Augustana College
- Bettendorf Presbyterian Church
Chris works as the Music and Small Group Pastor at Bettendorf Presbyterian Church. He organizes and leads small groups, directs the children’s and adult’s choirs, and leads the praise band. While Christ was born in Cleveland, OH, he grew up in Davenport and has lived in the Quad City area for most of his life. He attended college at Augustana College in Rock Island for Music Education.
Chris and his wife, Jana, have two children, Addison and Elijah, both of whom attend Camp Bear Creek as campers. They also have a dog named Wrigley! Chris says, “We keep pretty busy with all sorts of activities: Addison plays softball for North High school, plays saxophone in band, sings in the choir, plays piano with our praise band, and is very active in the church youth group. Elijah plays baseball and soccer, is in band and orchestra, plays piano, is a Boy Scout and is active in the church youth group. Janna and I provide the taxi service to and from all the activities.”
As a parent of several Camp Bear Creek campers, Chris appreciates how important camp ministry is. He says, “I think it’s super-important to a young person’s faith development to get outside of their normal environment, and camp accomplishes that really well. I love picking the kids up after their week and hearing about the games they played, the friends they made, and the songs they sang- but I get really excited to see how they have grown to love Jesus a little more each summer.”
In his free time, Chris enjoys cheering on his favorite teams, the Cubs and the Bears. He says he likes watching them “make attempts” at winning the games. He really enjoys fantasy football and attempts to get out to play golf as often as he can. Chris also likes camping, backpacking, and especially likes to try to get away to the mountains whenever possible. When he has down time, he always enjoys a good spy novel to read.
Chris says, “I’m honored to serve on the Camp Bear Creek board because I believe in their vision to provide a transformative faith experience to their campers. I see how much my kids love Camp Bear Creek and I want to future generations to share that same love.”
Chris’s favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
