Community Christian Church

Amy has a warm heart and a passion for welcoming and connecting new attendees into small groups, core courses, and various ministries. She loves meeting new people, hearing people's stories, and watching God's amazing love transform people's lives and heal the broken-hearted.

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Angie loves connecting with the youngest Christ-followers and equipping families to raise them. When not doing these things, she can be found playing in sand, dirt or rockin’ out to preschool music. She also enjoys spending time with her husband, Steven, and their two fun children, Abigail and Zachary, who are usually not rockin’ out to preschool music with her.

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Beth loves helping connect people! She lives in Plano and works full time in Telecommunications in Naperville. Her hobbies include ordering coffee, drinking coffee and microwaving coffee.

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Originally from Macomb, I first came to Community as a teaching and church planting intern. Starting in 2003 I served on staff in student community for the next 5 years before becoming the Plainfield Campus Pastor. In my free time I enjoy spending time with my wife Anne, working out, playing golf and doing anything that involves competition.

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Hailing from Flora, Illinois (pop. 5300), Bret first came to Community as a Leadership Resident in 2007. His vast experience in student ministry, graphic design, sheep shearing, and high-wire tightrope walking greatly benefits the Jr. High ministry in Naperville. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with his wife (Ginger), playing lawn darts, shoe-shining, and catching fireflies.

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Brian joined the Student Ministry staff at Community in 2000 as the StuCo Arts Director, and most recently the StuCo director at the Plainfield Campus.

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Brian has been doing 'pastoral' stuff for over twenty years which makes him older than most of our staff. When he's not working with people at Community, he's usually coaching church leaders through NewThing. He likes nothing better than getting to know people as they treat him to a round of golf.

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BT came to Community in the spring of 08 as a Leadership Resident before taking the Shorewood arts role. BT spends his free time with his wife Jeanette watching the Food Network. WARNING! Don't ask him what his initials stand for... it's a secret that Chuck Norris has guarded for years.

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Carter was born and raised in Iowa and graduated from Iowa State University with a Computer Science degree. After several years of developing software, he made a slight career change (and pay cut!) to develop people instead, and to help them find their way back to God. He is fortunate enough to be part of a pretty amazing family that includes his wife Jennifer, and his kids Isaiah, Avery, and Levi. He hopes to pass on his rapping skills to his children.

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Cathy grew up in Wheaton and now lives in Naperville with her son Steven and daughter Jamie. Cathy was on staff in Kids City for 5 years before becoming the Plainfield Campus Children's Director. In her free time she feverishly practices ping pong, watches movies, reads, and hangs out with her kids. Cathy feels very blessed to be on this mission at COMMUNITY and can't wait to see what else God has in mind for her.

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Originally an “Indiana boy,” Chris transitioned from the cornfields to the “big city” where he found Community. Drawn in by the rock music environment, he finds himself in his perfect world where he loves to motivate people through worship and be a “rocker for Jesus.” While enjoying music, sports, and laughter, you will usually find Chris with an “extra load” of energy and craziness!

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Christi is a former inner-city teacher who loves children and has a passion for writing. She has been writing children's curriculum for COMMUNITY since 2004 and now joins the Kids' City wonder team to over see all our elementary products! Christi enjoys quality family time with her amazingly multi-talented husband Scott and her creatively comical children Naomi & Aidan.

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Christine came to Community after learning the harsh reality that God doesn’t want her to be a professional clarinet player. Instead, he has given her a passion for developing artists, from the young sprouts to the experienced adults, into the 'rock stars' they desire to be.

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Dani is still trying to figure out exactly where she is “from”. She was born in Alaska, lived in Wisconsin for 18 years, Arizona for 18 years, and moved to Illinois in 2003 (not to offend any Illinois natives, but she is not interested in living in the Midwest for another 18 years – the desert is calling her back!). Dani and her family have been involved at Community for the past five years and love to serve as a family whenever possible be it setting up and tearing down Kids’ City or spending some time greeting and ushering. Dani also serves on staff as the Yellow Box Kids' City Director.

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My role at Community is Lead pastor, which means I am responsible for providing the visionary leadership for both the church and NewThing, our network of reproducing churches. I love working with the remarkable group of leaders and artists that make up our staff. I am married to an amazing women and friend, Sue. I'm crazy about my three kids - Amy, Josh & Caleb. With my extra time I love coaching the kids' sports teams, running, reading and writing.

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David met his wife, Julie, in a small group here and they now have three beautiful children - Andrew, Alexa and Gabe. Life's crazy but he's lovin' it!

