Team Bios | Fresh Expressions

Shannon Kiser serves as the Senior Director of Fresh Expressions North America. She leads a team of mission strategists and trainers in the development and implementation of in person and online training for mission innovation. She is on the pastoral staff of Riverside Presbyterian Church in Sterling, VA, a church that worships in two languages (English and Spanish), engages in several fresh expressions of church, and extends community hospitality through Ridgetop Coffee and Tea. An ICF certified coach, Shannon coaches individual ministry leaders and pioneers, trains organizations to coach fresh expression initiatives, and coaches church teams through the process of adaptive change. Shannon lives in Springfield VA with her husband, and is the mother to two young adult daughters. Shannon enjoys the outdoors, pickleball, gardening, traveling, and her neighborhood swim club.

Working with church leaders to develop new expressions of Christian community is the passion of Chris’s life. In addition to his role as Founding Director of Fresh Expressions NA, he serves with the Baptist General Association of Virginia in the area of growth and venture development. He also serves as National Director for both Ecclesia, a US network of missional churches, as well as Missio Alliance. Previously, he served as pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship, a large university congregation in Blacksburg, Virginia and has been involved in the planting of three new congregations. Chris holds a D.Min. in Missional Church Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary. He lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with wife Rachel, daughter Elliana and son Jase.

Verlon & Melodee Fosner have been in church leadership for 44 years, and for the last 24 years have served in a 100 year-old church in Seattle, Washington. After several years in their tenure as lead pastors the church went into decline and they faced a decision: move to the suburbs or become an urban church. After much prayer, the leadership felt called to not only stay, but to dive further into the urban neighborhoods of Seattle – especially the ones with a sparse church presence. After numerous failures, they decided to try the Agape’ Feast church model talked about in the New Testament and to their great surprise they found an immediate intrigue among the unchurched living in Seattle neighborhoods. Within a year, they counted hundreds of their neighbors as friends, gathering around their tables, and talking about Jesus. What began as a single urban church plant quickly grew into a multi-site Dinner Church, and then expanded into a national Dinner Church Network. Then in 2016, Verlon and Melodee joined the Fresh Expressions team to lead the Dinner Church Collective.

Rev. Dr. Heather Jallad is the Director of Training for Fresh Expressions. She is a Regional Developer for the North Georgia Conference of the UMC. She co-pioneered The Table Community Dinner in Grayson, GA, pioneered the Common Ground Network, a network of fresh expressions in Johns Creek, GA and The Douglasville Dinner Church in Douglasville, GA. She holds a BA in Mass Communications from University of South Florida, an MDiv from Asbury Theological Seminary, and a DMin in Church Renewal and Fresh Expressions from United Theological Seminary. She and her husband Marten have been married for 30 years and have two daughters.

The Rev. Canon Jon Davis, PhD. coordinates major Fresh Expression events, training and resources for the Dinner Church Collective and is a mission strategist and trainer on the Fresh Expressions team. He is an Episcopal priest serving as the part-time Rector of historic St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palatka, Florida. Jon is an affiliate professor with Kairos University. He has expertise in youth ministry, worship and liturgy (PhD focus), church growth and planting, missions and more. He is an engaging speaker, writer, worship leader and ministry trainer. He and his wife Beth live on a little farm in Oviedo, Florida.

Kathleen serves as Senior Coordinator of Strategic Initiatives guiding our online publishing, email, podcasts, social media and other digital communications. She also is a team lead of the Mustard Seed Initiative for Ascent as well as supports the communications office of the American Baptist Churches of Vermont and New Hampshire. She graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with her Master of Divinity in 2009. Since 2010 she and her husband, Chris, have served as co-pastors at the First Baptist Church of South Londonderry, Vermont. In her free time Kathleen enjoys baking sourdough bread for her family and community. Kathleen and her husband, Chris, live in South Londonderry, Vermont with their children – Sarah, Daniel, and Priscilla, as well as their cat, dog, and chickens.

Rev. Dr. Eliseo A. Mejia is a highly regarded global coach, writer, missiologist, pastor, and church planting leader. He imparts his knowledge and wisdom as a teacher at Asbury Seminary in Willmore, Kentucky, and United Theological in Dayton, Ohio. In addition to his teaching roles, Dr. Mejia guides architects in diverse cultural and country settings, helping them navigate all stages of innovative projects from inception to completion.

He is a prominent leader, particularly influential in the Latino community. As the Director of Fresh Expressions—Expresiones Divinas and the Ascent project leader. As a servant of God, he has a deep passion for Christ ⁣and a thirst to know and be like Him. With God’s help and an exceptional team of leaders, ⁣church planters, and pastors, he planted churches in Kentucky. Additionally, he has assisted emerging and experienced Leaders over the past 33 years in the U.S. and internationally.

