LEADERSHIP

Team Members

PASTORAL TEAM

Jonathan & Amy Gardner

Pastoral Team

Alongside their vocational callings, both Jonathan and Amy are actively involved in jail ministry, sharing the hope of the gospel with those seeking freedom and restoration.

Within the church, Amy leads the prayer group and women’s night, fostering a culture of intercession, encouragement, and spiritual growth.

Jonathan serves through preaching and leading men’s night, calling men to maturity, responsibility, and wholehearted devotion to Christ.

Jonathan and Amy’s heart is to see lives redeemed, families strengthened, and believers equipped to walk out their God-given purpose within the body of Christ and the world around them.

Daniel & Chelsey Webster

Pastoral Team

Daniel and Chelsey Webster faithfully serve as elders, pastors, and youth leaders at Christian Life Church. They are the proud parents of four teenagers, and they have 1 granddaughter. Daniel has been part of the Christian Life Church family for many years and is currently pursuing ministerial licensure through APEPT.

Chelsey has been a member of Christian Life Church for five years and has served as the Youth Pastor of Arrows Youth Ministry since April 2022. She has been licensed through APEPT since May 2024. Together, Daniel and Chelsey are continuing their theological and ministry training through Canon Christian College.

Beyond their ministry roles, Chelsey has been employed with Aureon Contact Center since March 2021, serving as a full-time Customer Service Representative. Daniel recently began a new career with IEP Communications as a full-time Cable Technician.

They value meaningful time with family and friends and enjoy experiencing God’s creation through the outdoors. Their shared heart is to walk alongside others, speak life and truth, and help lead people into a deeper, life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ.

Elder Team

James & Janelle Miller- Apostolic Leaders

James and Janelle Miller are pastors, entrepreneurs, and Kingdom-minded leaders who have spent the last two decades building people and building lasting foundations—at home, in the local church, and beyond. Married since 2004, they are raising four sons—one married and out on his own, with three still at home—and enjoy the growing joy of family life through their daughter-in-law and grandchildren. Together, they value legacy, community, and intentional leadership rooted in biblical truth. Janelle began serving on the worship team at Christian Life Church in 2004 and became Lead Worship Pastor in 2013. With a deep heart for discipleship and faith-based leadership, she is passionate about helping people grow in their relationship with God and live out biblical values in everyday life. After more than a decade of pastoral leadership, Janelle and James passed the pastoral baton to a new leadership team at the end of 2025 and are now stepping into a new season of training and equipping emerging leaders. She is also the founder of the Victorious Women’s Retreat (established in 2015), an annual gathering created to help women deepen their understanding of who Christ is and who He says they are—making room for spiritual growth, encouragement, and authentic community. Janelle also loves creating beauty that shifts atmospheres through thoughtful interior design, and she shares reflections on faith, leadership, and everyday life at www.janellelmiller.com. Her first book, You Follow You Wherever You Go, is scheduled for release in 2026. James H. Miller II brings over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience alongside more than a decade in full-time ministry, blending practical leadership with spiritual conviction as he preaches and teaches Kingdom principles to leaders and entrepreneurs across borders; through his writing, he equips believers to build with with practical wisdom as the author of The Power of Prayer and Fasting (21-Day Devotional), Kingdom-Driven Business, and The Lens, with The Joseph Factor coming soon, and he shares resources and teaching at kingdomdrivenbusiness.biz while also serving as the founder of a cleaning and restoration business through which he and Janelle have built a thriving real estate investment and hospitality venture—qualities of patience and precision that are continually sharpened in one of his favorite rhythms, fly fishing, where reading the water and making deliberate casts mirrors the way he leads in business and ministry.

Daniel & Chelsey Webster

Daniel and Chelsey Webster faithfully serve as elders, pastors, and youth leaders at Christian Life Church. They are the proud parents of four teenagers. Daniel has been part of the Christian Life Church family for many years and is currently pursuing ministerial licensure through APEPT. Chelsey has been a member of Christian Life Church for five years and has served as the Youth Pastor of Arrows Youth Ministry since April 2022. She has been licensed through APEPT since May 2024. Together, Daniel and Chelsey are continuing their theological and ministry training through Canon Christian College. Beyond their ministry roles, Chelsey has been employed with Aureon Contact Center since March 2021, serving as a full-time Customer Service Representative. Daniel recently began a new career with IEP Communications as a full-time Cable Technician. They value meaningful time with family and friends and enjoy experiencing God’s creation through the outdoors. Their shared heart is to walk alongside others, speak life and truth, and help lead people into a deeper, life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ.

