Pastors & Elders

My wife Pam and I were called to Dayspring in 1986 and we have never looked back. Soon after coming to Dayspring I asked God to give me a word from His Word that would define our ministry. I was led to John 1:14-17 where Scripture says that Jesus “came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Through Jesus Christ we “have all received grace upon grace.” This grace and truth of Jesus Christ have been at the core of our ministry ever since.

Around here we ask, “If you were turned loose to do ministry, what would it look like?” God has used that question to stir Dayspringers to consider who/what they are becoming in Christ, and we have seen many level up as God has called them to greater Kingdom responsibility in Dayspring and beyond. I love being part of an “Antioch” mindset that stirs, raises, and releases our people for Big K Kingdom purposes.

My wife Cindy and I began leading the youth ministry at Dayspring in 1991. Our primary focus remained with Dayspring’s Junior and Senior High students for over 20 years and eventually shifted to include more time with our growing young adult ministry. While our hearts still beat strongly for young people, Dayspring now turns us loose to fully step into our shepherding gifts to come alongside all ages and build them up for their designed purposes in The Kingdom. We love bringing people of all ages together and helping them become who they were created to be in Christ.

We (David and Heather) began attending Dayspring in the summer of 2018, after feeling led by the Holy Spirit to establish a new church home. The next year, we volunteered as Junior High Sunday school teachers, and that’s when the call to youth ministry became very apparent.

In March of 2021, I (David) joined the Dayspring staff as an Intern Youth Pastor, and the following September stepped into my current Youth Pastor role. I feel very blessed to have had wonderful, Godly mentors during my years growing up as a youth in my hometown of Marion, Ohio, and now am honored to get to serve in the same capacity for our youth here at Dayspring.

At the same time, we have both been very involved in music and worship at Dayspring. I (Heather) am a trained singer and voice teacher, and love being able to use my gifts on the worship team. In the fall of 2021, I accepted the larger call to full-time ministry as the Worship and Administrative Pastor. As a “worship architect,” I feel led to bring a combination of both structure and flow to the worship services, using our team’s God-given talents in Holy Spirit power to advance the “Big K” Kingdom of Christ.

Though we (Hannah and Sean) joined the Dayspring family at different points in our lives, our paths merged together there in 2013. Our journey in working with the Dayspring youth began in 2016 after spending a year in Bolivia with God growing and stretching us during that time. The old African proverb that says “it takes a village to raise a child” still rings true today, and it is a privilege to be a part of the Dayspring village in raising children to chase after God’s heart. Our goal and our prayer is to follow after Proverbs 22:6 which says to, “train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it.” We believe children are one of God’s greatest gifts, and we love having the opportunity to walk beside the Dayspring youth for several years of their journey of life.

I have been attending Dayspring with my family for almost 22 years.  It has been a great place to raise our boys and everyone feels like family!  I have always loved to teach – no matter the age group and over these years I have taught preschool through adults.  I have been teaching our Children’s Church kids (age 3-grade 3) for 15 years now and have been Children’s Pastor for around 6-7 years.  God has given me a heart for teaching our children just how amazing God made them and how to grow up in Jesus.  In Children’s Church we combine music, crafts, object lessons, games/kinesthetic, and Bible time to learn Bible truths.  I may lead the group, but the children teach ME a lot every time we meet!  

I began attending Dayspring with my family when I was in elementary school. Dayspring has been both home and a place that I have been continually challenged to grow in my faith. As an adult, my husband and I have continued to call Dayspring home. Here our children’s ministry leaders make our youngest Dayspringers a priority and our children enjoy coming to church!  The people I have grown to love and fellowship with here at Dayspring have helped me through some of my toughest times.  I really enjoy our time of worship, as our worship team is intentional about following the lead of Holy Spirit and leaving room for Him to work.

I have appreciated our pastors’ focus on people and the health of individual families rather than just looking at the numbers. At Dayspring, our pastors are guided by scripture, and seek truth while balancing this with the grace that Jesus modeled for us. The pastor and elder team has been so pivotal in keeping Dayspring healthy and growing more fully into the purposes that God has for us. They truly seek the Lord when processing difficult things and I am happy to partner with them in seeking His Kingdom first.

I love God and love my family. Dayspring has been a great church home, providing support in hard times and celebrating the good. We rejoice with those rejoicing and mourn with those in mourning. Raising two boys to be men of God has been a humbling, joyful and challenging task that I embrace with my wife’s hand in mine, and with a church congregation close enough to give and receive advice, stories and ideas. We have friends in Dayspring who have been through life’s experiences, friends walking with us in our current life experiences, and friends who have experience in their future. Scripture keeps us pointed in the right direction, and we encourage each other walking the walk.

My wife Crystal grew up attending Dayspring, and in 2012 we made Dayspring our church home. We’ve been incredibly blessed to be a part of the Sunday morning services (Crystal has an incredible voice), and the Wednesday evening meals have been my favorite way to bond (over food).

Our family found Dayspring Christian Fellowship in 2007 when looking for a new church home for almost a year.  We felt immediately welcomed by the people but also Pastor Jim himself as he rushed to greet us at the back of the church where we had been sitting.  The warmness of the people along with having the word of God preached from a Biblical authoritative position is what kept us coming back.  There was also the added bonus of positive, upbeat music mixed with familiar hymns that resonated with us.

Over the years, we have developed relationships that have helped keep our faith strong.  The people at Dayspring are quick to give support and care when requests are made known.  This created a safe environment for raising our children here and sharing life together.  My wife, Angie, and I have served the church in different areas and we really appreciate the diverse talents God has given to people at our church.  We are excited to see how God continues working through our church to reach the surrounding community and the world we impact.

Dayspring Christian Fellowship has been church home for me since 1993 – what a blessing to be a part of this growing fellowship of people. God has done and is doing amazing things through the leadership and people of Dayspring. I have tremendous hope for what is yet to come. Teaching has been a consistent joy of mine throughout most of my time here, from adults and young adults, to youth, and both children’s Sunday School and Children’s Church, with which I am currently involved. Our relationship and walk with Jesus is our life blood so having the privilege of teaching others and walking with them as they grow in Christ is very precious to me. I have also been blessed to serve as an elder for a few terms. This has been a growing experience and I am thankful to be a part of such a tremendous leadership team. Lastly, my wife Jan and I have raised our three boys here and we are very thankful to be serving our Lord and Savior with our family of Dayspring.