Staff & Leadership

STAFF & LEADERSHIP

PASTORS

Chris Woodard Lead Pastor (Elder)[email protected]

Chris has been here at LifePoint since its inception in 2007. He has his B.S. in Religion: Biblical & Theological Studies from Liberty University and is currently pursuing his M.Div. at a snail's pace from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. As our Lead Pastor, Chris handles a majority of our Sunday preaching, while casting vision for the direction of LifePoint. Chris works closely with the staff and elders to ensure that the Bible is taught, Jesus is proclaimed, and the people of LifePoint are equipped and cared for. Originally from Houston, Texas, Chris married his wife Debbie in 1995 and they have three adult children (Savannah, Cameron and Sierra). Chris and his family continue to spend time on the mission field, having served in many countries around the world.

Lynn GallagherExecutive Pastor of Operations (Elder)[email protected]

Lynn oversees all operational things within the church. He is one of our founding elders from 2007. He was ordained into pastoral ministry in 2009. Lynn and his wife Holly have 3 adult children (Jenny, Jeff, and Jon) and 3 granddaughters (Lucy, Elsie, and Alice). Lynn likes to reflect on all that God has done at LifePoint and looks forward to what is over the next horizon.

Jay BennettLead Associate Pastor (Elder)[email protected]

Jay works to provide direction and oversight for LifePoint’s staff and ministries. Jay works alongside our Lead Pastor to implement the vision of and oversee the direction of the church. You’ll find Jay serving as one of our Sunday gathering preachers, serving on the Worship Team and helping lead Student Ministry. Jay has a B.A. in Communication Studies from California Baptist University (CBU) and over 15 years of ministry experience prior to joining LifePoint in 2015. As a Southern California resident for most of his life, Jay spent many of his early years traveling the United States with his military family. Jay and Danielle were married in 2008 and have since added JJ, Maddie, Nolan and Austin to their family. Jay loves working hard, but he loves to play even harder. He enjoys spending time with family, working out, building projects, playing games, and finding a really good restaurant with Danielle.

STAFF

Rachel Plattner LifePoint Kids Director[email protected]

Rachel is passionate about families and empowering them to live out their faith in all places and spaces. She loves telling His Story and inviting kids into that story so they may know, love, and follow Jesus. She graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with BA’s in Youth Ministry and Christian Education and Wesley Seminary with a Masters in Children’s, Youth, and Family Ministry. She has worked as a Director of Children’s Ministry at a church in Texas and as a Children’s Pastor in Springfield, Illinois. She and her husband Justin enjoy chasing their sons Donnie and Artie around. As a family they enjoy roaring like dinosaurs, going to parks, eating ice cream, and watching the same movie over and over again. They have a goldendoodle named Oliver (Ollie) who they are convinced is a muppet. Rachel enjoys spending time with family, going on trips, getting lost in a good book, playing an occasional video game, watching movies, attending sporting events, and appreciates a good cup of coffee.

Lauren HoltNursery & Childcare Coordinator[email protected]

Lauren oversees our childcare workers and ensures that the nursery age children of LifePoint are well cared for in a safe and loving environment. She is excited to have the opportunity to partner alongside parents in helping raise the next generation to become followers of Christ. Lauren has served within many areas of early childhood ministries, teaching and volunteering for several years. She is passionate about instilling spiritual values, planting seeds and molding little hearts for God’s love for us. Lauren enjoys serving alongside her husband Jeremy and leading people into a growing relationship with Christ. They have two daughters, Emmalea and Ellaina. As a family they enjoy being outdoors, swimming, baking and spending time with family and friends.

Holly GallagherConnect Coordinator[email protected]

Holly is a follower of Jesus and is passionate about sharing His love with people. She was part of the founding team at LifePoint in 2007 and is AMAZED at God’s incredible faithfulness and provision for His church. She thoroughly enjoys connecting with people of all ages. At LifePoint, Holly is excited to be serving as our volunteer LifePoint Connect Coordinator. Holly married her wonderful husband Lynn in 1984 and is mom to Jenny and her husband Jordan, Jeff, and Jon, and she is “Grammy” to Lucy Bee, Elsie Rae, and Alice Rose. In her free time Holly loves to spend time with family and friends, travel, walk and drink hot chocolate.

Nancy GeisslerDirector of Communications and Worship Arts[email protected]

Nancy is our Director of Communications and Worship Arts. She started attending LifePoint in 2010 and joined the worship team soon after. She holds a BA in Communication with a minor in Music from Western Illinois University and an MA in Communication from Quincy University and has worked at Quincy Community Theatre as well as QU. Nancy and her husband Mark got married in 2010 and have two children, Claire and Lee.

