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

Duane Burris served at Life Community Church in Fort Wayne, IN, for 19 years. Duane and Megan Burris have been married for 31 years and have four wonderful children. Nicole, Tyler, Lauren, and Connor. Duane is passionate about every church multiplying disciples, leaders, and churches that change the world through Jesus’ love.

Duane Burris

Central Region Staff

CR Regional Director

 

Brian Beall

Executive Pastor

Pathway Community Church

CR 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

CR Treasurer

 

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

CR Secretary

 

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 Evangélica Emanuel

ELL Coordinator

 

Brian has served as a Living Hope Missionary Church Elder since 2022 and previously served as the director Camp Blast, the Central Region Children’s Camp, for 23 years. Brian was CFO at Micropulse for 27 years and is now CEO of Nanovis, a medical technology company.  Brian is a 1996 alum of Huntington University and is currently and HU Trustee.  Brian enjoys serving the family of Missionary Churches in the region through the REB.

Brian More

CEO

NANOVIS

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

CEO

Refreshing Mercies

REB Board Member

 
 

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

REB Board Member

 

Maritza has been connected with the Missionary Church since the late 1990s and is currently a member at Iglesia Nueva Esperanza in Hammond, Indiana, where she is actively involved.

She has over 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience in fundraising, outreach, and communications, and is the Director of US Ministry Experience at Bible League International. Maritza holds a Bachelor’s in Marketing from Northeastern Illinois University and a Master’s in Public Relations from DePaul University.

She and her husband, Javier Pereira, enjoy camping, gardening, fishing, and caring for their rescue dog, Buddy.

Maritza Martinez-Pereira

Director of US Ministry Experience

Bible League International

REB Board 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

Advisory 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

 
 

Todd married his high school sweetheart, Julie, in 2004—the same year he stepped into his first ministry role as a high school youth pastor. Together, they have two active kids: a daughter who is almost a sophomore in high school and a son who is nearly a freshman. Todd spent a decade investing in students through youth ministry before transitioning into the business world, where he worked in sales for nearly two and a half years. In 2016, he joined the team at Hope Missionary Church’s Main Campus, serving as Pastor of Assimilation, Discipleship, and Outreach. In 2019, he stepped into a new role as Campus Pastor at Hope’s North Campus, where he enjoys leading the staff and volunteers with vision and heart to further God’s Kingdom. Outside of work, Todd enjoys staying active. You will often find him training for triathlons or doing just about anything that gets him outdoors, or brewing a good cup of coffee using his Chemex.

Todd Rupp

Sheparding Pastor

Hope Missionary Church

REB Board Member