Meet the Leadership Teams

Grace Gathering looks at leadership in the church a little bit differently. We don’t have a pastoral staff made up of a senior pastor, associate pastor, youth pastor, etc. We believe the pastoral gift (as well as all the other gifts of the Spirit) are demonstrated and modeled throughout the church body by ordinary people, rather than by an ordained or paid few.

We believe God desires all believers to be leaders in his church in some way (leadership as following Christ and influencing others to do so as well). Because our corporate church is organized into many small communities, each community is made up of believers who are using their gifts to serve and lead the church.

Alongside the mission church mentors and participants, we believe there are two official leadership offices in the church made up of overseers/elders and deacons. Overseers help care for the spiritual needs, doctrine, and direction of the church, while deacons help care for the physical needs of the church (food, clothing, and shelter).

In addition, we have some full and part-time people who help with the overall leadership of our mission communities and the church at large as well. These leaders have various spiritual gifts (some might be pastoral, but most are other kinds of gifts), therefore, these leaders are not designated as “pastors.” They are servant-leaders who come alongside the deacons, elders, and house church leaders to help support the church family.

Our mission church mentors are listed on the mission church page.  Here is a list of our current elders, deacons, and staff.   

Overseer/Elder Team

Aaron Frey: Aaron and Kara are both originally from Ohio and have three girls. Aaron’s passion is local and international missions.

John Haydock: John is from Oklahoma and Teresa is from Michigan, and they have three boys and a girl. John’s passion is for family and for God’s word.

Scott Jester: Scott and Stacy are originally from Michigan, and they have four boys. Scott is passionate about seeing the church serve the community.

Bill Jordan: Bill and Michelle both grew up in the New Haven/Fort Wayne area and have three boys and one girl. Bill’s passion is helping children spiritually grow.

Brady Koehlinger: Brady and Deb grew up in the New Haven/Fort Wayne area and have three girls and a boy. Brady’s passion is serving others.

Chris Norman: Chris grew up in Michigan and Kathy grew up in Chicago, and they have three girls and a boy. Chris’ passion is about the vision of what the church could look like if it pursued Jesus without compromise.

Tim Smith: Tim and Ang grew up in the New Haven area and have four girls and a boy. Tim’s passion is both outreach and spiritual growth.

Bill Turnwald: Bill and Molly both grew up in New Haven and have four boys. Bill’s passion is teaching God’s word.

Deacon Team

Clem Bowser: Clem and Jenny both grew up in Fort Wayne and have two girls and a boy. Clem’s passion is hands-on serving.

Brent Cooper: Brent and Ambia grew up in Fort Wayne and have three girls. Brent’s passion is helping others. (Note: On sabbatical 2010)

Kevin Heckley: Kevin and Tiffany grew up in the Woodburn area and have three girls. Kevin’s passion is helping people in need.

Todd Heckley: Todd grew up in Woodburn and Sue grew up in New Haven, and they have five sons. Todd’s passion is helping counsel people in God’s word.

Dan Kennerk: Dan and Shelly both grew up in Fort Wayne, and they have two sons and a daughter. Dan’s passion is to help others.

Karl Koepp: Karl grew up in Wisconsin and Michelle grew up in New Haven, and they have two boys and a girl. Karl’s passion is to help meet both spiritual and physical needs of others.

Rod Kraner: Rod grew up in Poe and Tina grew up in the New Haven/Fort Wayne area, and they have three boys and a girl. Rod’s passion is working with youth and doing martial arts.

Mark Neff: Mark grew up in LaGrange and Jennifer grew up in Fort Wayne. Their ministry passion is in the area of strengthening families (marriage, parenting, and good financial stewardship). Note: On sabbatical 2010

RJ Sutphin: RJ and Heather grew up in Fort Wayne and have two boys. RJ’s passion is spiritually investing in kids and serving.

Mike Trumbower: Mike grew up in Ossian and Toni grew up in California, and they have two girls and a boy. Mike’s passion is to serve others.

Staff Team

Tracey Barr: Kenny and Tracey grew up in the New Haven area and have two sons, a married daughter, two grandchildren. Tracey is full-time and helps connect people, helps with administration, and helps coach house churches. Tracey is passionate about helping people and serving in the community.

Dan Brusco: Dan grew up in Peru and Linda grew up in El Salvador, and they have one daughter and two grandchildren.  Dan is full-time and helps with overall care, Hispanic ministry, and helps coach house churches. Dan is passionate about helping people feel loved.

Craig Eakright: Craig and Jill grew up in the Fort Wayne area and have two girls. Craig is full-time and helps serve the music ministry and helps coach house churches. Craig’s passion is to express the authentic meaning of worship as a lifestyle and lead others in the same.

Kelly Greubel: Kevin grew up in Evansville, IN and Kelly grew up in the Fort Wayne area, and they have one boy and two girls.  Kelly is part-time and oversees the accounting and financial bookkeeping. Kelly is passionate about children.

Sue Heckley:  Todd and Sue both grew up in the Fort Wayne area, and they have five sons. Sue is part-time and helps serve Sunday morning production and helps coach house churches. Sue is passionate about counseling others with the word of God.

Scott Jester: Scott and Stacy are originally from Michigan, and they have four boys. Scott is part-time and helps serve the leadership of house churches and helps coach them. Scott is passionate about seeing the church serve the community.

Michelle Jordan: Bill and Michelle both grew up in the New Haven/Fort Wayne area and have three boys and one girl.  Michelle is part-time and helps serve our children’s ministries. Michelle is passionate about seeing children follow Christ.

Chris Norman: Chris grew up in Michigan and Kathy grew up in Chicago, and they have three girls and a boy. Chris is full-time and helps serve many of the Sunday morning gatherings and helps coach house churches. Chris is passionate about the vision of what the church could look like if it pursued Jesus without compromise.

Brian Smeltzer: Brian grew up in Ohio and Courtney grew up in Fort Wayne, and they have two girls. Brian is part-time and serves the high school and middle school youth churches. Brian’s passion is helping teens feel heard and cared for.

Tim Smith: Tim and Ang both grew up in the New Haven area, and they have four girls and one boy. Tim is part-time and helps serve the staff/business aspects of the church and helps coach house churches. Tim is passionate about pursing and defending the truth of Scripture.

The elder, deacon, and staff teams all work together to assist, support, and undergird the mission churches and their ministry to the community. Click here if you would like to contact any of our overseers, deacons, or staff, and we will route your e-mail accordingly.