Board Member

Julie Bullock Earp

Julie Bullock Earp is a senior generosity consultant with Generis, a team of professionals who influence churches and other faith-based organizations across the country in generosity development. She has led over 250 major giving initiatives for churches and organizations of all sizes and worship styles all across the country. Prior to joining Generis in 2009, Julie was the pastor for stewardship and generosity at Community Christian Church, a multisite church with 10 campus locations in the Chicagoland area. While on staff at Community, Julie also served as the director of development for the NewThing church planting network as a generosity and fundraising coach for churches desiring to go multisite. In addition, Julie has previously served as the director of development for Wheaton College, leading a team of advancement professionals in a $160 million capital campaign and has strong experience in gift planning and charitable estate planning. Julie, her husband Jud, and their daughter Jayma reside in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, where Jud raises beef cattle and where they are involved in their church – of which Julie sits on the board. They enjoy both the calm setting of life on the ranch as well as the bustling adventure of life on the road. They are passionate about church planting and are grateful to be aiding to advance the mission of Stadia to ensure every child has a church!

Board Member

Ben Cachiaras

Ben Cachiaras is from Minnesota, ministered in Tennessee, and has served since 1997 as Lead Pastor with Mountain Christian Church near Baltimore, Maryland.  A graduate of Minnesota Bible College (renamed Crossroads College), he has studied at Bethel Theological Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary, and graduated with the Master of Divinity degree from Emmanuel Christian Seminary where he is currently working on his Doctor of Ministry final project.  Ben has served on Boards for Emmanuel Christian Seminary, Milligan College, Standard Publishing as well Contributing Editor with Christian Standard and President of the North American Christian Convention. He is the co-founder of MOVE Northeast, a church planting network.

With its beginnings in 1824, the story of the Mountain Church is remarkable. The Northeast is a vital mission field with a high concentration of unchurched people, and God is using Mountain to make a regional and global impact. With a mission to make disciples who love God, love people, and serve the world, Mountain is known for its impact in the local community and as a multi-ethnic, multi-site church of over 6000 that gathers in four locations. One campus is also a community center with a focus on changing the trajectory of under-resourced children.

Ben and his wife Karla, have three awesome children, Nathan, Andrew, and Ellie. He has an irrational devotion to his Minnesota Vikings, bats around a lot of tennis balls, gets a kick out of skiing on water and snow, and remembers when he did more rock climbing. Most of all, he loves his family, has a passion for preaching and leadership, and wants to build Jesus-shaped communities that draw people to the love of God.

Board Member

Mindy Caliguire

Mindy Caliguire is the founder of Soul Care, a spiritual formation ministry that exists to increase “soul health” in the body of Christ. She works with organizations such as Compassion International, Stadia Church Planting, Leadership Network, Denver Seminary, The Accord Network, Ascent Community Church, and others. She currently serves on the executive leadership team at Gloo. Her books include STIR: Spiritual Transformation in Relationships, Become Like Jesus, Discovering Soul Care, Spiritual Friendship, Soul Searching, and Simplicity, as well as Write for Your Soul: The Whys and Hows of Journaling.

President

Greg Nettle

Devoted to a God-given passion for The Church and its responsibility to plant new churches – churches specifically designed to reach out to children at physical and spiritual risk – Greg Nettle serves as President of Stadia Church Planting. As a visionary and catalytic leader, Greg has led Stadia from planting a handful of churches to planting more than 350 churches around the globe in 2020. Under his leadership, Stadia has developed strategic partnerships with like-minded organizations such as Compassion International and has refined its portfolio of unique and highly effective church planting services, positioning the organization for continued exponential growth.

Prior to his time at Stadia, Greg served as leader of the RiverTree Movement in Ohio for 25 years. His sense of adventure has taken him around the world as he has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Cotopaxi and Whitney (among others) to raise funds to bless children on the margins of society.

Greg’s most important partner in life is his wife, Julie, as they lead their children, Tabitha and Elijah, to fall deeply in love with Jesus. He is an author, speaker and consultant as an agent of change in the global church and has co-authored three books: Small Matters, in collaboration with Compassion International President Jimmy Mellado, One Of and Disciples Who Make Disciples.

Board Member

Steve Porter

Steve Porter has been married for 36 years to Pam. They have three married children and five grandchildren. He has a BS in Business Administration from Youngstown State University with degrees in Accounting and Business Management. He started his career at Central Coated Products, Inc. in Alliance Ohio in August 1982 and currently he is a Board Member, Vice President, and Treasurer. He owns the business with a business partner, his wife, and his two sons. Steve currently serves as Board President for Christian Children’s Home of Ohio and has been on the board since 2000. Steve is an avid golfer, fisherman and enjoys anything that involves his family.

