Sarah Windham
Hearing you give praise through song is one of Sarah’s greatest joys. She believes God moves through those moments, when we let our guard down allowing ourselves to be vulnerable. It’s her prayer that we can continue to cultivate these moments. She leads the Worship and Tech Teams and manages the service flow across all campuses. Sarah grew up in Carthage, Illinois and attended Burnside Christian Church where her dad was the Pastor. She has a bachelor’s degree in Music Education and has been involved in worship since high school. Sarah lives in Joliet with her husband Luke, son and daughter.
Rachelle Ferguson
Rachelle has been an integral part of The Village since its beginning in 2004. She enjoys serving on the Teaching Team and with Pulse Students. She is passionate about the purpose of the local church and is willing to serve anywhere that the Lord leads to show others that they belong to the Kingdom of God. Rachelle grew up in southern Illinois and attended First Christian Church of Oblong. She attended Lincoln Christian University and Illinois State University gaining a bachelor’s degree in both Bible and Elementary Education. Rachelle lives in Channahon with her husband, Nate, and they have two adult sons and a daughter-in-law.
Lilye Sease
Lilye has a passion for prayer and serves as our Prayer Pastor making sure prayer is at the forefront of all we do at The Village. She leads the prayer team as they pray for the world, nation, city, community, leadership, church prayer requests, every space in the church and every chair. Lilye grew up in Mississippi. She attended Charles H. Mason Theological Seminary and has extensive experience as a prayer leader and evangelist. Lilye and her husband, John (Sonny), live in Shorewood.
Carder Ferguson
Carder Ferguson is passionate about guiding teens toward a meaningful relationship with Christ. As a young man, he brings energy and relatability to his role as Pulse Student’s Pastor at The Village Christian Church. Carder holds a Bachelor’s in Christian Ministry from Lincoln Christian University. When not planning youth events or mentoring teens, Carder enjoys golf, cooking, and doing stand up comedy. Carder’s mission is to invite students to know and follow Jesus.
Cassi Norman
Cassi’s goal as Connections Leader is to help people experience Life Growth through a range of discipleship opportunities in our church community. She will be working with new guests as well as people that have been around for a while, but haven’t yet connected in a group. Cassie had this to say, “As people grow, may their life reflect God’s love, compassion, and mercy to our community.” Cassi was born and raised in Channahon. She received her teaching degree at the University of Illinois, and came back home to marry her high school sweetheart and begin a family. She lives in Channahon with her husband Tim and three children. They started attending the Village in 2016, and in 2018, they decided to lead a Lifegroup and became very passionate about discipling others through group life.
Nichole Nyalka
Nichole has a heart for Jesus and carries that passion through in all she does on the Communications Team. She combines her creativity and love of art to lead the Photography Team, design graphics, signage, invitations, Village Gear, and other visual tools to bring more people to know Jesus. Nichole grew up in Wilmington, Illinois. She earned a Fine Arts degree, majoring in graphic design and minoring in photography at University Of St. Francis. She lives in Channahon with her husband, Dan, and four kids.
Shannon Wujek
Shannon has a heart for Jesus and carries that passion through in all she does on the Communications Team. She oversees Enews, our weekly email newsletter, manages our databases, updates the website and so much more. Her gift for organization ensures we are communicating in a clear, consistent and timely manner. Shannon spent her childhood traveling with her father from coast to coast and then settled in Wilmington, Illinois. She has a big heart to serve the Lord. You may see her onstage when she volunteers on the Worship Team or serving on the Tech Team. Shannon and her husband, Tony, live in Minooka with their two boys.
Stephanie Harrison
Stephanie and her family have been attending the Minooka campus for about 3 years. What started as casually going to church quickly grew into getting involved- first in the cafe, then joining the First Impressions team. Along the way, Stephanie discovered how rewarding it is to help schedule people to serve God and connect them with the opportunities to use their gifts. She is excited to step into additional responsibilities as an Administrative Assistant and help ensure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes so ministry can thrive. Stephanie lives in Morris with her husband, Matt, and their two children. Her family is grateful to be part of what God is doing in the church community.
