Our Mission
A Christ-like community of believers focused on presenting Christ to the unchurched in relevant, innovative, and life-changing ways.
You
Us
Him
Our Beliefs
We follow Jesus and submit to his Word; we grow like Jesus and live fruit-full lives
We build lives and include others in building lives and structures for life-change
Loving God. Loving People.
Our Staff
We all have different backgrounds, hobbies, tastes, likes, and dislikes. Yet we embrace our Savior wholeheartedly, resting in His promise to work in us and conform us to the image of His Son. It is in Jesus Christ we find our identity, worth, and purpose. Feel free to contact any one of us with any questions, comments, or prayer requests. We'd love to hear from you!
Dr. Rory Christensen
Lead Minister
Rory joined the Central staff in January of 2014. He serves to guide our church to continue our heritage of making and maturing disciples of Jesus. One of his favorite passages of Scripture is 2 Corinthians 5:11-21, because of it’s focus on living as ambassadors of Christ, and on a God who makes all things new. He enjoys family time, guitars, black coffee, a good book, and seeing new places. He and his wife, April, have three daughters.
Tony Ross
Creative Arts Minister
Tony joined Central on February 7, 2010. Tony is a 2002 graduate of Lincoln Christian University with a B.A. in Music Ministry. He was the part time Music Minister at Georgetown, Illinois, First Church of Christ starting in June of 2000 and became the full time Music Minister in May of 2002. Tony enjoys playing the guitar, having epic lightsaber battles with his two sons and watching movies. He and his wife, Meghan, have two sons, Landon and Simon.
Jessica Pastirik
Director of Involvement & Outreach Ministries
After serving 11 years in the ministry at a non-profit child welfare agency, Jessica joined the office team in September of 2004. Her heart’s desire is to continue in service for Christ, to be continually growing, encouraging others, and going wherever He leads. Beginning October 1, 2011, Jessica moved into the position of Director of Involvement & Outreach Ministries. Jessica and her husband, Michael, have a daughter and a son.
Chelsea Davis
Director of Children’s Ministries
Chelsea has been attending Central since 2001 and joined the staff in July 2016. She is a 2010 graduate of Lincoln Christian University with a B.A. in Intercultural Studies with a focus in Children’s Ministry. Chelsea has travelled the world doing cross-cultural ministry work and loves going on mission trips. She enjoys hanging out with families and their children, shopping when finances allow it (Dave Ramsey, oh ya!), trying new food, and going to the movies.
Rico Diaz
Student Minister
Rico began serving at Central in December of 2016. He has been a member of the church since January of 2014. Rico serves as the Director of Student Ministries. His vision for Central Students is to cultivate a community of young people who don’t just know about God, but know him intimately. From the overflow of their transformed hearts would come acts of service, students putting their faith into action. Rico has been married since 2011 to his wife Ashley. They have 3 children. Reece, Graham and Glorie.
Some Favorites: Hanging out with friends, playing card games, watching baseball and football, breakfast foods and dancing.
Debby Evans
Office Manager
Debby has been serving at Central since 1997. She was originally the Ministries Secretary, until 2004 when she became the Church Office Manager. She is the point person for ensuring the efficient and effective function of our church office. She supports Central’s ministry by performing secretarial, administrative, and office management duties.She is the former editor of a weekly newspaper in Flanagan, where she lives with her husband, Larry. They have a daughter, Mary (Jim) Ashlock, and a son Mike (Kaitlyn) Evans, and two grandchildren.
Some Favorites: Playing the flute in the Pontiac Municipal Band, sewing and reading.
Julie Happold
Ministry/Financial Secretary
Julie has been on staff at Central Church of Christ since March 2010. She serves in the main office as the Financial Secretary and has the pleasure of overseeing the church financial processes and assisting the ministerial staff to support ministry efforts. Julie has volunteered in many different ministries at Central during her lifetime, spending a lot of time in the Children’s department. Julie and her husband, Rob, were married in 1996. They live in Streator and enjoy spending time with their son.
Some Favorites: Spending time with family and friends, watching movies, color Purple, listening to WBGL radio station, fiesta nachos, pizza, and popcorn.