Wendy KoontzImpact Coordinator[email protected]

Wendy is our volunteer Impact Coordinator. She coordinates the impact of LifePoint’s communication, creativity, and design. She makes sure that each ministry is consistently weaving together our LifePoint story. Wendy is married to Tim and they have two grown daughters, Megan and her husband Jack, and Madelyn and her husband Matt. She loves family time with her children, travel, and walking. Wendy serves on the Connect Team, is involved in Women’s Ministry and LifeGroups. She and her husband Tim are one of the four founding families of LifePoint.

Danette RabeOffice Administrator[email protected]

Danette is the first point of contact for LifePoint's communication and she plays a role in everything from Connect Ministries, event planning, and making sure everything is ready to go for Sunday mornings. She enjoys serving, greeting, and meeting people's needs. Danette and her husband, Eric, live on his family’s farm in Mendon. They have two wonderful daughters, Shannon and Claire. As a family, they enjoy playing ping pong, card games, and going on summer vacations. Danette also enjoys running, walking, playing piano, and baking cookies.

Garris BrownTechnical Arts Director[email protected]

Garris is our Technical Arts Director. You’ll find Garris powering up all our tech on Sunday mornings, running some of the AVL (Audio, Visual, Lights) equipment in the tech booth, and being our go to person for trouble-shooting on Sunday mornings. Garris is from Quincy and he has three children.

ELDERS

To contact one of our elders, please e-mail [email protected]

Joe Heberlein

Elder

Joe has been attending LifePoint since 2009. He is a newly elected elder as of the summer of 2017, and he also is part of the worship team. Joe is originally from and still residing in the small village of Liberty, IL. After graduation, Joe enlisted and served in the Marine Corps. He spent most of his service in Kaneohe Bay, HI. After returning to Liberty from the service, Joe attended JWCC for a short time and then became employed in the rural water business. Joe is currently the manager of the Clayton-Camp Point Water Commission. Joe and his wife Stacey have been married for 18 years and are the parents of Jude, Leila, and one waiting in heaven for us, Cooper J.

Joe serves on our Congregational Care Team.

Justin Twaddle

Elder

Justin has been part of the LifePoint family for 8 years. Justin grew up in Carthage, Illinois, and after high school attended Culver-Stockton College, where he earned his B.S. in Biology. After college, he worked as a research assistant at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for a year before moving to Quincy to pursue a career in the fire service. Justin has been a firefighter/paramedic for the Quincy Fire Dept. for 17 years. He and his wife, Deanna have been married for nearly 18 years, and have four children: Lily, Caleigh, Abigail, and Isaac.

Justin serves on our Doctrine Team and Discipleship Team.

Mark Vander Ley

Elder

Mark and his family have been attending LifePoint since they moved to Quincy in January of 2011. Mark is involved with Connect Ministries and has been an apprentice LifeGroup Leader. Mark has worked as direct care staff in a residential treatment center, a director of youth ministry, and a licensed clinical professional counselor. In 2017, he opened his own private practice providing individual, family, and couples counseling. He is also clinical faculty in the Department of Counselor Education at Adams State University. Mark and his wife Alison have four children, Hutson, Harrison, Isaac, and Anna.

Mark serves on our Teaching Team.

Ryan Wood

Elder

Ryan has been attending LifePoint Church since 2010 and was installed as an elder in 2020. He and his wife Lindsey currently serve in our Connect Ministries. Ryan was born and raised in Elvaston, Illinois. After high school he attended Western Illinois University, earning a degree in Agricultural Sciences and a MBA in Finance. After managing a farm in Brazil for two years, he returned to his family farm in rural Illinois north of Quincy. He has been farming with his father since 2009. He met his wife, Lindsey, through a church Bible Study and they were married in 2012. They have two children, Ivan and Emmanuela, with a baby due in November 2021.

Ryan serves on our Church Discipline Team.

Doug Schulte

Elder

Doug and his wife Cindy have been attending LifePoint for over ten years. They both serve in LifePoint Kids and lead a LifeGroup. Doug and Cindy recently celebrated their 40th anniversary and the Lord has blessed them with three children, their spouses and eight grandchildren. Doug has been employed at Knapheide Manufacturing for 25+ years and enjoys almost anything outdoors.

Dave Wadsworth

Elder

Dave has been attending LifePoint since 2019 and was elected to the Board of Elders in 2022. He has been married to Cori for 41 years and together they have two adult children. Their daughter Lauren lives in St. Louis where she teaches elementary school. Their son Barrett lives in Quincy and also attends LifePoint Church. Dave was raised and lived in the Chicago suburbs until being transferred to Memphis, Tennessee in 1988. Seventeen years later the family moved to Quincy. He has been with Gardner Denver for nearly 44 years at multiple locations and in a variety of roles.

At LifePoint, Dave and Cori serve on the Connect Team and LifePoint Kids.