Meet the Team
Pastor Brian Talty
LEAD PASTOR
Brian has been part of the team at First Christian Church since 2004 where he has served in a variety of roles including Youth Pastor, Family Ministries Pastor, Discipleship Pastor, Associate Pastor, and now as our Lead Pastor. Brian has a bachelor’s degree in Youth Ministry from Milligan University in Johnson City, Tennessee and a Masters Degree in Christian Education from Lincoln Christian Seminary in Lincoln, Illinois. He and his wife, Jessica, love our Decatur community, Mexican food, and their four kiddos — Cole, Camden, Case, and Callynn.
Pastoral Team
BRIAN TALTY
Lead Pastor
brian@firstdecatur.org
JONATHAN GRUNDEN
Executive Pastor
jgrunden@firstdecatur.org
ADAM HAMERLINCK
Missions & Discipleship Pastor
ahamerlinck@firstdecatur.org
ROBERT HENDERSON
Pastor of Community Care
rhenderson@firstdecatur.org
THOMAS HAGAN
Young Adult Pastor
thagan@firstdecatur.org
HEATHER VANCE
Family Ministries Pastor
hvance@firstdecatur.org
CHRIS VIETH
Care Ministries Pastor
cvieth@firstdecatur.org
DR. RICK GRACE
DHF Church Liaison
rgrace@discipleheritage.org
WAYNE KENT
Pastor Emeritus
wkent@firstdecatur.org
Kids & Youth
HEATHER VANCE
Family Ministries Pastor
hvance@firstdecatur.org
JOHN BILLNER
High School Minister
jbillner@firstdecatur.org
MEGHAN FRITZSCHE
Elementary Director
mfritzsche@firstdecatur.org
VICTORIA BEHNER
Elementary Asst. Director
vbehner@firstdecatur.org
MELISSA PETERSEN
Pre-K Director
mpetersen@firstdecatur.org
Outreach
HANNAH BEERY
Hospitality
hbeery@firstdecatur.org
DEE FRANZ
Chaplain
dfranz@firstdecatur.org
ANDREA GRUNDEN
Arts Academy
agrunden@firstdecatur.org
HEATHER KALOUPEK
Mental Health, LCSW
hkaloupek@firstdecatur.org
SUSAN LIU
Chaplain
sliu@firstdecatur.org
ABBEY LUKA
Discipleship Assistant
aluka@firstdecatur.org
NIC MAYBERRY
Community Missions
nmayberry@firstdecatur.org
JEFFREY RUFFIN
Chaplain
jruffin@firstdecatur.org
LISA WEATHERFORD
Mosaic Café
lweatherford@firstdecatur.org
Creative
STEPHANIE CAMPBELL
Choir Director
scampbell@firstdecatur.org
BILL CUNNINGHAM
Music Director
bcunningham@firstdecatur.org
CRYSTAL KIRKMAN
Communications Director
ckirkman@firstdecatur.org
LACEY PHILLIPS
Worship Arts Director
lphillips@firstdecatur.org
FRED SAURMANN
Production Manager
fsaurmann@firstdecatur.org
Administration & Support
DAWN WENDT
Office Manager
dwendt@firstdecatur.org
PEGGY ANDERSON
Office
panderson@firstdecatur.org
LEANNE KUHN
Office
lkuhn@firstdecatur.org
BAILEY BUHR
Office
bbuhr@firstdecatur.org
SARAH WOOLRIDGE
Office
swoolridge@firstdecatur.org
DUSTIN REINBOLD
Director of Operations
dreinbold@firstdecatur.org
TOM HOWARD
Maintenance
thoward@firstdecatur.org
PAT HAGEMEYER
Event Setup Coordinator
KEN SUHR
Weekend Support Staff
Elders
Morgan Arseneau
Tina Arseneau
Jared Collier / ELDER CHAIR
Ann Eaton
John Guymon
Lee Hall
Rick McKibben
Pete Pistorius
Russ Reimer
Mark Reynolds
Debbie Sullivan
Brian Talty
Administrative Team
Todd Banning / CHAIR
Michelle Reynolds / VICE CHAIR
Jared Collier / ELDER CHAIR
Tracy Smithers / SECRETARY
Matt Riley / TREASURER
Jonathan Grunden
Leanne Kuhn
David Little
Tom Pistorius
Brian Talty
Trustees
Rob Robinson (term: 2024-2027)
Russ Reimer (term: 2023-2026)
Pete Pistorius (term: 2022-2025)