Building Unity in Cedar Rapids
Serving Christ by Serving the City - Together.
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Our Team
Leading as a Servant Leader
God has called us all to be servant leaders in our community.
Trisha Sellers
Serve The City Executive Director
Trisha has been serving in the Cedar Rapids community for the past 16 years. She has had the privilege of working closely with many Cedar Rapids businesses, ministries, and organizations. The personal and professional journey that God has used to prepare her for such a time as this includes career leadership roles that range from non-profits to Fortune 500 entities. With a unique and diverse skill set, Trisha is “wired” for envisioning possibilities, tackling challenges, modeling servant leadership, and sharing her passion “to do everything for the sake of the Gospel.”
"I love how creative God is when He reveals a plan! Serve The City is a unique and exciting example of just such a plan. I am both humbled and enthusiastic about serving alongside other servant leaders to capture the hearts of our community for His glory."
We're More Than Just a Board of Directors
We’re a whole team of passionate individuals working together to pray for, care for and share with our city the love of Christ.
Bruce Boldt
Community Leader and Volunteer
Bruce is recently retired from a career in Information Technology management. He is married to Lisa and they have 2 children. Bruce has always had a passion for missions and serving others. He is a member of Cedar Hills Community Church and has been involved in several local mission activities over the past years. Most recently he has been a part of the team that has launched the Serve The City Care Network. Bruce enjoys living life with Lisa, traveling when they can, and spending time with family.
“I am so happy to be a part of Serve The City! There are so many opportunities for us to unite as a network of churches to serve our community! I am very excited about the potential the Care Network has to serve our city in the name of Jesus!”
Marcus Bratsch
Pastor, River of Life Church
“……The Bible-believing Church in Eastern Iowa simply cannot function without churches loving other churches, and this love requires inter-church relationships in order to flourish. Serve the City fulfills a unique role in creating and giving life to these relationships between Christians who know Jesus and trust their Bibles, yet worship in diverse ways or come from different denominational backgrounds…..”
Marcus serves as a pastor at River of Life Church. In his role, he is responsible for preaching, relational discipleship and outreach. He is passionate about seeing people discover the character of God through His Word and His Spirit. In his off time, you can find Marcus spending time with his wife, Kristen, and their two young sons. He also likes to golf, run and spend time working on his lawn.
Jenny Chadima
Community Leader and Volunteer
Jenny Chadima is a Christ-focused coach and retreat leader, as well as host of The Radiantly Healthy Faith podcast. Jenny’s journey is one that began from a dark place filled with grief, however a personal encounter with Jesus left a profound impact on her life, and the spiritual restoration has been ongoing ever since. Today she’s on a mission to compassionately come alongside individuals on their destination of healing, wholeness, and intimacy with Christ. Jenny is a wife to her husband Austin, and a stepmom to Cade, and has been volunteering with different non profit organizations for more than a decade.
“I’m excited to honor and glorify God by uniting with other believers to help win the city of Cedar Rapids for Christ!”
Mary Lou Erlacher
Longtime Community Leader and Volunteer
Mary Lou is a long-time community volunteer and activist in education alternatives, especially, focusing on individuality of learning styles and the relevancy between education and the world of work– preparing the next generation for our shared future. Following her retirement from “professional life” in 2015, she had the opportunity to join a ministry endeavor, through Cornerstone Church, exploring and connecting Faith and Work. She has served on various non-profit boards and loves reading, walking, studying/learning, and being “Nana” to five grandchildren. She has been married to David for more than 50 years and treasures their time together.
“…..I believe that Serve the City makes God smile! From His view there is one true Church and, while each body of believers has its own work to do, when we come together using our gifts to pray, praise and promote the Gospel, it pleases Him and He strengthens us and, ultimately, our communities to reach others for His Kingdom!……”
Mark Forstrom
Therapist, Keys to Living Counseling Center
"I'm excited to help launch STC's Care Network ministry, I can’t wait to see the churches here fully mobilized to meet the needs of the Cedar Rapids area."
Mark Forstrom dedicated his life to Jesus at an early age and while in his teens sensed God’s tug to devote his life to vocational ministry. He graduated from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago with a degree in Bible Theology, and shortly afterward, married Cindy, one of his best high school friends. He and his wife Cindy have been happily married for 35 years. They have two grown daughters, who both serve the Lord overseas. Brenda, the oldest, is married and lives in Africa with her husband Tim and newborn son, Jimmy. Lexi, the youngest, teaches music at an international school in China.
