Chris is from Lancaster, PA, and married  his wife Janet in 1982.  They settled in Wisconsin 35 years ago. After  seminary (Columbia Graduate School, now CIU), he pursued a Ph.D. at  Marquette University. While a graduate student, he assisted with a  church plant on Milwaukee’s east side

In 1992, Chris set aside his dissertation  and planted a church in Waukesha, a western suburb of Milwaukee. Chris  served as the planter and senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in  Waukesha (later moved to Delafield, WI) for 26 years. Through the years,  Chris has been actively involved in church planting and credentialing  in Northern Illinois Presbytery and, since 2005, in the Wisconsin  Presbytery. He serves the Presbytery as the chair of the Pastoral  Development Committee and on its MNA Committee. In 2017 Chris became the  Director of the On Wisconsin Network, and then in 2018, he transitioned  from his senior pastor role to launch NXTGEN Pastors. NXTGEN provides  presbyteries and networks the mechanism to create mentored cohorts for  soft skills development, which is vital for pastoral health. NXTGEN  Pastors has trained over 150 mentors with 40 cohorts in North America,  with others beginning overseas. Chris served as Exeuctive Director until  January 1, 2023.

Chris served Mission to North America as  the Ecosystem Development Director until January 1, 2023. He is on the  board of The Midwest Alliance, working with its director, Ted Powers, to  see a greater planting movement among the 15 Midwest Presbyteries. He  is also on the board of Flourish Coaching, serving the director, Matt  Bohling.

Chris and Janet have been married for 40  years, having met in the sixth grade. Chris and Janet are the parents to  three children and have three energetic grandsons and a beautiful new  granddaughter.