Board Member

Albert Tate

Albert Tate is the founder and lead pastor of Fellowship Monrovia. From Sweet Home Church of Christ Holiness USA in Pearl, Mississippi to Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, California, Albert Tate has been preaching the Gospel to people of all ages and races. Hearing the call from God, Albert and his wife LaRosa planted Fellowship Monrovia a Gospel-Centered, Multi-Ethnic and Intergenerational church in January 2012. Albert is married to the love of his life LaRosa Tate who he calls God’s gift of amazing grace in his life. Together they have four beautiful children, Zoe, Bethany, Isaac, and Micah. Albert serves on the Board of Trustees at Azusa Pacific University & Fuller Youth Institute. He was recently published in Letters to a Birmingham Jail: A Response to the Words and Dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

President

Greg Nettle

Devoted to a God-given passion for The Church and its responsibility to plant new churches – churches specifically designed to reach out to children at physical and spiritual risk – Greg Nettle serves as President of Stadia Church Planting. As a visionary and catalytic leader, Greg has led Stadia from planting a handful of churches to planting more than 350 churches around the globe in 2020. Under his leadership, Stadia has developed strategic partnerships with like-minded organizations such as Compassion International and has refined its portfolio of unique and highly effective church planting services, positioning the organization for continued exponential growth.

Prior to his time at Stadia, Greg served as leader of the RiverTree Movement in Ohio for 25 years. His sense of adventure has taken him around the world as he has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Cotopaxi and Whitney (among others) to raise funds to bless children on the margins of society.

Greg’s most important partner in life is his wife, Julie, as they lead their children, Tabitha and Elijah, to fall deeply in love with Jesus. He is an author, speaker and consultant as an agent of change in the global church and has co-authored three books: Small Matters, in collaboration with Compassion International President Jimmy Mellado, One Of and Disciples Who Make Disciples.

VP of U.S. Church Planting

Jeff Bennett

Jeff’s role is focused on increasing Stadia’s capacity to make a greater impact in U.S. church planting. He has partnered in planting churches in Georgia, across the U.S. and globally. Jeff lives in the Atlanta area with his wife, Lisa, and two daughters, Madison and Macy.

VP of Global Church Planting

Brent Foulke

Brent mobilizes people and groups to resource the Stadia mission. His church planting adventure began in 1991 when he and his wife Kay were called to plant in Albany, NY. Determined to help start a movement, Brent and the young Albany congregation, known as Christ’s Church, engaged with others to plant in Nashua, NH a few years later, then in Poughkeepsie, NY, Binghamton, NY and by the end of a decade as far away as Gaithersburg, MD where 22 disciples moved on mission. After coaching dozens of church planters sponsored by churches, foundations and church planting agencies, Brent left the staff of Christ’s Church to work full time facilitating new churches throughout the U.S. He served three years as Executive Director of the Exponential Conference before joining Stadia as an executive and working in a variety of ways to advance the Stadia mission. Brent and Kay continue to call Upstate NY home where they live near their daughters Keenan and Kyrin (Dom, Zinnia), garden together, and travel to visit their children and grandchildren in Colorado (Ben, Katie, Zachary, Liam, Annalyn) and St. Louis (Brendon, Amanda, Morgan, Grahm, Jack).

VP of Culture and Team Development

Janie Mehaffey

Champion of People. Advocate for Clarity. Celebrator of God’s work through church planting & caring for children. With over 30 years of experience, Janie serves the Stadia team to create a relationship-focused, high impact culture that moves us all toward a world where Every Child Has a Church. Janie has served as Communications Director of Traders Point Christian Church in Indianapolis and as a Communications Strategist with Fishhook, an innovative creative services company that consults with churches of all sizes across the country. She has worked with church planting teams in Manchester, CT, and Miami, FL, and a wide-spectrum of non-profit organizations, including Exponential Network, the American Diabetes Association and Kappa Delta Sorority. She and her husband, Matt, live in Pittsburgh, PA, with their two sons, who are originally from Taiwan.

VP of Advancement

Justin Moxley

Justin has served for years as a strategist, consultants and coach for churches, non-for-profits and businesses.  His experience in serving in a mega church and leading a new church are what brought him to his role as Vice President of Advancement for Stadia.  He is on the teaching team of his local church, has served as an adjunct professor and has served on the board of a number of non-for-profits.  He has been married to his wife Tiffany for over 25 years, has a son Zane, daughter-in-law Taylor, daughter Savannah and son-in-law Jacob. He loves the beach, Kansas City BBQ, and watching his kids play college soccer.

VP of Operations

Matt Murphy

Matt lives in North Beach, MD and is married to Becky Murphy with two kids, Ariella & Rex, and one dog: Ravenclaw. Matt has been a part of four church plants in the DC/Baltimore metro area. Matt was previously the Executive Pastor for Revolution Church in Annapolis, MD, and before that, was the Project Manager for the Siemens Center for Applied Medical Imaging MRI R&D group at Johns Hopkins University.

VP of Church Planting Strategy

Craig Whitney

Craig is a strategist, leader, teacher, and coach. Having started a church himself, he is passionate about multiplying churches. He lives in Sacramento, California with the cutest girl in his 4th Grade Sunday School class who he has now been married to for over 35 years. When he is not reading, writing or talking about ideas for multiplication, he likes to spend time roasting and drinking coffee, cycling in the Sierra Foothills, and cheering on his favorite Formula 1 driver.