Mark served in pastoral ministry for 31 years. Six were in Rockford, Illinois, and 25 were at New Covenant Bible Church in Cedar Rapids. He recently obtained his master’s degree from Liberty University in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and now works as a therapist at Keys to Living Christian Counseling Center in Cedar Rapids. In his spare time, Mark enjoys long-distance running, “square-foot” raised-bed gardening, and reading!
Bernie Hayes
Community Leader and Volunteer
Bernie retired from Rockwell Collins as a Principle Systems Engineer following a 38 year career. During his career he traveled worldwide and had the opportunity to experience and work with state of the art flight technology. He is currently a candidate for the Iowa State Senate. He has been actively involved and a leader in ministries such as AWANA, Solid Rock Ministries, Solid Rock Productions, The PowerHouse and APT211 – Drop-in Centers, Bridgehaven, Fresh Start Correctional Chaplaincy Ministry, and Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition. He is a member and elder at Noelridge Park Church. Bernie is married with 3 daughters and 5 grandchildren.
Steve Irwin
Realtor, Community Leader, and Volunteer
Steve was a fulltime staff Pastor at River of Life church for 25 years, serving as the lead pastor for better than a decade. Steve will tell you that his wife of 40 years, Ginnie, makes him look good and no one seems to argue with him. They have two kids and five grandchildren, all of whom give he and his wife great joy. Steve has been active in real estate for 30 years and also works as a real estate agent at his son’s brokerage. Steve is passionate about the city wide church and believes that together we can accomplish much for the kingdom of God.
Sylvain Lukama
Pastor, Full Grace Ministries
Matt Proctor
Pastor, Cornerstone Church
Matt has pastored at Cornerstone Church in Marion, Iowa since 2010. He and his wife, Carrie, have four children and love all things Iowa State Cyclones, hiking, and taking in various sports and music activities.
"I value the church partnerships through Serve the City and am excited to work together to preach the Gospel and meet physical needs in the name of Jesus."
Jamie Jonas
Commercial Banker, Community Leader, and Volunteer
Jamie is a native Cedar Rapidian and has worked in commercial banking for over 35 years. He is married to Yvonne and they have three adult/married children living throughout the Midwest. Jamie has served in numerous leadership capacities within his church and in other local organizations. He loves to come along side men as they explore Jesus and dig into God’s word. For fun, Jamie & Yvonne are National Park geeks, always looking to hike a trail or set up a camp in the middle of some of our Creator’s most spectacular handiwork.
“I have been an imperfect following of Jesus for almost 20 years and have a unrelenting desire to know Jesus more and to make Him known throughout our community and beyond. Serve the City provides the space to join with other Christians in this endevor. With Christ, together we can change our community!”
Robin Tyner
Associate Pastor, Stonebridge Church
Robin is married to Kathryn and they have two daughters, both of whom are married, and one grandchild. He has been a pastor at Stonebridge Church for 27 years and delights in seeing people whole-heartedly follow Christ and use their gifts to serve others. Robin enjoys reading a good book, taking walks with Kathryn and traveling. His favorite places to visit include Israel, the mountains of Colorado and the beaches of Florida.
“….I love being a part of Serve the City because our mission is to pursue unity and health in Christ that leads to collaborative efforts of prayer, care, and share to win our city for Christ. When God sees His children, working together in unity and sharing the good news of the gospel with others, it brings a smile to His face. My involvement with Serve the City has also helped me develop some wonderful friendships with other brothers and sisters in Christ….”
STC Leadership Board
With the firm belief that we are “better together” in living out a lifestyle of unity, Serve the City seeks to see our world transformed for Jesus Christ through collaborative “prayer, care and share” efforts
Field Officer, Department of Corrections
Pastor, River of Life Church
Interim Pastor Network – STC Board Chair
Executive Director, Bridgehaven Pregnancy Support Center
Pastor, Cornerstone Church
Community leader & volunteer
Pastor, Stonebridge Church – STC Vice Chairman
Community leader & volunteer
Pastor, River of Life Church
Community leader & volunteer
Community leader & volunteer
We Love Our Volunteers
- Leader Gathering Team: Steve Irwin, Todd Joslin, James Wartian
- Email & Web Support: James Wartian
- Technical Support: Terry Van Wyk
- Prayer: Dave King
- Prayer Team: TBA
- Special Events Team: TBA
