golf, photography, and travel. He loves to spend time with his immediate and extended family.