Catalyst for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Yucan Chiu

Born in Chicago to parents of Chinese descent, Yucan came to understand and experience Jesus in his teenage years while in California. His first experiences in planting new faith communities informally began in his teenage years, growing into more “formal” planting in his early twenties; his latest church plant is in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Yucan is also the founding director of the Ethnos Network, a decentralized, global church planting network that catalyzes multiethnic church plants in urban spaces around universities (http://ethnos.network). Additionally, Yucan serves as a chaplain at Rutgers University for graduate students and faculty (through the ministry of Intervarsity), and a church plant trainer for City to City, New York region. He holds bachelor degrees in sociology and biology (University of California, San Diego), and graduate degrees in theology, urban Studies, and missiology (M.Div, Talbot School of Theology, D.Min. Bakke Graduate University).  He has been married for twenty years to Dr. Yen-Yen Chiu, and has two wonderful teenage daughters. In his free time, Yucan enjoys photography, food tours, running, art museums, and extended family.

Director of Marketing

Josie Barton

Advancement Administrative Assistant

Katelynn Batts

Katelynn and her husband Travis live in Raleigh, NC and passionately serve in the youth ministry of their local church plant, Lifepointe, for the past 3 years. Katelynn has been a part of the Stadia team for the last 18 months and is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a focus in Communications at Liberty University. Before serving with Stadia, Katelynn worked as a Lead Teller at Wells Fargo for 3 years and as a communications and next steps intern at Lifepointe church. In her free time, Katelynn loves to read, play board games with her small group, visit her family in Wilmington, NC, and rock climb with her husband.

Bloom Specialist

Lisa Bennett

Story lover who grew up a Preacher’s Kid. Fell in love with and married my college crush, then set off for the following 8 years of ministry.  Enter Church Planting, which led me to this current spot on the timeline – another 17 years down the road with lots more stories to tell.  PanCan survivor who fully understands the weight of that statement.  Partner with my husband, Jeff, on the Bennett Front of Global Engagement (i.e. Life and all it demands), overseeing the on-line ed of our youngest, Hosting the Stadia Bloom: Plant Strong Podcast, and treasuring the fact that my favorite people ever, Madi and Macy, call me mom.

Project Manager

Dawn Betts

Collaboration Catalyst

Nick Boring

Planter Development Team Executive Assistant

Julie Botset

Julie has 8 years of ministry experience with her local church in Midlothian, Virginia including children’s ministry leadership, director of operations, and director of adult ministry. She and her husband, Mark have four children, Tyler, Erin, Kristen, and Kaylee. Julie also has 20 years of leadership in foodservice/hospitality industry, including operations management, human resources, leadership development, and communication.

U.S. Regional Director Assistant (Northeast/Central)

Alex Brown

Alex and her husband, Seth, currently live in Castle Rock, CO with their dog, Huck. She has been with Stadia since February 2020 helping to serve church planters in the Northeast. Before joining Stadia Alex was an Early Childhood Pastor at a church in the Philadelphia suburbs. Before that, she worked as a Female Discipleship Pastor at a church in Missouri. Giving her life to Jesus at 18 and now having served in pastoral roles for both children and youth ministries, Alex knows the urgency and importance in created churches for every child. In her free time, she loves to paint, be with friends, and travel with her husband as they try to visit every MLB stadium.

Project Bookkeeper

Karen Brown

Karen and her family moved to Boston in 2005 to help plant REUNION Christian Church, where she led the Family Ministry and served as the bookkeeper. Previously, Karen served on staff as a Children’s Ministry Director at Community Christian Church in the Chicagoland area. Loving and encouraging families through the church or local community makes her heart beat fast. Her passions lie in caring for children from hard places as both a foster parent, and as co-founder of The Foster Box, a non-profit equipping foster families. Karen lives in the Boston metro area with her husband Mike and their three kids: Aiden, Miles & Owen and is grateful for the ever-growing number of children who call her mom through foster care.

Regional Catalyst

Ricky Brown

Ricky is a pastor at New Creation Church, a growing, multi-ethnic, intergenerational church in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago that he planted in September of 2018. He brings 17 years of pastoral experience in addition to his work in church planting. Ricky is married to Amber, who is the co-founder of New Creation Church and is equally dynamic. Ricky has a huge heart for international missions and has preached the Gospel in Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Honduras, Jordan, Turkey, Dominican Republic, Ghana, and in prisons and churches throughout the United States

In addition to Ricky’s ministry and church planting credentials, he is also an accomplished pilot who enjoys flying in his spare time. He is a veteran of the US Air Force and received commendation for service to our country during Operation Northern Watch and Operation Enduring Freedom as a Senior Airman.

Southwest Regional Director

Nate Bush

Accounting Specialist

Mapi Byler

Mapi was born and raised in Lima, Peru.  At age 23, she moved to Akron, Ohio to pursue her MBA at the University of Akron, where she met her now husband, Chris.  Together they have 3 girls, Alexa (12), Camila (10) and Ellie Rose (8).   Chris was who introduced Mapi to Christ.  Ever since then, Mapi has pursued knowing more about Jesus, his unending love and grace.

