Charlie Welke - Interim Minister

            Charlie was born just south of Chicago and raised in the southwest suburbs near Joliet.  After graduating from high school, he came down to Bloomington-Normal to attend Illinois Wesleyan University.  Charlie went into IWU with a desire to play football and study on a pre-med track.  He had an immature faith and a loose commitment to living in the ways of Jesus.
            While in college Charlie underwent a pretty radical transformation and became more devoted to his identity in Christ.  This experience led him right into vocational ministry – first as a campus missionary and then as a youth pastor at Eastview Christian Church.
            In his time on campus, Charlie met Leslie and they were married in 2009.  For a couple of years Leslie served as a teacher in District 87 while Charlie was serving ECC as a youth pastor.  When he moved from high school over into college ministry, Leslie began staying at home while they ended up having all four of their kids in a 5-year span.
            At Eastview, Charlie was able to serve as a youth pastor, college pastor, young adult pastor and Campus Pastor for the Bloomington Campus.  He loves to communicate the gospel and to see people come to faith in Christ.  Charlie also loves helping people deepen their relationship with God while serving people in our local and global contexts.

Samuel Green​ - Minister of Modern Worship & Spiritual Formation

A distant relative of the “King of Popcorn” Orville Redenbacher, Samuel is a die-hard Hoosiers basketball fan and a self-proclaimed theology nerd. Fond of color-coordination and online thesauruses, Samuel loves playing his guitar, diving into a good book, and taking a relaxing Sunday afternoon nap.  Samuel has been serving and leading at FCC since the spring of 2012. It was here at FCC where he first met his amazing wife, Mykenzie, and they now live in Clinton and enjoy watching Hoosiers’ basketball (Samuel) and MSU Spartan football (Kenzie), spending time with their families, and listening to podcasts together.
Working in the areas of music and discipleship, Samuel desires most of all that God’s people would grow to live and love out of a whole-life orientation of worship and surrender to Jesus Christ.

Cody Monkman​ - Minister of Community Impact & Care

After chasing the dream of being a public school teacher and attending Illinois State University, Cody moved back to Clinton, his home town, and joined the ministry staff at FCC full-time in January 2014. Cody has really found his dream job because it allows him to fulfill his love for teaching, accompanied with service to others, and investing in the next generation of Kingdom Workers.. Prior to that he did part-time ministry in Mount Zion, IL for two and a half years and at FCC from the Spring-Summer of 2013. He met his wife Emilee on a blind date, and they tied the knot in 2016. Since then they have gotten a labradoodle fur-baby, Rori. Though he's a Millennial, Cody knows nothing about video game systems, but he will beat you at Ticket To Ride, Catan, or Aquire board games! Don't be surprised if you find Cody nerding out on a book he is reading, or if he is walking, talking, and sipping on a cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee! If you can't find him, just seek out a really loud laugh and the smell of coffee, or look for the short guy with a big forehead and receding hairline.

Cassandra Benton - Minister of Children - Early Childhood

Cassandra grew up in Clinton and cannot remember a time that FCC wasn't part of her week. She has volunteered in different parts of the Children's Ministry since she was in junior high and joined the staff in June 2015. Even though unexpected, ministry has been an awesome, challenging, exciting blessing in her life! Cassandra and her husband, Matt, met at a Little Galilee high school week of camp. They have three daughters:  Claire, Olivia, and Laura, who all say their mom cannot sing and is too competitive. (Cassandra disagrees...give her a call if you want to play (ahem, lose) a board game.) Cassandra loves Mountain Dew, pizza with French fries, working with student volunteers and teaching kids about Jesus.

Allison Hitchings - Minister of Children - Elementary

Allison came to Clinton and FCC in 2008 and has loved being a part of this church from the very beginning.  She came on staff in June 2015 and it’s been one of the greatest, most unexpected blessings in her life.  Speaking of blessings, Allison is married to Bret and they have 3 wonderful children:  Carter, Asher, and Brenna.  Bret and Allison met at a chicken show; ask her about that some time!  It’s a funny story!  In addition to being a mom, wife, and staff member, Allison is committed to naps, Diet Dr. Pepper and the idea that every kid should know exactly how much Jesus loves them.

Dinelle Frankland - Director of Choir and Traditional Worship

Dinelle Frankland has taught music and worship in Christian Higher education for 41 years, including several years at Dallas Christian College and Ozark Christian College. Currently she teaches at Lincoln Christian Seminary and at the Institute for Worship Studies in Jacksonville, FL. The highlight of this ongoing career is the number of  incredible students who have  studied with her and continue to impact the Kingdom.
Dinelle lives in Lincoln and enjoys reading, movies and cheering for the Dallas Cowboys. 
As choir director and worship leader for the 8:15 service, she enjoys shepherding God's people in celebrating the Gospel story as a united body of worshipers. 

Mandi Ries​ - Ministry Administrative Assistant

A life-long member of FCC, Mandi Ries enjoys serving on our staff as the part-time Ministry Administrative Assistant. Mandi loves being able to come alongside the rest of our ministry staff to help serve and love those in our church family and in our community. Mandi (a die-hard Cubs fan) is married to her best friend, Brett (a die-hard Cardinals fan). Even though they can’t agree on a baseball team, they love hanging out, watching movies, and most importantly, laughing together.  They have two very energetic twin boys, Keegan & Kason, who keep them up to speed on all things Star Wars, Super Heroes, and Power Rangers. Mandi considers herself a “foodie” and absolutely loves trying new restaurants, cuisines, and recipes. If you ever need a restaurant recommendation, she has got you covered! 

Elders

Here at First Christian Church we are staff led in our day-to-day and weekly operations and ministries but we have an amazing team of elders who shepherd, protect, and oversee the congregation, staff, and mission, vision, and direction of our church.
​We are not a part of a denomination and our local congregation is led by these Elders.

Jim Taylor (Chairman)

Gage Lyons (Vice Chairman)

Dick Koritz (Secretary)

John Rodgers

Ryan Sosamon

Jim Weikel