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Debbie started attending Community in 2003. After serving in StuCo for a couple years, she came on staff in 2007. She is a high school teacher during the day and realized she couldn't get enough of students. She is excited about being a part of the incredible things God is doing through StuCo and Community!

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Dennis has been involved at our Romeoville Campus for over eight years. He started as a greeter along with his daughter. You can find him coaching basketball, Delta Force, producing weekend services, and directing arts for StuCo. Back in the day, he was a pretty good basketball player, but now he is slam dunking for the Lord.

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I'm a musician and all around entrepreneur. I'm about living for today and preparing for tomorrow. With Christ as King my plans don't matter much. He seems to always take them, break them and replace them with something much better than I dreamed up in the first place. My wife Michelle is my love and we have a dog which ends up getting treated like a kid.

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Diane is out resident comedian after Eric Bramlett, of course. She loves being around lots of people and chatting it up over coffee. She has been married to Rick for 30 years and she can't believe he has put up with her that long. They have 1 daughter Lori and 1 son-in-law and are waiting to be granparents even though they are both too young for that! Favorite quote : A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.

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Donna has been married for 20 years to an awesome man. They have two great kids and she gets to spend her days with them home-schooling. If that's not enough, she works with SFTA, serves in Kids' City, leads a small group and is back to school pursuing a degree in Biblical Counseling.

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Earl Ferguson was born in a very small town in Missouri, is married to Pat, the “prettiest girl in the whole USA.” They came to Chicago with their two small sons (David and Jon) to plant a church on the south-side about 40 years ago. Earl likes fishing, playing golf, going to his grandkids sporting events and being a pastor.

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Eli was born and raised in Mexico City. He became a System’s Engineer and did IT consulting before coming to CCC where now serves as a Campus Pastor at the Pilsen Campus in downtown Chicago. In his spare time Eli enjoys anything extreme: bungee jumping, canopy gliding, white water rafting and skydiving. When not doing something extreme, you’ll find him biking along Lake Michigan and through the streets of Chicago, playing tennis, running and playing ultimate frisbee.

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Elic Bramlett is the bee's knees. (He doesn't really know what that means.) Born and raised in Phoenix, AZ, Elic now makes his home in Naperville, working at CCC as the Theatre/Film Director. He is also a professional actor, and in his spare time, he works all over the Chicagoland area in Theatre, TV/Film, and even Voiceover. Elic also teaches Acting at the School of Performing Arts in Naperville, and serves as Artistic Director for Epic Theatre Company.

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Eric Bramlett has been a Creative Arts Monkey for Community since 1996. He co-wrote The Big Idea with two Fergusons, and likes to hang out with his family when he's not making stuff up to help adults, students and kids find their way back to God. He is currently arguing with his brother Elic about some video, sketch, or moment in an upcoming service. He loves skiing, long walks on the beach, and whimsically clever biographies.

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Eric's hometown is Xenia, IL (pop. 300). He met his beautiful wife, Erin, in college and has 3 children, Joey, Lydia and Max. Eric is a long time fan of video games, enjoys reading, and goofing off with his friends. Two of Eric's lead spiritual gifts is sarcasm and laughing at himself and YOU!

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Genea's passion and calling to help hurting people along with her desire and purpose to devote her life to go wherever God leads her brought her to this position of Adult Ministry Director at Community. She is married to Chris and has two daughters, Morghan and Payton. Genea enjoys playing games with her family, having lunch with friends, reading, watching home movies, watching Dr. Phil, eating Thai Food and let's not forget STARBUCKS!

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Jake moved back to the Chicago area after spending six years in Minnesota. As the Romeoville Student Director, he gets do all the things he loves to do (and more). Jake sees student ministry as a huge opportunity to reach and change the world for Christ. When he’s not at church Jake enjoys spending time with his wife Angela, going for walks, bike rides, or checking out a new movie.

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Janet and her family have been attending Community since 1999. They love being on mission with a group of friends and living in the Chicago area. She first served in Kids' City and is now involved with leaders, as well as kids, and loves being part of the Naperville Downtown location.

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Jeff is probably best known for the being the coolest guy on the planet. Other things he's known for: incredible guitar playing, amazing acts of hilarity, and being around 5 minutes late in general. He is married to Elisa and has a daughter, Liana. A lighthearted approach and passion for excellence in "Helping People Find Their Way Back to God" is Jeff Ekblad.

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Jen started attending Community 10 years ago. She has been involved in Hospitality and Kids' City at both Romeoville and Yorkville Campuses. Her passion is working with children. And her weakness is writing a biography of herself.