Academically, ⁣he holds two master’s degrees, ⁣one from the Central American Theological Seminary (1980) ⁣and the Dallas Theological Seminary (1986). He completed his Doctor of Ministry degree at Asbury Seminary on May 20, 2017.

Wendy currently serves part-time as the Coordinator of Design & Digital Content with Fresh Expressions, where she creates media and presentation assets and helps with online event production. She also currently serves as a pastor at NLCF in Blacksburg, VA, where she focuses on preaching, spiritual formation and counseling those in need. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Virginia and she sees clients through a private counseling practice. Previously, she has worked in public and higher education as a public relations specialist, crisis counselor, academic advisor and instructor.

Wendy holds bachelor degrees in Communications and Psychology from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in Counseling and Human Development from Radford University. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Theological Studies from the John C. Leland Center for Theological Studies. Wendy has been married to David, an engineer who doubles as an amateur travel agent, since 2001, and they have enjoyed exploring many new places thanks to David’s keen travel-planning skills. They have two daughters, Daisy and Rose, and when they aren’t trying new recipes in the kitchen or running road races, they enjoy cheering on the Hokies and all things Chicago.

Heather Evans is the Coordinator of Dinner Church Community & Resources with Fresh Expressions. She also leads church initiatives at Grace Church in Cape Coral, Florida. She oversees diverse Fresh Expressions and volunteers, bringing church to the neighborhood. Passionate about Dinner Church, she founded Eat Pray Love dinner church in a large trailer park in 2016. EPL has since expanded to three unique locations weekly. In 2019, Heather partnered with Verlon Fosner and Fresh Expressions North America, leading the Florida Conference Dinner Church Initiative and establishing 55 new dinner churches. Heather and her husband Rod live in Florida and have four grown children.

Brad Andres is a passionate disciple of Jesus and a keen learner of the Scriptures, who is ordained in the Assemblies of God. He has pursued extensive studies in Bible and Theology with Global University and holds a Master of Divinity from Kairos University. Brad has diverse ministry experiences and leadership roles including being a youth pastor, young adult pastor, associate pastor, lead pastor, church planter, and pioneer of Fresh Expressions. Currently, he serves on pastoral staff with First Church of Bellevue and collaborates with Fresh Expressions NA as an Outpost Director. Brad resides in Bellevue, Ohio, with his wife, Carlie, and their three children: Galilee, Anchor, and Arie. Together, they are living to expand the Kingdom of God: one person, one family, one community at a time.

Cheryl serves as the Director of The Ananias Project and Coordinator of Prayer Mobilization for Fresh Expressions. She brings with her over 30 years of Intercessory Prayer experience as she undergirds the work of pastors and pioneers around North America. Cheryl and her husband, Bill, have served in multiple church plants for over 20 years beginning at Truro Church in Fairfax, VA. Cheryl was the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The SEEDS Ministry for 6 years in New Bern, NC as she established Kingdom Transformation across denominational lines by Prayer, Connection, and Empowerment of a community fueled by the Holy Spirit. Cheryl and Bill lead Ananias Retreats and Encounter Prayer Rooms for Fresh Expressions and Missio Alliance National Gatherings. Cheryl and Bill reside in New Bern, NC with their five rock star children.

Jeanette has over 20 years of diverse experience in collegiate ministry, specializing in general oversight, staff coaching and development, children’s ministry, and discipleship. She holds a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Professional Writing from Virginia Tech and a Graduate Certificate in Theological Studies from the John Leland Center for Theological Studies. She also serves on the board for The Ecclesia Network. Jeanette is an avid Hokie fan and rarely misses an opportunity to watch a collegiate sporting event.

Mitch Marcello is the Director of Worship at First United Methodist Church in Williamsport, PA, founder and Director of Imago Innovation, and is Mission Strategist & Innovation Specialist with Fresh Expressions. Prior to these pursuits, he founded the Acts Network, a collection of fresh expressions of faith connected to his local church, working with leaders to explore the creation of Christian community where there is none. Understanding that we are called to create, he is passionate about helping unlock creative potential in individuals, teams, and churches, assisting Christian leaders to apply tools for innovation to mission and ministry. Mitch holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts and Artist Diploma from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Masters Degree in Creativity and Innovation from Drexel University.

Greg serves as the Associate Executive Minister for Congregational Renewal and Ministry Placement with the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada. A Moncton native, he came to faith at Riverview United Baptist Church and went on to earn a B.A. in Sociology from Mount Allison University and an M.Div. from Regent College in Vancouver, where he also discerned his call to ministry.

Over the years, Greg has pastored churches in Middle Sackville (the first established Baptist church in Canada) and Moncton, guiding congregations through seasons of growth and renewal. Since 2002, he has served in various leadership roles with the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches, and he now directs the Centre for Congregational Renewal, while also overseeing pastoral placement and serving as interim director of the Atlantic Baptist Mission Board.He and his wife, Wendy, have three daughters and a shared passion for helping churches live into all that God calls them to be.