After she finished her MBA, Mapi worked for a company that specialized in fundraising, managing the overall direction of specific nonprofit organization’s accounts.  After the birth of her third child, she became a stay home mom and a health and wellness coach.  Mapi felt a call to seek the Lord in 2016 and she was introduced to a youth center in the area of Kenmore, called First Glance, whose mission is to connect students to Christ and the church through real, loving and non-threatening avenues.  She became a regular volunteer at First Glance and learned it is our job to love people and the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, the importance of making disciples, saturate the city with the word of God and be obedient to the next step while surrendering it all to Jesus.  In connecting with students, Mapi realized she has a fire inside to serve God while growing His kingdom on earth.  In response to God’s calling, in 2020 Mapi and her family moved from the suburbs (Uniontown) to the city of Kenmore and started homeschooling her kids, while working with Stadia and continued volunteering at First Glance.

Mapi’s heart beats for sharing Jesus with anyone that she comes in contact with and love people like Jesus would.  Her favorite part of the day, is the time she spends with Jesus, whether it is seating on her favorite chair at home with a hot cup of coffee and His word on her hands, or worshipping Jesus while she drives through the city.   Prayer and worship have become her favorite things.  And Jesus is her favorite to be with!

Director of Bookkeeping Operations

Alyssa Candelaria

Central Regional Director

Jim Candy

Jim is focused on helping churches across the central US multiply by planting new churches both domestically and globally. Jim has pastored in multiple large churches in the western US and most recently planted Ascent Community Church in Louisville, Colo. Jim is the co-author of the “Can I Ask That?” book series with the Fuller Youth Institute and is the former public address announcer for the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball. Jim loves fly fishing, backpacking and lives in Colorado with his wife, Karin, and boys, Josh and Micah.

Project Bookkeeper

Wendy Carpenter

Wendy Carpenter is a life-long resident of Independence and Blue Springs, MO. She is married to Kevin, with 2 children, Cady 20 and Logan 18. She is a bookkeeper and administrative assistant by trade, but a volunteer by choice. She has enjoyed being a Girl Scout leader for the last 13 years as well as a member of Blue Springs Christian Church for 17 years. As a current member of Revive Church in Northwest Independence, she has volunteered in many capacities including worship leading, women’s ministries, missions and she is currently serving as the Worship Director. She has a heart for women and runs a clothing closet at Hope House, a domestic violence emergency shelter. She is an avid student of the Bible and her passion lies in loving people to Jesus and discipleship.

Director of New Church Growth

Tim Celek

Tim lives in Costa Mesa, CA with his wife of 40+ years, Sue. In 1988, Tim planted The Crossing Church, and over 30 years had the opportunity to see the Crossing grow, reflect, and impact the coastal community of Orange County. On the church’s 30th birthday, Tim intentionally handed off leadership of The Crossing Church. During Tim’s tenure, The Crossing Church resourced 5 new churches, which makes Tim’s role of Senior Director of New Church Growth with Stadia the perfect fit for this Harley-loving church planter. Tim also enjoys sail boat racing, and when he isn’t on boats or motorcycles, he loves to spend time biking and building Legos with grandsons (and their moms, who happen to be Tim’s daughters!)

Project Manager

Sam Chacko

Sam Chacko serves as the Lead Pastor at LOFT City Church in Richardson, TX.  He helped plant the church in 2011 and has seen the church become a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural church community.  Sam is a second-generation Indian American and a third-generation pastor. He’s also been a bi-vocational church planter, having served 15 years on staff at Marketplace Ministries.  Church planting is something near and dear for Sam and his family. He has a heart to see more minority-led multi-ethnic church plants and to see bi-vocational pastors flourish in ministry.

He serves on the board of the Ethnos Network (a decentralized, global church planting network that catalyzes multiethnic church plants in urban spaces around universities), Advance Initiative (a ministry that exists to see a movement of gospel-centered, multiethnic churches planted by or among Indian Americans) and Threaded (a ministry committed to inspiring relationships, reconciliation, and collaborative action among the diverse body of Christ).

Sam has been married to Ann since 2003, and God has blessed them with three incredible children – Nicole, Timothy, & Micah.  In his free time, he enjoys reading, traveling and enjoying all sports connected to Philadelphia (Eagles, Sixers, Phillies).  Yes, he is an Eagles fan in Cowboys territory!

Discovery Manager

Joshua Chavez

Joshua Chavez serves as the Lead Pastor of Revive Church, a rapidly growing mutli-ethnic, multi-generational, multi–site church in Los Angeles, CA. In addition to leading this church community, Joshua has also served as a traveling Worship Leader and has led worship nationwide with organizations such as Promise Keepers, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Urban Youth Workers Institute, Maranatha Music and others.

Joshua is passionate about serving the local church. He is dedicated to partnering with local churches, church planters and church planting teams to strengthen and train them in creating healthy Gospel-Centered, Community Engaging, Kingdom Advancing Churches and Ministries.

Joshua his wife Noemi and two boys live in Long Beach, CA. They are passionate Jesus freaks and live on mission to make Jesus more famous everywhere they go.

