7 Questions with Church leaders

Name: Joel L Rissinger

Current title: Executive Pastor

Current organisation: LifeWay Church

Pastor Joel L. Rissinger is the President of The Rissinger Resource Group, LLC, a certified speaker and coach with the John Maxwell Group, and the Executive and Co-Founding Pastor of LifeWay Church in Newington, Connecticut. More importantly, he has been married to Karen Rissinger, for more than 36 years. Together, they have two adult children, an awesome son-in-law, and two beautiful granddaughters. Pastor Joel started his career as a Management Consultant to companies like Johnson & Johnson, Eastman Kodak, and Saft Battery where he did personality assessment, motivational assessment, outplacement counseling, and recruiting. He also served for several years as a Marketing Executive, consulting and providing information technology solutions to companies like Bell Aerospace, Xerox, Kodak, Marriott Corporation, the State of CT, and Welch Foods. Since 1992, Pastor Joel has been in vocational ministry, but has kept his hand in business as well. Joel has been ordained by Converge USA, as well as two other organizations. In this capacity, he has led several congregations through major transitions prior to planting Mill Pond Church in 2007. In addition, Joel has served as the Director of Church Multiplication for Converge Northeast, the New England Regional Coordinator for The Antioch School of Leadership Development, Seminar Presenter for Life Innovations, Inc., and as a Chaplain for several local companies. Pastor Joel has been a regular speaker at the Northeast Regional Iron Sharpens Iron Conferences, the Liberty University Church Planting Emphasis Week, the Newington, CT Chamber of Commerce meetings, numerous Rotary Clubs, the CT Better Business Bureau, corporate clients such as Coorstec Corporation, and other venues. In addition to his John Maxwell Team certification, Joel is a graduate of the Bill Gove Speech Workshop. He has a BA in theology from Ambassador University, and MAs in both religion and religious education from Liberty University. He is the author of several books including Champion That Change, The Crucified Church, Communicate to Lead, and Whole 4 Life.

Name: Fred Noble

Current title: Director of Ministry & Outreach

Current organisation: Friendship Community Baptist Church

I truly came to Christ about 10 years ago after a messy divorce. Prior to that, I was in executive leadership in the business world, making a great salary and with an awesome trajectory. Unfortunately, that career left my now ex-wife seeking someone who would be there for her and she chose another man. I went from that to starting a recruiting company while going to seminary and then going onboard with a local church of about 250. During that time I met my current wife, an amazing Christian woman.

Name: Anne Graham

Current title: Senior Pastor

Current organisation: Highway Church

Anne is married to Byron with 3 children and 10 grandchildren. Anne is Australian born and has had the great privilege of pioneering a church on the Gold Coast 26 years ago with just a handful of people. Today that church is in three locations on the Gold Coast and reaches into many parts of our city and nation along with a very expansive and successful work in India.
Anne has worked as the State Women's Director for Queensland Christian Women for 7 years but was part of the National and State team for women for many years prior to becoming the leader.
She was also part of a team that supported and raised funds to build the very first Women's home for Teen Challenge in Toowoomba.
Her journey continues with speaking engagements and pastoring Highway Church alongside her husband of 42 years.
Faith and family are two very strong core values for Anne and they have never changed.

Name: Reid Matthias

Current title: Lead Pastor

Current organisation: Good Shepherd Lutheran Community, Para Vista, South Australia

I was born in a set of triplets. My parents, teachers, unsurprisingly, were not prepared for the download of three infants into their lives. By the grace of God and the loving small town community, we were raised to express faith and life in a variety of beautiful ways. I was an athlete and musician growing up, and these two 'distractions' have continued to be very valuable over the years as I work with kids of all ages. I met my wife, Christine, on Youth Encounter, where we traveled across the eastern seaboard of the United States and then Germany and Denmark for 17 months. Christine, an Australian, has an incredible voice, and now that we've been married for almost twenty-five years, our duets keep getting better. I have three incredible, intelligent and talented daughters who have followed in their parents' footsteps in both music and athletics. I am now the Lead Pastor at a largish (for Australian standards) Lutheran Church where I work specifically with primary school age children and then adults for the rest for the week. I am a published author and have produced multiple CD's with my family.

Name: Larry Van Etten

Current title: Business Manager

Current organisation: Christian Fellowship Church of New Holland, PA

A retired business professional working in various roles for several billion dollar companies. Married, 4 children, 2 grandchildren. Have a Masters Degree in Religious Education from Liberty. Have worked in several para-church organizations as President, Chairman, or Director. Have been a Bible teacher for over 40 years.