Jon and his wife Aimee live in Southern Ontario Canada with their three teenage children. Jon is a third-generation pastor and leading in small, medium, and mega church context for over 20 plus years. Jon has church planted, served in large church leadership roles, been a denominational leader, church consultant, and coach to pastoral and business leaders. In recent years Jon has helped launch the Jesus Collective Network and oversees global leadership development and equipping for Jesus Collective. Jon has served in Northeast US and Canadian Post-Christian contexts. He has a passion to help the church find innovative ways to connect secular people to Jesus.

Edwin Andrade serves as lead pastor of Riverside Presbyterian Church in Sterling, VA, and has been one of the key visionaries helping to shape the entrepreneurial landscape of the church’s missional facility. He has pioneered Nueva Rivera (part of Riverside Church) Lunch for the Soul, (a fresh expression with day laborers), and has experimented with several fresh expression initiatives as an outgrowth of a partnership with a local Title 1 elementary school. As lead pastor, Edwin works with the Coffee Shop Manager to ensure that the mission heart of Ridgetop Coffee and Tea remain the priority. Edwin is Coach with the PCUSA’s New Worshipping Communities initiative, and has coached church planters and ministry leaders across the country. Edwin’s wife, Karina, shares his heart for mission, and together they are busy raising two teenage boys.

Gannon Sims is a Founding Director of Fresh Expressions NA and the author of Bringing Church Home. He and his wife Carey along with a team of mostly college students and young adults planted The Center Community, a network of house churches in Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 2022, he was called to serve as pastor of Cliff Temple Baptist Church, an historic urban congregation with a vibrant ministry and network of house churches in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas.

He earned the Bachelor of Arts Degree from Baylor University and the Master of Divinity degree from Duke University. Prior to entering seminary, Gannon worked as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate and as a public affairs officer in the anti-human trafficking office at the U.S. State Department. He has served in various roles at several churches, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Anglican.

The Reverend Greg LeMaster is a native of Roanoke, Va. Since becoming a member of Graceland Baptist Church in Powhatan Va. in 1992 , Greg has served in various areas of ministry such as Deacon, Teacher, and Outreach Ministry to mention a few.

Greg also served at a Christian School in Amelia Va. as Principal/Teacher for 7 years at Love Covenant Christian School. He completed his Associate Dergree in Business Admin. as well as graduated from Seminary Extention in Pastoral Studies. Greg was ordained in 2014 into the gospel ministry as has been active in planting several Dinner Churches, House Churches, a Special Needs Fellowship, and many other types of Fresh Expression Fellowships. Greg and his wife (Chris) have been married for 32 years and God has given them 2 precious children, Daniel(30) and Bethany (27).

J.R. Briggs is a Mission Strategist and Trainer with Fresh Expressions NA. He is the founding director of Kairos Partnerships, a leadership development organization that invests in and equips kingdom leaders through coaching, consulting, speaking, and writing. He is an affiliate professor in the doctoral program at Fuller Seminary and serves as a guest instructor at Friends University. He also serves as the Director of Leadership & Congregational Formation for The Ecclesia Network. J.R. is an author, co-author and contributor of thirteen books and dozens of articles, both in print and online. J.R. and his wife Megan have two sons, Carter and Bennett, and live in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

Jacob Burson is a project engineer who serves as a bivocational pastor in northwest Georgia. He has started, cultivated, and trained fresh expressions of church since 2019 in rural and suburban contexts. Jacob understands the challenges rural churches face and how to align these churches with the needs of the communities they are called to. He has led multiple fresh expression vision and training sessions and loves to connect others to their call to reach people and places with the love of God where God has already placed them. He has started dinner churches and is currently leading a fresh expression that meets in homes and a local brewery and has moved into the “exploring discipleship” phase. In his pastoral role he is currently building a network of microchurches and fresh expressions of church to connect to the people who will likely never walk into the doors of a typical church. Jacob’s bivocational ministry life is a family affair with his wife Dee Dee and four grown children.

Reverend Jim Divine has a passion for seeing people on the fringe of the church become deeply committed followers of Christ. Jim began his ministry in 1992 serving with World Gospel Mission as a missionary in the city of Irapuato, Mexico, with a church planting team. In 1999, Jim and his family moved back to the states where he began serving with the Florida Conference in Tallahassee. While in Tallahassee, Jim started a new ministry out of Killearn UMC called The Coffee Pub, which was a nontraditional missional church plant geared primarily to reach college students and “mid-twenty-somethings.” Over the past three years, Jim has been serving Perrine-Peters UMC in South Miami, leading the congregation through a revisioning process.

