LEADERSHIP

Senior Pastor | Jared Wilkerson

Pastor Wilkerson became a member of his local church’s youth committee in Humboldt, TN at the age of 12 and later served as youth director in this congregation for three years. He & his wife, Erica, later moved to Cookeville, TN to become student pastor, a position they held for four years.

While serving in his other roles, Pastor Wilkerson also has served as an assistant to the pastor, worship leader, service leader, sound technician, drummer, and drama director. He also has experience in social media, digital marketing, teaching in the prison system in Tennessee, and has owned two businesses. Pastor Wilkerson is also an ordained minister in the United Pentecostal Church International and has held multiple positions in the Tennessee District of this organization. He currently serves as the Sr. Bible Quizzing Coordinator for the Michigan District of the United Pentecostal Church International, and he is often asked to work as a guest quizmaster for tournaments out of state, including the national finals each year. Pastor Wilkerson was elected as Senior Pastor of Life Christian Church on January 31, 2021.

The Wilkerson’s have four children: Eden, Canaan, Judah and Selah.

Bishop | David D Stephens

David D. Stephens became the Pastor of what was then known as Eastside Apostolic Church in 1971 – the same year he graduated from Michigan State University. He was the pastor while still single – and provided transportation to and from Church to his small congregation. David Stephens is the son and grandson of men who founded and pastored churches in the mid-Michigan area for over 70 years. He himself pastored in Lansing for over 49 years. Before becoming a full-time pastor, he worked several years as a social worker in the areas of Emergency Services, Child Protective Services and Family Services.

He served Life Christian Church as the senior pastor until January 2021 when Bro. Jared Wilkerson was voted in as senior pastor. He was a consummate shepherd and continues to be active as a bishop, going out of his way to touch every member, guest, and the surrounding community. Bishop Stephens is married to Kathryn Roberts Stephens, and has two sons, David and Nathanael Stephens, as well as a daughter-in-law, Alani Stephens, and grandson, Caleb Stephens.

Church Administration | Alani Stephens

Alani began serving as our office secretary in November 2019. She is highly organized and enjoys helping meet the needs of our members as well as others in the community.

She manages the day-to-day operations of the church office, works with church finances, and maintains church records. Her responsibilities also include: bookkeeping, accounts receivable/payable, church calendar publications, rental of facilities, and scheduling events and meetings. Alani is married to David J Stephens and together they have two children, Caleb and Charity.

Music Ministry | Erica Wilkerson

Erica graduated in 2008 from Gateway College of Evangelism in Florrisant, MO with a Batchelor’s Degree in music. She led music in two churches in Tennessee prior to moving to Lansing with her husband in 2021 to assume the pastorate at Life Christian Church.

Erica is passionate about inspiring her team to lead the congregation in heart-felt worship. She is active in the music schedule, introducing new music/songs, and challenging her team to dive deeper into their worship.

She is also the wife of the Senior Pastor of Life Christian Church and mother of Eden, Canaan, Judah, and Selah.

Facilities Manager | Vincent Rangel

Demographic Ministries

Children’s Ministries | Erica Wilkerson

Erica has worked with children’s ministry for the last 10 years and has a passion for teaching them on their level and helping them to know Jesus better. With four children of her own, training up children “in the way they should go” is personal for her. Sis. Wilkerson supervises a children’s church team that breaks the truths of God’s Word down so children can understand them. The children’s church program occurs simultaneously with our Sunday 11 AM service.

She is also the wife of the Senior Pastor of Life Christian Church and mother of Eden, Canaan, Judah, and Selah.

Nursery | Rachel Jolly

Rachel is the supervisor for the Sunday morning nursery. She loves children and does an excellent job watching over our babies! She is in charge of recruiting volunteers to help staff the nursery weekly, on a rotational basis.

Rachel also works for the state of Michigan and deeply loves her husband, Russell, and two children, Trey and Olivia.

Youth | David & Alani Stephens

  • Youth & Young Adults meet on Saturday evenings in conjunction with the young adults group at 7 pm at the church.  This group is for those ages 12-17.

Some other activities that our youth participate in are:

  • Retreat weekends
  • Large youth group events that are regional or statewide
  • Summertime church camps

You can find out about these various activities by contacting the church office at 517-394-5433, by sending us an email through the “contact us” option on the website or through our youth Facebook page (Ignite 517 Youth).

Young Adults | David and Alani Stephens

Hyphen is for young adults ages 18-35. The goal of this group is to bring together the college and career aged group for fellowship, fun and a time of growth and knowledge in our relationship with God.

David has been leading the Hyphen group since 2014 and his wife Alani joined him in leading it in 2016. This group meets in conjunction with the youth every Saturday at 7pm.

Couples | Matt & Kelly Dunham

Matt and Kelly Dunham currently serve as the Couples Ministry Directors at Life Christian Church. The Dunhams have both attended regular church services at Life for over 20 years and have been involved with multiple areas of ministry related to family and children/youth.