Project Management Team Administrator

Zack Clark

Zack experienced a church plant for the first time during college, and immediately knew it was something he wanted to be a part of. After graduating, he and his wife Abbie moved to Cleveland, OH (yes, on purpose) to be a part of Velocity Church, a multi-site 12-year-old church plant. While he was there, Zack gained experience in leading each area of a church plant. In his free time, Zack loves to watch soccer, drink good coffee, play video games, and spend time with his wife and 2 kids, Amelia and Josiah. The Clark family now resides outside of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Culture and Team Development Manager

Amber Craft

Amber originally hails from sunny Sarasota, Florida but found her home in Kissimmee, Florida after graduating from Johnson University Florida with a B.A. in Humanities and Biblical Studies in 2017. Amber is married to her best friend and college sweetheart, with whom she shares a love of the arts, binge watching Netflix originals, collecting postcards, and experimenting in the kitchen with plant-based foods.

Southeast Regional Director

Crockett Davidson

Crockett, and his wife Natalie, have been in ministry over 18 years and they have been primarily focused in the Southeast region. While in college they served in churches in Virginia and Kentucky and after graduation they were full-time in Ohio and Atlanta. Crockett has always been burdened for churches to ” do whatever it takes” to introduce people to Jesus Christ. This led him and his family to move to Hickory, North Carolina and start Vintage City Church. Crockett has served on the boards of different church planting networks, coached multiple planters and is obsessed with helping the church live on mission. Crockett and Natalie have three amazing kids who are sold out to church planting. Crockett’s role at Stadia is to build relationships with churches and planters in the Southeast region and help Stadia plant more churches that intentionally care for children in the U.S and around the world.

Project Bookkeeper

Frances Davis

Frances lives int he small town, Sparta, TN. She is the wife of a farmer and the mother to 3 beautiful children. She graduated from Tennessee Tech with a degree in Finance. She is happy to work in a field where she can use her education to help reach people for Jesus. Frances and her husband are actively involved in their church, serving on the Board of Directors among other service opportunities. Frances has been a bookkeeper for nearly a decade. When she’s not doing bookkeeping, she enjoys spending time with her family and reading.

US Regional Director Assistant (Southeast)

Heather Dolhi

Heather married Kevin in 2008. They have two kids, Caitlin and Jacob. They live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA and love being outdoors. Heather started her career in the commercial construction industry, migrated to project management, finance, and administration and made the jump to full time ministry in the local church in 2014.

Heather is passionate about Jesus and how the local church can be an effective resource in leading people to Jesus. She is passionate about the mission of Stadia to plant churches so every child has a church home.

Project Manager

Emily Diaz

Senior Director of Project Development

Doug Foltz

Operations Manager

Bryce Foulke

Bryce and Missy have been married for more than 30 years. They have a daughter Alyssa, married to Alex and they have a son Brad, married to Katie. Alex and Alyssa have a son, Jeremiah – Bryce’s first grandchild. Missy is a Clinical Documentation Specialist/RN, and Bryce also has a Master’s in Marriage and Family Counseling. You can find Bryce running with his Run Club while you can find Missy entertaining Jeremiah. Bear, the family canine, also takes us for walks.

Project Bookkeeper

Becky Groves

Growing up a preacher’s kid, Becky has a deep understanding of both the blessings and challenges of serving the church, and seeks to find ways to offer support to those who are called into that ministry. With a degree in accounting and a love for organization, that support has usually taken the form of administrative and financial roles within the church, but she also enjoys teaching Middle School girls each week. She and her husband Shaun are currently living in the Nashville area, raising four amazing kids, and serving God through the church and Compassion International.

Global Resource Assistant

Emma Haeusel

Emma joined the Stadia staff in April 2019 as the Global Resource Assistant. She was introduced to church planting at a young age, as she planted churches with her family growing up. Prior to working at Stadia, she worked as an executive and research assistant at her home church, Cross & Crown. Emma recently moved to Chattanooga, TN from Seattle, WA and is loving the Southeast!

Director of Global Development

Andrea Hamilton

Partner Catalyst

Don Hamilton

In 2020, Don retired from a thirty-eight-year pastoral ministry at Vibrant Church in Mechanicsburg, PA. He is the father of four beautiful, adult daughters who love Jesus and four grandchildren who brighten his life. Don was married to a beautiful, graceful, smart, hard-working woman named Gail for thirty-eight years until she unfortunately went to be with the Lord in October of 2018.

Marketing Coordinator

Lauren Hart

Before joining Stadia, Lauren spent several years as the Student Ministries Creative Director at Flatirons Church in Colorado. Her years in Student Ministry make her really fun at dance parties and slightly addicted to candy. Last year, Lauren got married and moved to Kansas City with her new man. The two have been enjoying BBQ, remodeling a home, and building new friendships. Lauren likes art, traveling, making tacos, and eating tacos. Lauren is thrilled to join the Stadia Family in starting new churches for the next generation!

Project Bookkeeper

Tashea Hartpence

Tashea’s heart beats for family. But that heartbeat isn’t limited to her husband and three incredible kids. It extends out to her global family, the church. For most of her life, Tashea has been serving and loving God’s family in any way possible. She attended Ozark Christian College where she met her husband. Over the years, as a pastor’s wife, she has served in many capacities: running children’s ministries, directing a preschool, leading women’s groups, and serving on multiple mission trips to Africa. Her family currently serves at Northwest Hills Christian Church in San Antonio, TX. Tashea is excited to be a part of the team at Stadia, and use her experience in ministry, bookkeeping, and her keen eye for detail to help the church grow God’s Kingdom.