Karen Cunningham

Karen Cunningham serves as an elder and leads the Kingdom Life Kids Ministry at Christian Life Church, where she has been a member since 2021 and has taught Sunday School for the past four years. Her heart is devoted to children, with a desire for them to know that Jesus loves them and has a plan and purpose for their lives. Outside of ministry, Karen has been employed by the Iowa Department for the Blind for 23 years, where she serves as an Instructional Materials Center Librarian. She is also a proud mother of three and grandmother of eleven, and enjoys spending time with her family and taking nature walks.

Jonathon & Amy Garnder

Jonathan and Amy Gardner serve faithfully at Christian Life Church with a shared passion for discipleship, prayer, and restoration through Jesus Christ. Both Jonathan and Amy are licensed through APEPT International and are currently continuing their theological studies at Canon Christian College. Together, Jonathan and Amy have been blessed with sixteen children, with seven still in the home, as well as many grandchildren. Family is central to their calling, and their home is a place of discipleship, faith, and intentional Christian living. Amy is a full-time stay-at-home mother who homeschools their children. She previously worked in healthcare and now pours her time and gifts into raising their family, leading prayer, and discipling women. Jonathan owns and operates a construction company, bringing the same principles of integrity, stewardship, and excellence into his work that he carries into ministry. Alongside their vocational callings, both Jonathan and Amy are actively involved in jail ministry, sharing the hope of the gospel with those seeking freedom and restoration. Within the church, Amy leads the prayer group and women’s night, fostering a culture of intercession, encouragement, and spiritual growth. Jonathan serves through preaching and leading men’s night, calling men to maturity, responsibility, and wholehearted devotion to Christ. Jonathan and Amy’s heart is to see lives redeemed, families strengthened, and believers equipped to walk out their God-given purpose within the body of Christ and the world around them.

Kay Norcross

Kay Norcross serves faithfully at Christian Life Church as an elder, mentor, and leader of the prayer group. She has devoted countless hours to intercessory prayer for the advancement of the Kingdom of God—covering the church, families, friends, and all those she encounters who may be struggling or in need of God’s divine intervention. Kay is a widow, a devoted mother of three grown children, a loving grandmother to six grandchildren, and a proud great-grandmother to nine great-grandchildren. She has been a member of Christian Life Church for seven years, and her heart’s passion is rooted in children, prayer, and encouraging everyone she meets with the love and hope of Christ. Beyond her ministry role, Kay enjoys creating handmade cards as an expression of love and encouragement, and she deeply cherishes time spent with her family and friends.

Meet the Team

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Fredrick Wierschke

Fredrick Wierschke serves as a Deacon at Christian Life Church and has a deep passion for Singles Ministry. He ministers to single adults who have never been married, are divorced or navigating divorce, or are widowed—drawing from both compassion and personal experience, having been widowed for nearly 13 years himself. In addition to his role in Singles Ministry, Fredrick faithfully serves as a Sunday morning Door Greeter, warmly welcoming attendees into Christian Life Church each week. He also assists in presenting the Ministry Moment prior to the offering. Fredrick is a strong believer in the Five-Fold Ministry as outlined in Ephesians 4:11–12 and lives out his calling with a genuine servant’s heart, always willing to help wherever there is a need. He recently earned his Master’s degree in Theology from Canon Christian College and continues to serve with humility, dedication, and a heart for building up the body of Christ.

Deacon

Worship Team

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Janelle Miller

Janelle Miller served on the worship team at Christian Life Church beginning in 2004 and stepped into the role of Lead Worship Pastor in 2013. As a church leader with a deep heart for discipleship, faith-based leadership, and serving the church, Janelle is passionate about helping people grow in their relationship with God and live out biblical values in everyday life. After more than a decade of pastoral leadership, Janelle is excited for a new season of training and equipping emerging leaders as she and her husband, James, passed the pastoral baton to a new leadership team at the end of 2025. She believes strong Christian leadership is rooted in truth, compassion, and obedience to God’s calling, and that lasting transformation begins when people allow God to work in the unseen places of life through discipleship. Janelle is also the founder of the Victorious Women’s Retreat, established in 2015. This annual gathering is dedicated to helping women deepen their understanding of who Christ is and who Christ says they are, creating space for spiritual growth, encouragement, and authentic community. Janelle and her husband, James, have been married since 2004 and are raising four sons, with three still at home. They also enjoy the growing joy of their family through one married son, a daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. Family, community, and intentional leadership are central to Janelle’s life and ministry. Janelle has a passion for creating beauty and influencing the atmosphere through thoughtful interior design, believing that spaces can be both functional and deeply meaningful. She shares her writing and reflections on faith, leadership, and everyday life on her blog at www.janellelmiller.com. Her first book, You Follow You Wherever You Go, is scheduled for release in 2026. Outside of church leadership, Janelle enjoys restoring homes, writing, and spending time with her family—all while continuing to invest in people and point them toward hope in Christ.