Name: Aaron LeRoy Myers

Current title: Minister of Music

Current organisation: Covenant Baptist UCC

Entertainer. Artist. Veteran. Entrepreneur. Believer. These are just a few of the titles claimed by DC-based jazz artist Aaron Myers, whose life story is anything but typical. Originally from Goodlow, Texas, Myers found his passion for performing at an early age while playing music in the church, eventually choosing the piano as his instrument of choice. His soulful baritone voice, second-to-none stage presence and captivating personality make him one of the most exciting up-and-coming acts in jazz!
As a young man, Aaron joined the United States Army where he served for 2 years before enrolling at Navarro College where he majored in business and theater. While at Navarro, Aaron ran for Mayor of Corsicana, the town where the school was located. Despite losing a closely contested election, Myers decided then and there that politics and advocacy would continue to play a major role in his life.
After college, Aaron packed up and headed out west to Los Angeles where he got his first taste of life as a professional entertainer. While in California, he was the featured talent at the Fashion TV's 10 year Anniversary Party, made his rounds as a studio musician and served as a Music Supervisor for the film “A Song and a Prayer.” Within ministry, he was the Assistant to the Youth Pastor at West Angeles Church of God in Christ while also serving as the musician for the Youth Department - never straying too far from his gospel roots. After a life-altering accident that almost claimed his right hand, Aaron decided he needed a change. So, he joined the Obama Campaign for Change in 2008 as a Field Organizer in the battleground states of Texas and Florida, finding his love for community organizing and engagement, and slowly working his way back into playing shape. After the campaign was over, he moved to Washington D.C. where fostered his gift for advocacy and began establishing himself as a musician-to-know in the vibrant jazz scene of Chocolate City.
Upon Aaron’s arrival in our Nation’s Capital, he immediately began activating spaces for live performances around the city, ultimately serving as Resident Artist at the Black Fox Lounge for 5 years while producing over 150 shows before becoming the current Resident Artist at the storied Mr. Henry's Restaurant in Capitol Hill. He remained committed to his role as an activist as well, becoming the National Director for the now defunct Global Family Program headed by the late Linda Grover, staying active with the DC Young Democrats and by forming the DC Jazz Lobby in 2016 which focuses on music and arts policy initiatives at the federal and local levels. Mr. Myers is a stout advocate for Mental Health and LGBTQI Rights. As part of his advocacy, he chairs the Board of Directors for the Capitol Hill Jazz Foundation as well as serves as Board Secretary of Crittenton Services of Greater Washington. He sits as a member of the board of directors for CTE Vision Foundation and Covenant Full Potential Development Center. During the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, he has led the DMV Music Stakeholders cohort as they share resources, offer relief, and advocate for community needs to help strengthen and preserve Washington’s music ecosystem.
Myers has been lucky enough to have had his share of performance, festival and hosting opportunities throughout his career as a musician. He’s played numerous events in his hometown of DC including the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps, the National Legal Aid & Defender Association 100th Anniversary, Rehearsing/Directing/Performing with the 100 Voice Choir at the World AIDS Conference, performing at the Library of Congress and having the pleasure of being a repeat featured artist for the DC Jazz Festival. In 2019, Myers was invited to participate in the Folk Alliance Festival in Montreal Canada, speaking on a panel that discussed the intersection of Arts & Activism, before embarking upon a 6-week, 24 show Jazz Revolution Tour that saw him playing in 20 different cities throughout Russia - a once-in-a-lifetime experience that reinforced his belief in his craft and his ability to make his dream come true.
His credits include 3 albums: "Leo Rising", "The Lion's Den" (both included on the Grammy Voting Ballot) and the holiday album "Snowing in Vegas." He is a voting member with the Recording Academy and also the host of "Jazz Stories" on WPFW 89.3FM.
You can listen to his music on Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon, and other digital streaming services.
"It takes courage to begin, but the art is finishing."

Name: Manuel Corazzari

Current title: Pastor

Current organisation: East Chicago Church

Pastor Manuel was born in Costa Rica, and ever since he was little he had the desire to serve God. in 1996 as teen he came to USA and got involved with church ministry. He work for of the largest Mega Churches in Chicagoland Area. After his pastor, and mentor die in 2011, Pastor Manuel encountered the call to become a Pastor and to follow the steps of his mentor. In 2017 Pastor Manuel had a flat tire in front of this forsaken church building with broken windows, today this building is name after East Chicago Church, a place where Pastor Manuel and Lori his wife are the lead pastors of this church. Their Vision is to make a huge difference in the lives of the city of East Chicago by networking with other churches and creating outreach events to serve the community and introducing the lost to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Name: Julia Henseleit

Current title: Care Coordinator

Current organisation: Gateway Baptist Church City Campus

I am a Christian who is passionate about social justice and equity for all people. I want live my life with intent; working with my Public Health skills to empower people to see all of who they are and what they can be in Christ's eyes.

Name: Ron Edmondson

Current title: Brentwood Lead Pastor

Current organisation: Brentwood Baptist

Ron is a pastor, consultant, author and podcast host.

Name: Mark Soper

Current title: Team Leader Shire Salvos

Current organisation: The Salvation Army

was born into the Salvation Army and gave my life to Jesus when I was young. I developed a heart for serving some of the most marginalized people in society and seeing the local church as a key part in showing the love of Jesus and making him known to those in our community.
I fell in love with my wife Lauren when I was the youth Pastor at Hurstville salvos and have 3 amazing children Zoe, Emerson and Jude. I still love investing in young people and have been and seeing them released and given opportunity to lead and serve. I’m been blessed to be serving the local church for nearly 20 years in various forms as Youth Worker/Pastor, Assistant Church Leader, Menai Team Leader and now Shire Salvos Team leader but most of all I just love being a follower of Jesus and seeing him transform people's lives.

Name: Arnaldo Santiago, Jr

Current title: Lead Pastor

Current organisation: Anchor Church South West

Puerto Rican, born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. found himself madly in love with Katherine, a beautiful Greek-Egyptian Sydney-sider. Migrated to Australia in 2007 and has been married to Katherine for over 14 years. They have three beautiful children, Anthony, Jonathan, & Evangeline. We take our commitment to joy and silliness very seriously. After serving within several different roles over the past 6 years at Anchor Church Sydney, Arnaldo & Katherine felt a strong call to plant a new church in the South West of Sydney.

Name: Alice McInnes

Current title: Executive Pastor

Current organisation: Influencers Church

lice is married to Rob and they have two incredible children, Maya and Angus. Alice has been in ministry for over 20 years and has a strong desire to see everyone find their place in the body of Christ and be all they are called to be. She believes in the next generation and devotes alot of time to upcoming leaders.