In addition, both work full-time outside of the church: Matt is the owner of Dunham Service, an HVAC company, and Kelly contracts for the Michigan Department of Education. They are parents to Allyson, Waylon, Eleanor, and Wilson.

First Impression Ministries

Member Care | Jared and Erica Wilkerson

Pastor & Sis. Wilkerson are a wonderful team, working together to make sure all guests and current members are taken care of. Their goal is to give opportunities for anyone desiring to learn more to have access to all of Life Christian Church’s classes and to participate in Bible studies and mentorship programs we offer.

The Wilkerson’s work alongside our greeters’ staff to make sure all guests that attend our services feel welcomed. They also try to keep track of attendance records, follow up and much more concerning our attendees.

Having worked in youth ministry and other roles in three other churches, the Wilkersons bring a wealth of experience that assists them in serving the members of Life Christian Church.

Ushering & Transportation/Van Ministry | Dave Walsh

Dave has a desire to see anyone who desires to be in church in the pew. He makes this happen practically through in his leadership in the van ministry. He also leads our ushers in greeting and seating our guests, receiving the offering, maintaining order, monitoring our parking lot and facilities, and addressing any special needs of our guests. Our ushers love to serve and will help answer any questions you may have about the location of things in our building.

Dave spent two years playing college baseball, earning both an Associates & Batchelor’s Degree each majoring in psychology and minoring in biology, as well as a Batchelor’s Degree in Ministerial studies. He also served a total of 7 years combined in the USMC and USMC reserves. After working 9 years as an auditor, he spent the next 25 years working in business management before retiring in 2014. He has been married to the love of his life, Anita, since May 1989.

Information Technology Department | Trey Jolly

Trey holds an Associate’s Degree in General Education from Lansing Community College and is currently pursuing a Batchelor’s Degree in Management Information Systems from Northwood University.

Trey is passionate about the IT field and enjoys making the technical systems of Life Christian Church work and does an incredible job leading his team in this area.

Trey enjoys watching Michigan State basketball, football or hockey. He also loves spending time with friends and family, and he enjoys playing video games when he has spare time.

Greeters | Yolanda Vasquez

Yolanda has been coming to life for approximately 12 years. She loves to make people feel welcome and those working with her to feel special and enjoy their work. Her life is all about Jesus and serving Him.

Yolanda is now retired, but has worked in housekeeping, custodial duties, and hospital patient care.

Senior Pastor | Jared Wilkerson

Pastor Wilkerson became a member of his local church’s youth committee in Humboldt, TN at the age of 12 and later served as youth director in this congregation for three years. He & his wife, Erica, later moved to Cookeville, TN to become student pastor, a position they held for four years.

While serving in his other roles, Pastor Wilkerson also has served as an assistant to the pastor, worship leader, service leader, sound technician, drummer, and drama director. He also has experience in social media, digital marketing, teaching in the prison system in Tennessee, and has owned two businesses. Pastor Wilkerson is also an ordained minister in the United Pentecostal Church International and has held multiple positions in the Tennessee District of this organization. Pastor Wilkerson was elected as Senior Pastor of Life Christian Church on January 31, 2021.

The Wilkerson’s have four children: Eden, Canaan, Judah and Selah.

Bishop | David D Stephens

David D. Stephens became the Pastor of what was then known as Eastside Apostolic Church in 1971 – the same year he graduated from Michigan State University. He was the pastor while still single – and provided transportation to and from Church to his small congregation. David Stephens is the son and grandson of men who founded and pastored churches in the mid-Michigan area for over 70 years. He himself pastored in Lansing for over 49 years. Before becoming a full-time pastor, he worked several years as a social worker in the areas of Emergency Services, Child Protective Services and Family Services.

He served Life Christian Church as the senior pastor until January 2021 when Bro. Jared Wilkerson was voted in as senior pastor. He was a consummate shepherd and continues to be active as a bishop, going out of his way to touch every member, guest, and the surrounding community. Bishop Stephens is married to Kathryn Roberts Stephens, and has two sons, David and Nathanael Stephens, as well as a daughter-in-law, Alani Stephens, and grandson, Caleb Stephens.

Church Administration | Alani Stephens

Alani began serving as our office secretary in November 2019. She is highly organized and enjoys helping meet the needs of our members as well as others in the community.

She manages the day-to-day operations of the church office, works with church finances, and maintains church records. Her responsibilities also include: bookkeeping, accounts receivable/payable, church calendar publications, rental of facilities, and scheduling events and meetings. Alani is married to David J Stephens and together they have a son, Caleb Stephens.

Facilities Manager | Mike Adams

Mike does a great job keeping up with all the needed work that needs to be done around the church. He was a mechanic for 8 years and received his degree in the automotive field from Ferris State University.

He also worked at General Motors for a number of years as an emissions tester for the engineering department. Mike is our go-to handyman when something breaks or needs to be replaced. This is definitely an important and needed department!

