To watch a brief introduction and read more about our ministry staff team, click on their name. Pictured left to right, beginning in the back row:
Jonathan Farrell Steve Kellerstrass Caleb McClarren Tim Bertsche Dan Petersen Doug Habegger, and Shawn Degenhart.
Senior Pastor
Doug Habegger has been the senior pastor of Grace Church since 1992. A native of Berne, Indiana, Doug graduated from Wheaton College in 1971 and in the same year married his wife Joy. Two years later they first moved to Morton to teach in the Morton school district. Before being called as the senior pastor, Doug had served as the associate pastor of Christian education at Grace since 1985. The father of two – and grandfather of two! – Doug enjoys spending time in the mountains and reading.
Missions & Pastoral Care
Prior to becoming the pastor of missions and pastoral care at Grace, Dan Petersen and his family served as missionaries in West Africa for 18 years. Having received a MA in linguistics, Dan and his wife Kathy served as Bible translators during their time in Burkina Faso. Married since 1981, Dan & Kathy have three children, all of whom are married. Dan & Kathy enjoy riding their recumbent bikes together, and Dan is an avid reader and amateur radio enthusiast.
Outreach & Discipleship
Jonathan Farrell grew up in Northern Kentucky and met his wife Jaime (a native of Morton) at Cedarville University. After graduating and getting married in 2003, they moved to Louisville, Kentucky where Jonathan continued his education at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. After completing his Master’s work, Jonathan came on staff in January, 2007 as a pastoral intern, and became pastor of outreach and discipleship in January, 2008. Jonathan & Jaime have two daughters. Jonathan is passionate about connecting people to Christ – and to the loving church family at Grace Church. When not catching up on yard work, Jonathan enjoys playing basketball, keeping up with his Cincinnati sports teams (the Reds and the Bengals), and playing card games and board games with his bride.
Christian Education
Tim Bertsche was born and raised in the Republic of Congo as a missionary kid. After completing his education (BA in Bible from Taylor University, Masters of Divinity from Trinity), Tim first joined the Grace Church staff as an pastoral intern before he and his wife Laura went to Botswana, Africa where Tim ministered to and trained and educated pastors. Tim has been pastor of Christian education since 2005, and enjoys working with people, children, and teaching Sunday school. Tim and Laura have 3 grown children. In his free time, Tim enjoys riding his 1985 Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle, reading, camping, and traveling.
Director of Music
Shawn Degenhart has served for 3 years as the director of music at Grace Church. A central Illinois native, Shawn graduated from Illinois State University with both a bachelors and masters degree related to music. Shawn & his wife Anne have two girls and have been married since 2001. Passionate about leading others in worship and pointing them to Christ, Shawn spends his free time leading Gospelfest Ministries and has his own radio program, The GospelFest Hour, which is featured locally on 88.5 WBNH.
Senior High Ministries
Steve Kellerstrass grew up at Grace Church. A Morton native, Steve attended Moody Bible Institute and receiving his degree, returned in the summer of 2009 to begin serving as the senior high pastor. Steve married his bride, Marla, in July of 2009. Along with caring for their new home, Steve takes time to go disc golfing, play table tennis, and run at other grown men and teenagers and throw rubber balls at them in a sport called dodge ball. Steve enjoys spending time with students, watching as God’s Word becomes meaningful to them in their lives, and seeing them share that truth with others.
Caleb McClarren moved to Morton to come on staff at Grace in the summer of 2009. Prior to coming here, Caleb had served as an intern and in volunteer positions at two other churches after finishing his undergraduate degree at Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, PA. Caleb & Kari have been married since December, 2009, and are expecting their first son in October of 2010. Caleb grew up on a farm in Northern Ohio and feels right at home in the Pumpkin Capitol of the World. But apart from the pumpkins, Caleb enjoys watching God begin to “put the pieces together” in the minds of the students who he serves.