It has been an eventful Lenten season around Cross (like it always is). This year, our multi-talented Youth Minister/Technical Coordinator/ Worship Leader David Thanepohn left to work at Chick-fil-A in Peoria, IL. These shoes are not easy to fill and yet needed to be filled rapidly. We are very pleased to have two Committed Disciples who are willing to step up and serve on a part-time basis. It is my pleasure to introduce them to you now!
Grant Riehle-Moeller will be serving as our interim Youth Minister. Grant was born into the family of faith at Cross in 1996. He attended school at Cross, from preschool through 8th grade, graduating in 2010. He then went on to attend Newark Community High School. During his time at NCHS, he played basketball and took a leadership role for various teams and school clubs. Following his graduation from high school in 2014, Grant attended and played basketball at Lincoln Christian University. Grant began to realize college wasn’t the place for him and prayerfully decided to leave after one year. He promptly started his first company, works in graphic arts, signed a contract to publish his first book, and began a speaking career.
Grant is new to the staff but has worked and volunteered in various areas at Cross. Grant was on the team that created and wrote the “Living N’ Active” discipleship material for Cross, served on staff at Caring Hands Thrift Store and currently serves on the Capital Campaign house visit team. Outside of Cross, Grant works with Yorkville Christian High School in various roles with their students that include mentoring, coaching, and teaching. He also works with “Help. Sorry. Love, NFP,” an organization created to assist individuals and organizations to lead better lives emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically.
Ryan Schmeckpeper will serve as our Interim Worship Tech Assistant. Ryan is the husband of our pre-school teacher, Cathy Schmeckpeper. They were married in 1998 and moved to Yorkville in 2001. Ryan and Cathy built their first home in Yorkville with Ryan serving as the General Contractor and doing much of the work himself. After 18 years as a firefighter, Ryan retired. He loves to do custom woodworking, making items such as display cases, fish tank cabinets and fireplace mantles. Ryan and Cathy have three children– Jack 14, Logan 10 and Max 8. As a family, they love to camp and travel.
Please help me in welcoming these two new members to our ministry team as well as thanking God for their immediate skillset and availability! The interim titles will be for a few months while we evaluate the staffing needs and our budget to determine the longer term solution. Our Governing Board has also agreed to form a search committee for a possible called staff position. Please pray for these two men, as well as their families, and for our congregation that we would be able to discern how God is leading us during this time of transition.