Demographic Ministries

Children’s Ministries | Erica Wilkerson

Sis. Wilkerson has worked with children’s ministry for the last 10 years and has a passion for teaching them on their level and helping them to know Jesus better. With four children of her own, training up children “in the way they should go” is personal for her. Sis. Wilkerson supervises a children’s church team that breaks the truths of God’s Word down so children can understand them. The children’s church program occurs simultaneously with our Sunday 11 AM service.

Nursery | Rachel Jolly

Rachel is the supervisor for the Sunday morning nursery. She loves children and does an excellent job watching over our babies! She is in charge of recruiting volunteers to help staff the nursery weekly, on a rotational basis.

Stop in and meet her and our Nursery staff any Sunday morning!

The Nursery is open for children 3 months old to 30 months old. This is available to parents on Sundays during the 11 AM worship service.

Youth | Alistair Cowan

Alistair has been a faithful member at Life Christian Church since 2012 and became involved in the youth department right away.

In the summer of 2020, Alistair stepped up to become Life’s head youth leader when God called him and gave him a passion to reach out to today’s youth. He believes in instructing the younger generation about who God is and how much he loves us.

  • Ignite 517 youth meet on Saturday evenings at 7 pm at the church.  This group is for those ages 12-17.

Some other activities that our youth participate in are:

  • Retreat weekends
  • Large youth group events that are regional or statewide
  • Summertime church camps

You can find out about these various activities by contacting the church office at 517-394-5433, by sending us an email through the “contact us” option on the website or through our youth Facebook page (Ignite 517 Youth).

Bible Quizzing and Life Connections | Ethan Guttridge

Children ages 5-11 and young people ages 12-18 learn portions of the Bible each year. Competitions are held on local, state and national levels. Participants can often quote approximately 170-550 verses of scripture.

Life Connections assists with helping guests learn more about the church and assimilating into full members, if they are willing. Life Connections includes introducing them to the leaders and ministries of the church, teaching them Biblical salvation, instructing them in how to grow in their walk with God and assisting them with finding their ministry.

Ethan got involved in Bible Quizzing at the age of 11 and stayed with it until he was no longer eligible at age 18.

He has a passion for the word of God and memorizing scriptures and he is now the coordinator for Bible Quizzing at Life Christian Church.

Young Adults | David and Alani Stephens

Hyphen is for young adults ages 18-35. The goal of this group is to bring together the college and career aged group for fellowship, fun and a time of growth and knowledge in our relationship with God.

David has been leading the Hyphen group since 2014 and his wife Alani joined him in leading it in 2016. This group meets every Friday at 7pm.

First Impression Ministries

Church Dinners/Kitchen | Silvia Woods

Silvia is an expert cook with a love and willingness to serve. She coordinates the dinners and luncheons that are held for special occasions and holidays. Silvia, her husband Robert, and our wonderful kitchen staff prepare dinners/desserts monthly as church fundraisers. They also prepare the food for our monthly Pastors Breakfast.

The food they serve is excellent!! You don’t want to miss our fundraisers and luncheons!

Member Care | Jared and Erica Wilkerson

Pastor & Sis. Wilkerson are a wonderful team, working together to make sure all guests and current members are taken care of. Their goal is to give opportunities for anyone desiring to learn more to have access to all of Life Christian Church’s classes and to participate in Bible studies and mentorship programs we offer.

The Wilkerson’s work alongside our greeters’ staff to make sure all guests that attend our services feel welcomed. They also try to keep track of attendance records, follow up and much more concerning our attendees.

Ushering & Transportation/Van Ministry | Dave Walsh

Dave has a desire to see anyone who desires to be in church in the pew. He makes this happen practically through in his leadership in the van ministry. He also leads our ushers in greeting and seating our guests, receiving the offering, maintaining order, monitoring our parking lot and facilities, and addressing any special needs of our guests. Our ushers love to serve and will help answer any questions you may have about the location of things in our building.

Information Technology Department | Austin Guttridge

Austin has been involved in our IT department for over 8 years and went to Lansing Community College to study computer software and hardware. Austin oversees the audio/sound team which monitors and adjusts the mix of instruments, singers, and speakers. He also leads our projection team in projecting song lyrics and Scriptures, playing video clips in our church services, and updating our projection announcement slides. He further works with David J. Stephens in producing our livestream.

Music Ministry | Nathanael Stephens

Nathanael is a very talented singer and musician that we are blessed to have lead our worship team. He started learning how to play the piano at the age of 6, undergoing classical training until the age of 18 years old. He then underwent jazz training during his college years. Nathanael has been playing piano ever since.

Community/Outreach Ministries

Divorce Care and Marriage Counseling | Kathryn Stephens

Kathryn is a Limited Licensed Certified Counselor with a focus on marriage and family therapy. She owns her own counseling practice called “Lifepoint Counseling.” She and her staff offer direction to anyone who wants to improve their marriag; and support to anyone who is suffering from the effects of a divorce. Both adults and children are welcome.

Lifepoint also offers individual counseling on a plethora of other needs.