Jim Pace is an author, pastor, and the founder of Discerning Partners, an organization dedicated to guiding churches, organizations, and leaders from confusion to clarity.

Jim's journey in ministry began after graduating from Virginia Tech in 1994, when he joined the staff of New Life Christian Fellowship (NLCF) at Virginia Tech. Over 25 years, he played a pivotal role in developing, launching, and coaching several church plants associated with NLCF.

In addition to his pastoral work, Jim has been consulting for churches and coaching pastors for over fifteen years. In May 2021, he transitioned to full-time consulting and coaching, working with churches, leadership teams, non-profits, and denominational leadership teams both domestically and internationally.

Kris Beckert is a scientist turned pastor and church planter. She currently serves as Lead Pastor at Table Life Church near Harrisburg, PA. In addition to creating forms of church, including dinner church, for pre-Christian people, she also serves as a trainer/mission strategist with Fresh Expressions US. Kris is ordained in the Church of the Nazarene, has an MDiv from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC, and is an avid athlete, playing ice hockey and running everything from 5Ks to ultramarathons.

Mike Snedeker is the Lead Pastor of Community Evangelical Church in Sinking Spring, PA – a congregation that averages about 400 in attendance on Sunday mornings. He began working with Community in September of 1993 as the youth pastor and has served in many different roles until becoming the Lead Pastor in April of 2012. Mike has a passion for church multiplication and fell in love with the FX model about 3 years ago. Over the past year, Community has passionately pursued making disciples in and out of the church and has partnered with Fresh Expressions to help establish new ministry models in and around Berks County, PA. Mike Snedeker is married to his wife Beth for 23 years and is the proud father of two girls Allysa and Cassidy.

Matt Lake serves as the Lead Pastor of First Church of Williamsport, PA—an urban congregation that consists of a mix of traditional and contemporary worship experiences. First Church also currently hosts a network of fresh expressions of ministry called the Acts Network in which people meet in places such as homes, gyms, nursing homes, parks, and even in the mountains! Matt is a graduate of Messiah College (B.A. in Biblical Studies) and has a Master in Divinity from Duke Divinity School. Matt also has his Doctorate of Ministry in Semiotics and Future Studies through Portland Seminary in which he focused on developing effective models of congregational discipleship for the new day in which we find ourselves. Matt has worked with a variety of churches in consultant and coaching roles and has a passion to see God’s Kingdom impacted through lives transformed in the love of Jesus Christ. Matt is deeply in love with his beautiful wife Jennifer and is doing his best to keep up with his three, amazing, grown-up kids–Alexandra, Joshua, and Zach.

Travis’s service as Director of Mission Advancement and Southeast Regional Coordinator brings together his calling and experience as missionary and pastor. He serves as Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Huntsville, Alabama and was previously pastor of Bon Air Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia.

His twenty-five plus years of ministry have included missionary service in Venezuela and Nigeria. He is a graduate of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and earned the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.He is the author of Directionally Challenged (2007), Tough Calls (2008), and From the Steeple to the Street (Seedbed 2016).Travis and his wife, Keri, have three adult children.

Victor has been in ministry for 27 years, serving as Senior Pastor/Church Planter, 18 of those 27 years at Last Days World Outreach Ministries, Hillsborough, NC, Warsaw, NC, and Raleigh, NC. He’s happily married with three boys and holds a BS in Religion and Biblical and Theological Studies from Liberty University. Victor has served as a CIMP Chaplain and is currently the Co-Director of the Southeast Region of CGGC.

Victor has a passion for Church Planting and Fresh Expressions outside the four walls and serves on a variety of boards and committees such as the Multiplication Commission of ERC of CGGC, National Mobilization Disciple Commission of Churches of God General Conference, Local Reentry Council of Orange County, Criminal Justice Advisory Council of Orange County, Project Safe Orange County Coordinator, and is CEO/Executive Director Father’s On The Move a national movement serving inside Federal and State prisons with pre and post release services while planting churches inside these facilities. Fathers on the Move mentors men into their purpose and mobilizes them coming home, emphasizing the 3 D’s: Discover, Develop, and Deploy.

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Shannon Kiser

Chris Backert

Verlon Fosner

Heather Jallad

Jon Davis

Kathleen Blackey

Eliseo Mejia

Jane Linton

Wendy Chinn

Heather Evans

Brad Andres

Cheryl McCarthy

Josh Gering

Jeanette Staats

Morgan Szeligowski

Mitch Marcello

Greg Jones

Jon Hand

Edwin Andrade

Gannon Sims

Greg LeMaster

J.R. Briggs

Jacob Burson

Jim Divine

Jim Pace

Kris Beckert

Luke Edwards

Mike Snedeker

Matt Lake

Melodee Fosner

Travis Collins

Victor Glover

Fresh Expressions

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