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


CALEB BELMONTE
Video Director | Producer
cbelmonte@firstdecatur.org

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)