Project Manager

Mo Hofman

Mo Hofman has over 15 years’ experience in organizational planning, team development, and maximizing project goals, with  6+ years specifically in church planting, multisite, and church logistics. She loves the church and enjoys the behind the scenes work in sharing the gospel.  In her spare time you will find her walking her dog Shadow, crocheting blankets, working out with friends, and on the field cheering for her kids at their sport events.  Mo and Aaron have been married since 2001 and have two teenagers Maddie and Austin.

Senior Project Bookkeeper

Daulton Hopkins

Daulton was raised in Tucson, AZ and graduated from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona with a degree in finance and economics. Shortly after graduating, he took a risk and moved up to Las Vegas, Nevada where he took a creative arts/administration internship at Verve Church. Daulton will be continuing in the ministry field by utilizing his technical skills and assisting Stadia as a Senior Project Bookkeeper.

Planter Development Team Administrator

Sara Jackaway

Multiethnic Assessment Developer

Cedric Johnson

Born in New York City, Cedric is passionate about urban and multiethnic church planting. He is the founder of Kinetic Church, a growing multiethnic multimodal faith community in Brooklyn, NY. Before joining Stadia, Cedric served as the Assistant Director of Training for City to City, New York region, where he developed curriculum, diversified content, trained trainers, and served as a resource for church planters who are co-vocational or serve multiethnic and marginalized communities. He is a published author and former Associate Professor at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC. He holds an M.Div. and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary and has close to twenty years of urban ministry experience. Cedric and his wife, Veronica, live in downtown Brooklyn. He enjoys tennis, playing the drums and science fiction movies.

Special Assistant to the President

Debbie Jones

Debbie founded Stadia’s Bloom, which empowers women to maximize their role in starting churches. Church planting has always been a part of the DNA of the Jones family. She and her husband, Tom planted two churches and have 30+ years of ministry experience. Debbie serves as an advocate for women, encouraging and developing them as leaders within their homes, churches, careers, communities, and all spheres of influence. She has trained and coached children and women’s ministry leaders in dozens of churches and denominational organizations across the country. Before joining Stadia, Debbie served as Children’s Minister at Southbrook Christian Church (Miamisburg, OH), First Christian Church (Johnson City, TN), and at the church the Joneses planted in Princeton, NJ, where she was also ordained in 1992. Debbie designed and led the Spouse’s Track for Exponential Network and speaks regularly at their conferences. Debbie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Milligan College. In 2017, Milligan honored Debbie and Tom with the College’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Although the Joneses are avid tennis and pickle ball players, their greatest joy is found in spending time with their family:

● Daughter, Melanie, and her husband, Jade, are both attorneys in Washington, DC. They have two daughters, Cora and Celia.

● Son, Tom, a banker, and his wife, Stephanie, a physical therapist, are both Milligan alumni and live in Chicago, IL, with their daughter, Emilia.

Special Assistant to the President

Tom Jones

Driven by his passion for the local church and people to know Christ, and decades of experience in the world of church planting, Tom has been a part of the Stadia team since 2003. Having planted churches with his wife, Debbie Jones, in Centerville, OH and Princeton, NJ, Tom is a visionary leader who understands the mission of Stadia in a unique way. Outside of his Stadia role, Tom served as a tenured professor at Emmanuel School of Religion for 11 years and was the Russell F. and Marian Blowers Professor of Christian Ministries. He was the President of the National New Church Conference and is currently on the Board for the Exponential Conference. Tom edited and was primary author for the book Church Planting from the Ground Up. Tom received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Milligan College in 1977, his Masters of Divinity Degree from Emmanuel School of Religion in 1982, and his Doctor of Ministry Degree from United Theological Seminary in 1992. In 2017, Milligan honored Tom and Debbie with the College’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Although the Joneses are avid tennis and pickleball players, their greatest joy is found in spending time with their family:

• Daughter, Melanie, and her husband, Jade, are both attorneys in Washington, DC. They have two daughters, Cora and Celia. Son, Tom, a banker, and his wife, Stephanie, a physical therapist, are both Milligan alumni and live in Chicago, IL, with their daughter, Emilia.

Project Bookkeeper

Melanie Kennedy

Melanie recently moved to Havre de Grace, MD from Louisville, KY.  She and her husband, Rob, recently became empty nesters.  Their daughter Tiffany, is a computer engineer living in Carmel, IN and their son, James, is a senior at Belmont in Nashville studying publishing.  Melanie was born and raised in Illinois.  Before joining Stadia, she worked at Northside Christian Church in New Albany, IN for 11 years holding several positions including Assistant to Senior Pastor, Assistant to Executive Pastor, HR Assistant and finally Church Accountant.  She worked for 3 years as Church Accountant at Asbury United Methodist Church in Madison, AL.  She was a stay at home Mom for 5 years which is still her favorite job.  Melanie holds a BS degree in Accounting so mixing that with her love for the local church is such a blessing.  One of her favorite things to do is hiking and walking with her 3 favorite people.  She absolutely loves to study the Bible and loves being around people and probably asks way too many questions.  If it’s a Friday, you may see her enjoying a “Friday Coffee” at a local coffee shop.  A tradition she started when her kids were in middle school!

