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Our Pastor and Ministry Team

Meet the Leaders of Journey Church International

About Pastor Christian Newsome

Pastor Christian and his wife, Danielle, have been married since July 1999 and have two children, Christian II and Kasey. In December 2010, the Newsomes moved to Lee’s Summit and began meeting with a small group of families with a dream to start Journey Church International in fall 2011.

With a personal belief that his life as a follower of Jesus was supposed to be marked by growing spiritually, sharing Jesus, living generously in a way that impacted both his community and the world, and a desire to be a disciple who made disciples, Pastor Christian launched a church in pursuit of those things. Since then, we’ve all seen God move in impactful ways in each of these areas.

Pastor Christian’s life verse is Ezra 7:10, which says, “Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” His love for Jesus and for Scripture lead him each week to study God’s Word and to teach it on Sunday morning in a way that will both deeply impact your soul and practically help your life. He adds to that discipleship content on our Activate podcast, where he discusses the biblical truths of his message and the practical steps you can take to grow in your faith even more in-depth.

His goals for your spiritual journey at our church are the same as those for his own life and his family’s, that you would:

"Grow spiritually, share Jesus, live generously, impact your community, impact your world, and become a disciple who makes disciples.”


Pastor Christian’s Education

Bachelor of Science in Religion
Liberty University, 1999

Master of Arts in Religion
Liberty Theological Seminary, 2007

Master of Divinity
Liberty Theological Seminary, 2008

Directional Leadership Team

Pastor Christian Newsome

Lead Pastor

Pastor Ryan Holt

Executive Director of Adult Ministries

Pastor Scott Courtney

Executive Director of Administration

Pastor Jaime Fernandez

Executive Director of Worship Arts

Danielle Newsome

Executive Director of Next Gen Ministries

Ministry Teams

Adult Ministry Team Members

Alethea Beasley

Connections Director

McKenzie Brummitt

Connections Administrative Assistant

Kylie Clarke

Global Impact Coordinator

Pastor Mike Evans

Discipleship Groups Director

Robin Farmer

Adult Ministries Administrative Assistant

Cheri Hennig

Community Impact Director

Garrett Lahey

Discipleship Associate Director

Student Ministry Team Members

Ben Clarke

High School Coordinator

Marquel Jacoway

Student Ministry Director

Crystal Keim

Student Ministry Administrative Assistant

Kids Ministry Team Members

Heidi Bailey

Kids Ministry Director

Casey Bodine

Childcare Coach

Kristi Cowan

Early Childhood Coordinator

Lisa Grider

Kids Ministry Administrative Assistant

Alexa Nisely

Elementary Small Groups Coordinator

Natalie Osborne

Elementary Programming Coordinator

Worship Arts Team Members

Pastor Jay Armstrong

Worship Director

Brett Blakemore

Band Coach

Nathan Chester

Production Coordinator

Joel Conway

Family Ministry Production Coordinator

Zach Rynard

Associate Video Director

Communications Team Members

Sydney Feipel

Communications Director

Meredith Morris

Digital Media Coordinator

Nikki Vicencio

Associate Director of Communications

Operations Team Members

Michele Cummings

Executive Assistant to the Lead Pastor

Ashley Lahey

Executive Assistant of Next Gen Ministries

Laura McClain

Reception

Cheriese Nims

Executive Assistant Finance/HR

Facilities Team Members

Emily Aadland

Facilities Specialist

Amanda Burdue

Facilities Specialist

Shannon Dziurawiec

Facilities Specialist

Ray Fowler

Facilities Director

Chris Nims

Facilities Coordinator

Joe Tiley

Facilities Specialist