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Jennifer loves school so much that she has a bachelors in Music Education and a masters in Music/Vocal Pedagogy. She joined the School for the Arts in 2005 after teaching music, speech, and drama in the public schools. She's been singing and working with church groups for 12 years and now enjoys performing in the Romeoville campus choir. She sings professionally with New Classic Singers, a choir-in-residence at College of DuPage. When not working, Jennifer loves to watch HGTV, sing opera, and play with her kiddos: Rebecca and Aiden. Favorite Bible verse: Philippians 4:13.

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Thanks to an invitation from a complete stranger, John and his wife Amy found their way to Community in the spring of 1996! John initially said no to the Ferguson brothers about joining the staff but changed his mind a few years later. He's a black and white guy who likes to stay in the black more than the white when it comes to finance and he's also known to be Dave's NO man. You can find John driving and up and down Route 59 all throughout the week.

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Jon grew up in Chicago and yes, he bleeds Cubby Blue. He loves to read, think, and talk about anything related to reproducing leaders and churches. When he’s not doing the church-thing or the NewThing he enjoys coaching his kids’ sports teams, reading, running, and blogging. He and his lovely wife Lisa live in Naperville with their two children - Graham and Chloe.

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Julie grew up in Wisconsin and began attending Community in 1998 with her college roommate Rachel Carroll! She enjoys teaching piano and choirs and using her gifts on the weekend at Plainfield Campus. Julie loves spending time and playing outside with her amazing husband David and their kids Andrew, Alexa & Baby Gabe.

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Kerry came to the Chicago area from Sarasota, Florida. She's married to Mick and has two daughters, Taylor and Nicole. She loves the opportunity she gets to invest in the lives of kids in Kids' City. She claims to be an 8 year old at heart.

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Kirsten, a Florida girl at heart, came to COMMUNITY from the city of Baltimore, where she developed a deep passion for social justice and the plight of the poor. Be careful if you spend too much time with her, or she’ll have you relocating to a low-income community. She and her husband and two sons live, work, and serve in East Aurora and you can find them biking or running to the Mexican bakery most any weekend.

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Lee’s a Southern Illinois boy who came to Community 5 years ago with a background in ministry and construction. Though an odd combo he fits in well with a “"facility know how" and heart for ministry. Lee’s role at Community presents him the opportunity to create an inviting and welcoming environment through his oversight of facilities, First Impressions, hospitality and the Ground Level Café. He also loves the outdoors and is right at home in the mountains on his mountain bike for which Chicago has plenty to offer.

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If you've been to our Naperville office, you know Lupe Kalter. She started at Community by serving in Kids City and fell in love with people who are just as passionate as she is about empowering kids to know God. Her husband, Tom, serves as a Small Group Leader for Club 4-5. Her two boys help with welcoming new kids. If you need help, Lupe's the one to call.

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"Miss Mary" started as a sub in Kids’ City with her daughter’s preschool group. The kids from that small group are now in Junior High... Mary hasn’t made it out of Kids’ City. Mary enjoys cotton balls, glue, and PlayDoh.

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Originally from California, Mike moved to Illinois to attend Trinity Christian College where he met his wife Lynn. They have two children, Breann and Jonah with whom he loves to spend time playing sports...any sport - any time. Mike is the Adult Ministry Director at the Downtown Naperville Campus.

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Originally from Macomb, Nick was a pastor in central Illinois for two years before he came to Community as an intern in 2003. He served in Student Community before becoming the Small Group Director of Naperville Neighborhoods. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his wife Lisa, his son Elijah, and friends. Nick’s current dreams include becoming the Church bouncer, though he is frequently told that the position does not exist. Maybe some day...

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Obe came to Community as a Leadership Resident a year ago. He is currently leading the East Aurora Launch team to start a bilingual campus in East Aurora. Obe and his wife Jacqueline enjoy bike riding on the Fox River Trail.

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Pat has been into music all her life... singing on stage at age 5. She loves being with her grandkids, playing games, fishing, and the beach. Carillon has become one of her favorite places and invites everyone over 55 to move there.

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Pat loves working at Community! Besides making Dave Ferguson successful she enjoys overseeing NewThing Operations. Pat and her husband Rick live in Naperville and have 3 children, Eric, Carrie & Lena and is a new grandma to Jay Patrick.

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Love my family, friends, sports, job, and shoes. oh, and donuts. mmmmmm donuts.

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Pillara Smith grew up in South Carolina and now she works at Community Christian Church as the Associate Director of Kids' City at the Romeoville Campus. She loves hanging out with her husband Aaron and their daughter Kali.