Senior Project Bookkeeper

Belinda Knight

Belinda Knight comes to the Stadia team with over 15 years bookkeeping experience. After employment at a Fortune 500 company for 9 years, Belinda started providing freelance bookkeeping and project management services which allowed time flexibility for her to support her husband’s church planting efforts in Morgantown, WV and then again in Olympia, WA. With her primary church planting role historically focusing on children’s ministry, Belinda is excited to be a part of the Stadia team who shares her passion for reaching kids with the good news of Jesus!

Senior Director of Strategic Services

David Limiero

David made an adult commitment to follow Jesus at the age of 17 when a new church started meeting in his local Colorado high school. He later served as an intern in that new church before moving to Tennessee for graduate studies. While a student, David was a staff member at a new church in Charlotte, North Carolina. He and his wife Jan later moved to the Chicago area, where David served on the board of the local church-planting organization for many years. David and his wife Jan planted their first church with Stadia in 2003 in Bakersfield, California, and also served as a local network catalyst, helping launch two additional new churches in his community. David joined the Stadia staff in 2007, serving in a variety of roles, including director of Stadia’s Western Region. In his current role as Senior Director of Strategic Services, David leads the team that leverages platforms and processes to free up resources for mission. David and Jan live in the Appalachian Highlands region in eastern Tennessee and have three grown children.

Assistant to the VP of Church Planting

Becky Little

Project Bookkeeper

Kelly McNamara

Kelly’s role is to come alongside church planters and support them with encouragement, as well as provide accounting/financial services. Her heart is to serve and connect women, which she does by leading a women’s small group and by coordinating women’s events at her home church, RiverTree-Lake, in Uniontown, Ohio. Kelly and her husband John have been married since 2000, and love raising their blended family of 4 children – elementary aged through adult.

Planter Development Team Administrator

Becky Murphy

Project Bookkeeper

Kaitlyn Nelson

Kaitlyn is a native of Lake Wales, Florida. She grew up in the ministry of Christian Camping at Lake Aurora Christian Camp. She has extensive experience in faith-based non-profits in the finance, marketing, and donor relations sectors. She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing from the University of Florida and a Master’s in Business Administration from Florida Southern College. She currently lives in Lake Wales with her husband, Aaron, and their son, Rhett. She loves all things outdoors, running, traveling, great food, and being with family and friends.

Learning and Engagement Coordinator

Rachel Oberholzer

Rachel has been with Stadia since September 2018. Rachel currently lives in an unknown location, as she is  traveling and working from the road in her camper van. She was first introduced to church planting as a kid, when she was part of a church plant in PA. She has since had experience interning at various churches and working with children in camp and school settings.

Culture and Team Development Manager

Marco Osornio

Marco and his wife Jenny moved their life from Mexico to Northern Virginia in 2018, where they started from scratch building a new life and their own history with their beautiful daughter Kara.
They have been serving and attending New Life Christian Church in Chantilly Virginia, where he is part of the worship team playing drums and she is involved in the kids ministry.

Marco spends his time running a specialty coffee shop just outside of Washington DC, he is passionate about coffee with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Before they moved to the US, he worked as a process developer and HR assistant for the state government.

In 2020 he joined the Passion 4 Planting residency. He has a vision to plant a coffee roaster and disciple-making space, putting his two greatest passions together.

Advancement Data Specialist

Laura Pedroni

Laura served her community as a former high school German teacher for 12 years before joining Stadia’s Advancement Team. Her and her husband, Guillermo, reside in Bolingbrook, Illinois, and have two children, Karmina and Gabriel. With this being her first experience in church planting, she feels so blessed to have been given the opportunity to advance God’s Kingdom through her work with Stadia. When Laura and her family are not visiting relatives, they enjoy traveling to various destinations throughout the United States. 

Phygital Catalyst

Tom Pounder

Tom Pounder was born and raised just outside of Washington, DC. He is the father of 4 daughters and loves being a girl dad. He has a background in Student Ministry working over 22 years with teenagers and currently serves as the Online Campus Pastor at New Life Christian Church in Chantilly, VA. He blogs and podcasts weekly at http://thechurch.digital.

Director of Digital Church Planting

Jeff Reed

In June 2000, Jeff led his first Online Bible Study, taking 75 people around the planet through the book of James using a text-based system called Ultimate BB. Since then, Jeff has focused his energy serving the church in the digital/technological realm by working on church staffs, as well as running businesses that resource or complement the Church. Ultimately, his passion is to help churches expand their ministry by utilizing digital platforms, further embracing the idea of Phygital Church and Digital-Only, Location-Independent expressions of Church to reach people for Christ and to bring people who are far from God closer to Him.

In April 2018, Jeff founded THECHURCH.DIGITAL with a calling to help churches better understand the strengths of digital, especially in disciple-making environments. In January 2020 Jeff took a position with Stadia Church Planting as their Director of Digital Church Planting.

