The Regional Executive Board (REB) exists to serve pastors and churches as they fulfill their unique callings in their context. In light of this, each REB member maintains three complementary postures. As a servant leader, he or she:

  • represents the individual churches of our fellowship

  • champions the collective interests of the churches

  • advances the shared mission of the Central Region

The Central Region (CR) bylaws describe the various responsibilities of the REB. Fundamentally, the Regional Executive Board—and therefore each board member—serves four broad functions for Central Region Churches:

Stewardship of the Mission: faithfulness of our God-given mission—serving pastors and churches so they fulfill their unique callings in their particular context—drives us

Stewardship of Resources: as fiduciaries, we seek to make decisions for the mutual benefit of churches individually and the regionally; and we invest CR capital for increased mission and/or to gain additional resources for the Kingdom 

Self-renewal of the Organization: every organization has a natural life cycle; we regularly assess the current status of the organization, identify any areas of risk, and re-commit ourselves to our shared mission, vision, and relationships   

Legal Requirements: the REB meets the legal requirements of the states we serve and of the IRS

Ken Snyder serves pastors and churches by promoting personal and organizational health, and by challenging churches to deeper levels of faithfulness to Jesus’s mission. Ken is passionate about every church multiplying disciples, groups, leaders and churches to change the world through Jesus’s love. Ken is a member of Fellowship MC in Fort Wayne, and has served on the REB since 2007, and in his current roles since 2013.

Ken Snyder

Central Region Staff

Regional Director

 

Antonio Mariscal (Tony) is the pastor at Iglesia Evangelica Emanuel, planted in the Belmont-Cragin area in the Northwest side of the city of Chicago. Tony is passionate about serving the growing Latino immigrant urban community with all its challenges but most importantly with all the possibilities offered by God through Christ Jesus. Tony is a member of the REB and has been a member of the Latino Leadership team since 2014. Tony has been married to his wife Marcia for 26 years and they love spending time with their four kids.

Antonio Mariscal

Senior pastor

Iglesia Evangelica Emanuel, Chicago, Il

Vice Regional Director

Steve Sisson is the Executive Director of Missionary Church Investment Foundation and enjoys helping Missionary Churches with their financial needs. Steve is a member of Woodburn Missionary Church and has served as Treasurer of the Central Region since 2004.

Steve Sisson

Executive Director

MCIF, Fort Wayne, IN

REB Treasurer

 

Since 1997, Brandon Smith has served as a pastor at Village Church of Gurnee (IL) – the same church where he came to faith in Christ when he was a high school student! For the first 12 of these years, Brandon provided leadership to Village Church’s youth ministry; today, he serves as the church’s Executive Pastor. Brandon is a graduate of Wheaton College and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has been married since 2004 to his wife and best friend, Amy; they are blessed to be the parents of a daughter, Kylie.

Brandon Smith

Senior Associate Pastor

Village Church of Gurnee, Gurnee, IL

REB Secretary

 

Dan considers it a blessing to serve churches in his role on the REB. Dan graduated from Taylor University with a degree in communications and is the Vice President of Sales and Agency Operations for Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company. He attends Pathway Community Church, where he serves as an Elder.

Dan Book

Elder

Pathway Community, Fort Wayne, IN

REB Board Member

 

Brian has served in lay leadership at Dunfee Missionary since 1998 and has been the Director of Camp Blast, the Central Region Children’s Camp, since 2011. Brian has worked at Micropulse since 1996 as Controller and subsequently as Chief Financial Officer and is now President of Catalyst Ventures overseeing a portfolio of businesses including Micropulse. Brian enjoys serving the family of Missionary Churches in the region by serving the REB.

Brian More

Director of Camp Blast

REB Board Member

 

Duane Burris has served on the Pastoral team at Life Community in Fort Wayne since 2006 with primary responsibilities being preaching and leadership. Duane previously was on staff at a thriving church in Chicago and had a brief career in the Pharmaceutical industry. He married his Taylor University sweetheart and is the blessed father of four teenagers. He has served on the REB since 2017.

Duane Burris

Lead Pastor

Life Community, Fort Wayne, IN

REB Board Member

 

Melonie Cawvey – Pastor: currently serves as the Executive Pastor at Grace Church in Camby, Indiana. Prior to serving at Grace, she was on staff at Pathway for seven years and had the privilege of serving within multiple ministry departments. She and her husband Chris have been married for 22 years. They have three daughters. Their youngest is a junior at Bethel University pursuing her undergrad in Children's Ministry and American Sign Language. Their middle daughter is pursuing her undergrad in Christian Counseling at Bethel while balancing a full-time job. Their oldest daughter lives in Illinois with her partner. Melonie holds an associate degree from IWU in Christian Ministries and a bachelor's degree from Bethel University in Christian Leadership

Melonie Cawvey

Executive Pastor

Grace Church, Camby, IN

REB Board Member

 

Mark Douras and His wife, Sheryl, live in Dunlap, Illinois. Mark has been a pastor in the Missionary Church for almost 40 years, working in four different regions. He and Sheryl are co-founders of the Refreshing Mercies Ministry where Mark works full-time. For a brief period, he and his wife were World Partners missionaries in St. Petersburg Russia where he taught at the St. Petersburg Christian University. Mark is also a part-time counselor at Barnabas Center.

Mark Douras

Pastor

Refrshing Mercies, Dunlap, IL

REB Board Member

Travis joined the Central Region Team in December 2021. He serves churches across the Central Region by supporting Kids Ministries/Pastors and Student Ministries/Pastors, and helping engage, equip, and empower emerging leaders to know and fulfill their calling. Travis provides leadership for Central Region Summer Camps and the Central Region Internship Cohort. Travis and his wife, Lindsay, have 3 children (Benaiah, Ezekiel, and Morley) and attend Pathway Community Church in Fort Wayne. Contact Travis at travis@centralregionmc.org.

Travis Geisel

Central Region Staff

Advisory Member

 
 

As the Director of Pastoral Care, Tim is passionate about shepherding and coaching pastors/leaders and congregations to thrive, living out God's heart in their respective contexts. He is committed to helping people fan into flame a curiosity about who God is and how He is revealing Himself, both in their own stories and in the stories of those around them. Tim and his wife Jeannie served in Japan as missionaries for 25 years before he assumed this current role in 2012. Tim and Jeannie are members of First Missionary Church in Fort Wayne.

Tim Johnson

Central Region Staff

Advisory Member

Tom Swank serves as Director of PrayFirst! - the prayer ministry of the Missionary Church and serves as the Central Region Prayer Coordinator. He and his wife attend Life Community Church in Fort Wayne and has served as an advisory member of the REB since 2011. Tom's passion is to see each church become a house of prayer.

Tom Swank

DIRECTOR OF PRAYER MINISTRY

MCUSA, Fort Wayne, IN

Advisory Member