We invite you to get to know our ministers and staff here at Rochester Christian Church. Here are some of the facts and a little of the fun stuff about our staff...
Lead Minister
David Upchurch began his ministry with us in 1998 after 16 years experience as a Senior Minister. David is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College and holds a Master of Ministry degree from Kentucky Christian College. David married Cindy Williams in 1980 and they have three adult children: Krista (husband Josh), Matt, and Jacob. Cindy teaches 4th grade in Rochester and a women's Bible class at RCC. David has a heart for missions and also serves as president of a missions organization called ACM International. He travels to Africa on a regular basis with ACM, as well as working and recruiting new missionaries to serve in the Kingdom. David is a die-hard Cubs fan, loves Oreo cookies and enjoys golf, fishing, hunting and reading.
Senior Associate Minister
Matt Bortmess joined the RCC team in 2008 after spending nine years on the East Coast at a new church plant in the Boston area. Originally from Rochester, Matt first attended Eastern Illinois University and later attended Ozark Christian College earning a Bachelors degree in Bible. It was at Ozark where Matt met his wife, Lynda. Lynda currently works as a nurse at St. John's Hospital. Matt and Lynda have four children: Colin, Aubrey, Ethan, and Addison. Matt's role includes overseeing the staff team and the creative arts and worship ministry. Matt enjoys graphic design and music and is bit (!) addicted to pop-culture. Visit Matt's blog for his observations on life, ministry and family.
Family & Adults
Mike Jakaitis worked for State Farm Insurance for eight years before God called him to vocational ministry. He quit his job, with a wife and three kids in tow, and headed to attend Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri, graduating with a Bachelors. He joined the RCC staff in 1994 as Youth Minister for children, junior high and high school. As we grew as a church the need for a Family Minister became more apparent. Recently, Mike has transitioned into Family & Adult Ministry. Mike is a rabid Cards fan (which makes for interesting conversations with Upchurch), he loves to play golf, attend his kids' sporting events and hang out with his wife Anne (long walks on the beach...). Anne teaches fifth grade at Springfield Christian School and is also our part-time Early Childhood Director. They have four children: Ben, Rebecca, Sam & Joe.
Students (7th - College age)
Dustin Bramer is no stranger to the youth of Rochester Christian Church. He and his wife Tracy have been youth coaches for several years. For many years Dustin worked as a flight paramedic here in central Illinois. When our former student minister left, Dustin was asked by the elders to fill in until we could hire a new full-time minister. What we discovered was that Dustin was the right man for the job! We were hoping he could bring the helicopter with him (RCC One?), but that didn't work out. Dustin's joy and passion for kids is contagious. He loves students and brings a mega amount of energy and enthusiasm to this ministry. He and Tracy have seven children: Dylan, Chloe, Fisher, Dorian, Jamal, Calvin and Isaiah. He enjoys sports of all kinds (doing and watching) and playing with his kids.
Children (K - 6th Grade)
CurtisBatchelder arrived here at RCC in December 2009 from Colorado Springs, CO. He spent the last nine years leading the Children's Ministry at Sunnyside Christian Church. Curtis is a graduate of Pacific Christian College (now known as Hope International University) in Fullerton, CA where he met his lovely wife and best friend, Jennifer. Curtis and Jennifer have been blessed with three amazing kids: Katie, Elijah, and Noah. Curtis has a passion to see kids grow in their love and understanding of our great God and is eager to partner with our parents here at RCC to see our kids seek out God on a daily basis. Curtis loves to play a ton of sports like basketball, soccer, and golf; especially if his kids are playing too. Don't ask Katie about her golf experience with her dad!
Early Childhood
Anne Jakaitis serves as our Early Childhood Director. She has been at RCC since 1994 and has served at one time or another in every area of our Children’s Ministry in those years. She has returned to her roots in the Early Childhood area where she taught the 2- and 3-year-old class every Sunday for six years. She still loves to hear her nickname, “Miss Anne”, from her former charges, who are now in high school. She divides her time between her family, including Mike and their four children, her fifth grade teaching job at Springfield Christian School, and her RCC church family.
Missions
Heidi Wareham is very mysterious. She joined the staff on April 1, 2009 and was assured it wasn't an April Fool's prank. Before Heidi became the Mission's Director, she had served for many years in the volunteer position of National Missions Coordinator. Heidi loves experiencing the daily adventure of knowing and being known by her God. No one makes Heidi laugh as hard and as often as her husband Ross does. She and Ross adopted their infectiously-happy daughter Emily from China in 2007.
Christian Student Fellowship
Todd Magruder has been the campus minister for CSF at the University of Illinois at Springfield and Lincoln Land Community College for over 15 years.Todd loves to read, meet and share with college students. He is a die-hard Steelers fan, loves the band KISS, and draws superheroes. Todd and his wife Gretchen have shared the ministry at CSF while raising their two daughters, Sarah and Sophia. They just added to their family by adopting Selah, a little girl from Ethiopia.
Business Manager
April Vinyard began serving part-time in the business office in 2004 and became full-time in 2006. She graduated from Millikin University with a BS in Accounting and is a CPA. She is responsible for "minding the store," taking care of the financial information for the church, and coordinating the care and scheduling of church facilities. Believe it or not, she does enjoy more than just numbers. April and her husband, Tyler, have two children, Payton and Sage. She loves spending time with her family, scrapbooking and is a big sports fan: Go Bears, Go Cards! (In fact, Tyler proposed at a Cards game with the help of Big Bird!)
Office Manager
Laura McGee has been our Office Manager since 2000, and is essentially the chief zookeeper of the animals on staff. She feeds and cares for them and tries to keep them on schedule. Raised in Rochester, she was baptized in 1974 at church camp (Lake Springfield Christian Assembly) and got married in 1981 in what is now known as the KidZone (it used to be the church's auditorium, before we added on). She and her husband John have two grown children, Nicole and Joshua. Laura loves being a grandma to her first grandchild born in 2006. She is very proud of her church family and says “my job is not a ‘job,’ it’s a family heirloom that has been handed down to me and I am honored to serve my church family until the day that I hand it down to the next generation.”