Jeff married his high-school sweetheart, Amy, and have two kids, and a dog, They live in Miami, Florida.

Advancement Director

Sergio Rizo

Sergio is passionate about being a follower of Jesus. A freshman in college when he came to faith, he knows well the impact of being a child without a church. Since meeting Jesus in 1999, he has served in ministry contexts that include the church in rural Kansas, an orphanage in Mexico City, Mexico, church planting in Nashville, and his alma mater Ozark Christian College in Joplin, MO. Additionally, he spent 10 years in different health care and business settings, during which he earned an MBA from Lipscomb University. Sergio is most surprised by God’s grace given to him through his wife, Jackie, and their four children: Josiah, Lydia, Eliah, and Clara. He is excited to help resource the mission of Stadia and see to it that others have the blessing of experiencing the church, and what he is most grateful for in Jesus — a family.

Content Marketing Coordinator

Alex Robinson

Alex is passionate about helping people engage with God by creating experiences and environments which challenge them to see Jesus in a fresh way. You’ve heard of the most interesting man in the world, but Alex describes himself as the most boring man in the world (1 Thess. 4:11-12). He likes spending time with his family, watching documentaries, movies, and the latest Netflix Originals, reading theological books, and is curious about the art and science of coffee and beer brewing.

Northeast Regional Director

Toney Salva

Toney is a veteran in the church planting world having served in pastoral ministry for more than 28 years. 20 of those years were spent planting and leading new churches in the Northeast – in both Massachusetts and Pennsylvania – and serving on the board of directors of three different church planting organizations. Toney has been with Stadia since 2016. He and his wife Stacie have been married for 28 years and together they have two great kids. Their son Tanner has a degree in theology, and along with his wife Delaney, serve as church planters with Mustard Seed Network in Tokyo, Japan. Their daughter Haley is currently a student at Ozark Christian College where she is studying theology. Toney’s role with Stadia is to build relationships in the Upper-Midwest and Northeast region of the United States to further Stadia’s mission to plant multiplying churches that intentionally care for children. 

Operations Team Assistant

Kristin Scates

Kristin and her husband Drew live in De Soto, KS. They recently moved to the Kansas City area to serve at Restore Community Church where her husband works as the Creative Arts Director at their Shawnee Campus. Kristin enjoys serving alongside her husband on the Creative Arts team by playing piano and singing. Kristin recently started with Stadia in September but before joining the Stadia team, Kristin held various roles at Calvary Christian Church in Bellevue, NE over the past 7 years from Weekend Service Coordinator, to Communications Assistant, to an Administrative Assistant for two Executive Level Staff. Kristin’s first experience with church planting was when her family helped launch a church in Fishhawk, FL that became the church she grew up in!

Chief of Staff to the Office to the President

Angela Smith

Angela is an entrepreneurial business leader with a breadth of experience in areas of product development, sales, operations, marketing, and administration in Fortune 500, small business, and startup environments.  She is passionate about the intersection of business and social impact and feels blessed to have the opportunity to use her experience and talents as part of the Stadia team to help every child have a church.  Angela and her husband Michael live in the hill country outside of Austin Texas with their four children where they actively worship and serve in the local church and catalyze Christian community.

Director of Bookkeeping Advancement

Ashley Stegeman

After teaching for several years and being heavily involved in her local church, Ashley’s heart for ministry has continued to grow. Ashley serves locally in her community and her and her husband have traveled globally to serve in Poland and Haiti. Ashley understands the importance of the church in a child’s life. If she is not at church, she’s hanging out with girlfriends or with her husband and three boys in Cincinnati, OH.

Project Bookkeeper

Kris Stevens

Kris lives just outside of Kansas City in Grain Valley, MO. She is married to Brian, with whom she has two awesome kids, Kellen and Olivia. The family also has a dog, Morgan, and a guinea pig, Katie.  She loves supporting the planters she works with!

Project and Events Coordinator

Ashley Stewart

Ashley has been with Stadia since January 2019 and has the opportunity to work with several teams throughout Stadia on a day to day basis. Before working at Stadia, Ashley worked at a local church plant as the Executive Director leading ministry leaders, running the Sunday program, and anything else that was needed of her. Ashley & her husband Chris live in Davidsonville, MD (about 20 minutes outside of Annapolis) with their dog Opie and cat Albus. 

Director of Bloom

Heidy Tandy

Project Bookkeeper

Layna Tapia

Layna and her husband, Jair served on the launch team at Engage Church in Memphis, TN in 2014 and have been volunteering ever since. They love their pup, Simba even more than they love Marvel movies. Before coming to Stadia, Layna worked as the Director of Student Recruitment at Mid-South Christian College.

Advancement Director

John Wasem

John has been engaged in the starting of new churches since 1983 as a strategist, coach, professor, and concept pioneer. He has filled a variety of roles with Stadia since 2004. John is approaching 50 years of ordained ministry having led churches in 5 locations – one of which he planted in 1994. He and his wife, Leslie, live in Fort Myers FL and have 3 married children and 6 grandchildren.