Colleen Wielgat
Colleen is passionate about helping children grow in their faith and discover their love of Jesus. She serves in Kid Village at The Village, where she enjoys creating engaging, Christ-centered learning experiences for children each week. In addition to her ministry role, Colleen oversees curriculum planning for The Village Christian Church, helping to develop meaningful and age-appropriate lessons for grades PRE-K through 5th grade. Colleen holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Her background in education, combined with her heart for ministry, allows her to equip and encourage the next generation in their walk with Christ. She is married to Joe and is the proud mother of three children. Whether serving at church, planning curriculum, or spending time with her family, Colleen’s desire is to glorify Jesus and help others grow in their relationship with Him.
Nicole Harrington
Nicole grew up in Minooka, Illinois and her mother and grandmother have always shown her God‘s love as the number one purpose in her life. Being surrounded by loving family and friends has been one of God‘s biggest gifts to her. She now lives in Channahon with her husband and two sons. Nicole cherishes her time with her husband whether it’s Pickleball, bike rides or attending church services. She also looks forward to Zumba classes with friends that have been together for 15+ years and her weekly Lifegroup that has been meeting together for 7 years. Nicole started attending Village Christian Church in 2018 and fell in love with everything about it. As an elementary school teacher in Naperville for 28 years, she naturally was drawn to volunteering in Kid Village. Nicole is honored to be asked to accept this position and loves watching God at work in the lives of the children in Kid Village.
Kora Rhodes
Kora is a natural people person with an outgoing personality and a strong passion for building connections with people both online and in person. Kora loves the Lord, values faith and community, and finds her greatest joy in being a wife to her husband, and a mother to her two kids. She and her husband are raising their family in Seneca, where she spent most of her life growing up. Kora has fallen in love with being a part of The Village, taking every opportunity to grow and bring people closer to God.
Steve Hall
Steve grew up in Naperville, Illinois in a Christian family and has always loved having the opportunity to serve God. He has been doing sound since he was 18. Steve has used his gift to help people connect to God through worship by doing sound and it brings him great joy. Steve lives in Channahon Illinois with his wife and 2 children.
Kinnick Gorsch
Kinnick is a high school Pulse student who loves leading at Pulse events. He loves playing and watching sports and his favorite hobby is disc golfing with his friends. He plans on going to Bible college and pursuing a career in youth ministry after high school.
Whit Windham
Whit is an intern at The Village, and he’s looking to bring joy to the kingdom and bring more people into the church community. He is very excited to serve God fully and be as helpful as he can. Whit was born in Dwight, Illinois before moving to Shorewood in grade school, and has attended The Village Christian Church the whole time. He currently attends Minooka Community High School, and hopes to go to college for ministry after graduation.
Tim Juskiewicz
Tim led the Building Team when the church was built in 2004 and now volunteers as our Facility Manager. He uses his construction knowledge and experience as he maintains the Minooka Campus keeping it safe and looking good. Tim grew up in southern Indiana, and was raised in Baptist and non-denominational churches. He studied civil engineering at Purdue University and is employed as an engineer. Tim lives in Morris with his wife, Susan, and two daughters.
Abbey Akre
Abbey grew up in Lisbon, Illinois, attending West Lisbon Church, where she developed a deep love for Jesus. After graduating from Lincoln Christian University with a degree in spiritual formation, she decided not to pursue vocational ministry. She nannied and coached in Lincoln for a while before earning a degree in physical therapy as an assistant. She worked as a PTA for a bit before transitioning her current position as an administrative assistant at Newark High School. She also coaches freshman volleyball at the high school and enjoys spending time with her many nieces and nephews! God called her into ministry, and after some initial hesitation, she has embraced this calling wholeheartedly, ready to be a vessel for what the Lord has in store for Seneca.
Kelsie Hall
Kelsie served on the worship team at the Minooka and Seneca campuses for four years before coming on staff as the Seneca Worship Leader in January 2024. Her passion for Jesus paired with her gift of singing brings a great combination to the Seneca Campus. Her excitement overflows to see what God will continue to do in and through the church within the Seneca community, and she is ready and willing to be used by Him for His purpose. “Worship is such a beautiful and intimate act of love and praise, and I am blessed to be able to help lead the people of our church into a closer, more meaningful relationship with Him through worship.” – Kelsie Kelsie lives in Seneca with her husband, Neil, and their four children.