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Sam is originally from the beautiful tropical paradise of Costa Rica and joined Community as part of the launch team for the first urban latino campus in Pilsen. Needless to say, Sam loves music and everything even slightly related to it.

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Proud mother of 3 and grandmother of 5, born and raised in Iowa, lived in Texas 15 years, and moved to Illinois in 2000. Currently National Sales Manager with The Cloverdale Company in Roanoke, VA. Community brought Sara back to God after many years of straying. She is blessed and honored to serve our Lord through this wonderful church.

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Scott moved into HighPoint Community in 1998 where he met the founding pastor of the Romeoville campus on the sand volleyball court. He found his way back to God through Community and left his job at Caterpillar to join the mission. His wife, Michelle, and daughter, Chloe, laugh at Scott as he pathetically tries to relate to this generation's kids and students! However, his enthusiasm for the church to be a leader in Romeoville's multi-cultural community keeps him coming back for more.

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Sean was born in Illinois, but moved back in 2006 from Las Vegas. When he's not hanging out with his beautiful wife and daughter he enjoys watching the Red Wings, reading a book, and listening to a little Herbie Hancock.

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Shannon grew up in Wheaton and moved to the Aurora-Montgomery area when she married her husband Florencio in 2000. They began attending Community when the Montgomery Campus opened in 2003. She joined the Kids' City Staff in July of 2005 and has recently added her own addition to Kids' City, Mateo!

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Originally from Texas, Shawn moved to Illinois to attend Wheaton College and began working at Community. He is incredibly passionate about God and loves serving with students. Shawn is also an avid Cubs fan and loves to spend the day with his wife at Wrigley Field. He and his wife Lindsay recently had their first child, Levi.

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Sherry Gossman is a valley girl from California with a degree in nursing who helps us out with whatever we need at Community and NewThing. Nothing in her background qualifies her for the stuff she does for us, but we let her help out anyway.

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Hey, I'm Steve! I have a wife (Thelma), 4 kids (Dan, Trey, Michelle and Mackenzie), dog (Molly) and a house payment! I live in Aurora and am looking forward to being the Campus Pastor at the new Aurora North campus!

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Sue is responsible for naming the church "Community Christian Church" and everything else that you like about COMMUNITY. All the other stuff you need to talk to the other Fergusons about.

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Tammy Melchien serves as Kids' City Champion. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Tammy spent 6 years in campus ministry at Eastern Illinois University before leaving the cornfields for the bright lights of the Chicago suburbs in 2002. She loves identifying leaders, developing leaders, talking to leaders, leading leaders... basically if you are a leader she wants you in Kids' City. She also knows more about sports than most men.

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Tim is one of the founding board members of Global Family Rescue, a charitable organization dedicated to bringing hope to families living in extreme poverty. He has been responsible for developing leaders in corporate, ministry, and non-profit settings. In his spare time, he enjoys coaching baseball and suddenly has a renewed passion for the game of golf.

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Tim found his way back to God at Community in 2000. He started volunteering with Junior High students just looking for people his same maturity level. He volunteered himself right into a job and came on staff in September 2007. He likes red meat, fast cars and most of all STUDENTS!

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Tim Sutherland grew up in East Tennessee and works for Community as the Teaching Team Leader. In his spare time he plays as much basketball as possible. Someday he hopes to actually be good at it.

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Tina is originally from Chicago and has always loved the cold and snowy winters. The front door is her favorite place to greet on Sundays. She enjoys a hot cup of coffee good conversation. She has been known to be a bit long winded.

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You think it's cold in Chicago, try growing up in Calgary, Canada. TJ eventually moved to the South and lived in Orlando with his wife, Ginger. He enjoys playing hockey on the frozen pond in front of the church, hanging out with his family and watching 24 with his son Bauer (for obvious reasons).

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Tom tries to do anything related to media: video, graphics, and the web. He lived in China before he came here, he's got a wife and some kids, and he's become completely dependent on caffeine since joining the staff. When he's not making art, he likes to go camping and piddle in the garden. He's proud to be the only person on staff with the names Tom and Greever.

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Tony can play guitar, banjo, and a little ukulele. His greatest influences were awesome acts like The Monkees, The Singing Nun, Tiny Tim, and Greg Brady. Of course, he sounds nothing like them but could if he wanted to! Tony likes his mochas with the whipped cream and espresso bean ON the lid and enjoy 50 mile bike rides whenever possible.

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Zach Goforth hails from the northern suburb of Zion, IL and now he works at CCC as the Montgomery Creative Arts Director. In his spare time, Zach plays drums, bass, and guitar for his wife's group, Andrea Dawn. Someday, he would like to see his wife win a Grammy...or seven.

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