Leadership

Chris has been involved in youth ministry since 2011 and has served in all capacities of ministry from children’s through college. Chris is championed and partnered by his wife, Analysa, who has the same tenure in ministry and dedication as he.   They are proud parents of two sweet  boys, Easton and Brixton. Their passion is to see this generation awakened and impacted by the love of God. "We believe that this generation needs love, authenticity and truth. Students are ready for REAL! Real encounters, real talk, real relationship, real truth! We are in a pinnacle moment in time - we will see revival not the way we have seen before..." Their life and message points to Jesus! 

Sarah leads worship and helps facilitate all aspects of our worship team including helping students learn and grow in music. Having grown up at Grace World Outreach Church, Sarah brings an anointing that can only be caught. The anointing  that flows through her far outweighs the gifting... but make no mistake, Sarah is gifted beyond belief. She is currently enrolled at Southeastern University where she is working on her Bachelor's Degree. She also works side by side with the Student Ministry pastors as their ministry coordinator. We are blessed and honored to have Sarah on our team.

Christian & Shelby help lead the Middle School group (6th through 8th grade) on Wednesday nights. Both Christian and Shelby have been involved in student ministry serving along side Pastor Chris and Pastor Analysa since 2016 and desire to see students live in the fullness of all Jesus has for them. They have two handsome boys, Theo and Reese. ASCEND is honored to have them serve on the Guide Team.

Andrew & Amaris help guide our HUBS (small groups) within ASCEND. We love seeing healthy, Godly relationships grow and that is exactly what has happened with these two! Andrew and Amaris met on our ASCEND leadership team while serving as a team in HUBS and the rest is history! They are now married and have been serving at ASCEND since 2019. The call on their lives is evident, just come around them for a moment and you will see the passion and heart for JESUS and students! 

Nathan & Crystal help lead the young adult group at Grace World Outreach Church that is geared towards 12th grade through college students. Both Nathan & Crystal grew up at Grace World Outreach Church where they met and married in 2010. Nathan serves Grace as a Trustee and both Nathan and Crystal serve in ASCEND and GRACE YA. They are passionate about seeing young adults find connection and healthy relationships with each other and JESUS. You can't walk away from these two without being challenged and falling more in love with JESUS.

Eddie helps oversee our media teams and facilitates our summer internship programs for students. Having grown up at Grace World Eddie brings such value and insight to so many parts of our team. He is currently working at Grace Leadership Academy as a 4th grade teacher. His gift for loving students and calling them higher has been such a blessing and asset to our team. He does far more for our team than what can be listed, Eddie is a blessing to our Guide Team and our students.

Christy is a valuable member of our team. Her and her husband, Buzz, have 3 beautiful young adult children who love the Lord. Christy helps our team by being the eyes and ears of our parents. She helps us write parent articles for the app, keeps in contact with our parents, and helps to think through any details a parent would want to know when it comes to ASCEND. When you are around Christy, you can't help but love Jesus more.

Jenny started at ASCEND as a 6th grade student and now serves as our Guide over the student experience. She helps us make sure every detail is thought through and mapped out when it comes to a new visitor. We want students to feel like family from the first moment walk on our campus; that is what Jenny helps us do! We are so thankful to have her on our team, she makes us better every day!