Brittany Sandeno
Brittany grew up on a farm just outside of Seneca in Verona, IL and currently lives just down the road from where she grew up. Her family attended First Christian Church in Morris, IL where Nate Ferguson was the youth pastor. In 2010 she began attending The Village in Minooka when her brother, Nick Sandeno, asked her to join him as a chaperon as he took students to camp. That year she developed a love for student ministry. Brittany was a member of the core team that launched the Seneca Campus and after a taking a year off, has been attending and serving there for the past year. “There is so much God is doing and families he’s reaching through our student ministry and I’m so excited to be apart of that and watch as he transforms lives.” – Brittany
Heather Lee
Heather lives in Mazon with her husband, Scotty, and their two children. When she’s not at church, she enjoys time with her family, golfing, and traveling together whenever possible. She values creating a home for all to feel welcomed. Heather is passionate about helping people feel seen, welcomed, and connected. She believes the church isn’t just a place to attend, but a family to belong to. Whether it’s your first Sunday or you’ve been attending for years, Heather loves helping individuals take their next step toward meaningful relationships and community. Her heart is to create spaces where people can grow in faith, build authentic connections, and experience the love of Christ together!
Tracy Read
Tracy manages everything administrative for the Seneca Campus and coordinates lifegroups, events, and service projects. She serves as a Lifegroup leader, prayer team leader, Kid Village volunteer and loves to serve with community outreach initiatives. Tracy grew up in the Seneca/Marseilles area and has a deep love for the Seneca community and all the people in it. Her family consists of her husband Dan, 3 children and 7 grandchildren, all in the area. Tracy is most passionate about her relationship with Jesus and helping other people to grow in their relationship with Jesus. He changed her life at 23 years of age, and she knows He can do the same for everyone else.
Amy Pehlke
Amy leads Kid Village for infants – grade 3 and Pulse 45 for students in grades 4-5 at the Coal City Campus. Her goal is to create a fun, safe, and secure environment where kids can learn about Jesus! She loves Jesus and is an expert at living out our core value of no boring here, as she interjects fun into all that she does. Amy ensures that Kid Village at all campuses is aligned with the church mission – to help people experience life change, life growth, and life purpose. Amy was raised in Minooka, Illinois and attended St. Mary’s Catholic Church. She studied Early Childhood Development in college and has a passion for working with kids. She managed a home daycare before being called into ministry. Amy and her husband, Chris, live in Essex. They have been attending The Village since 2008.
Amy Trucano
Amy is so grateful for the immediate community and connection her family found attending The Village Christian Church. She values the friendships developed through serving in Worship, Events, Rooted, and attending Life Groups. This fuels her desire for everyone to be connected and experience belonging, love, purpose, and fun! Amy moved to Illinois in 2005 with her husband Joe, saw the church signs on the roadside a week later, and have been attending since then! They currently live in Braidwood with their two sons.
Kyle White
Kyle was born and raised in Braidwood. He and his wife Courtney, were High School sweethearts and they have 2 Children. They have attended The Village’s Coal City Campus since it opened in December 2022. Kyle started off as an Usher, became the Usher Coach and is now the Director of Lifegroups for the Coal City Campus! When he’s not serving at the church, Kyle coaches basketball or soccer for both his kids, or he spends time on the links at Morris Country Club!
April Nykaza
Growing up as a pastor’s kid with her mom as the worship leader provided April with the opportunity to experience the joy of worship through music week in and week out. “Without fail, every time I sing as part of our Worship Team, I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit and I cannot help but smile and lift my hands to the Lord. Luke 1:37 says, “Faith doesn’t make things easy, it makes them possible.” I know without a doubt that God has good plans for each and every one of us. It is my hope and prayer that people will lean into their faith each week and allow God to work in and through them through the scriptures brought to life through song.” April and her husband Michael reside in Lockport with their three boys and have been attending The Village since opening day in October 2004. April has served in many roles including Kid Village, First Impressions Coffee Center as well as the Worship Team.