Our Team

jason fritz

lead pastor

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About Jason

Jason’s passion is pointing people to Jesus by graciously sharing the gospel. Jason is also the primary vision caster and believes the church is called to engage culture with the life of Jesus. He has been doing pastoral ministry in the Valley for over 30 years and is a native Phoenician. He is married to Jill and they have three grown kids. Jason likes all things outdoors and can be found watching UFC on Saturday nights with friends.

bob drew

Pastor of Ministries

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about bob

Bob is passionate about equipping and empowering people to lovingly serve God and others with excellence, integrity, and compassion. He believes that Christian community will flourish and thrive by focusing on God’s Word, cultivating strong relationships, and pursuing genuine communication. In serving his team and managing the church’s day-to-day operations, Bob strives to properly steward, communicate, and implement our vision & mission churchwide.He grew up in Philadelphia, PA, and met the love of his life, Amy, in college. God has blessed them with four children and many adventures. He enjoys hiking, movies, coaching baseball, and Philly sports.

Todd robertson

pastor of operations

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about todd

Todd is a Southern California native. He was heavily involved in student ministry and at the age of 21, became a pastor. Todd and his wife Sonja moved from Orange County to Gilbert in 2001 to plant a church. Over the years, he has held many positions in the church but still has a huge heart for young people. Todd is passionate about the gospel and loves discipling young men who are considering the ministry.

Todd and his wife, Sonja have two sons, Caleb and Noah. The Robertson’s are a very active family. They love being outdoors, hiking, their dogs, days at the lake, and baseball.

Steve johnson

global and discipleship pastor

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about steve

Steve’s responsibilities include overseeing all of the ministries along our Discipleship Pathway, as well as our global partnership efforts. Steve has spent over 45 years as a church planter and teaching pastor of Anglo and Latino churches in Arizona, California, Florida, and Argentina. He spent five years as President of Latin America Mission (an interdenominational ministry with two hundred Anglo and Hispanic missionaries and partners in over 20 countries) and most recently served for six years as the Executive Vice President of Phoenix Seminary before coming on staff at Illuminate. His greatest passion is to see people mobilized to serve effectively for the sake of God’s Kingdom.

Steve and his wife Shellie find incredible joy in loving their four adult children and spoiling their grandchildren. Steve is a crazy fanatic of real futból: soccer.

chris herrington

worship pastor

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About Chris

Chris has served in local church ministry in a variety of roles, but brings his talents of worship leadership to Illuminate. Here he leads our gifted, creative, and humble ministry team. A native of Nebraska and Kansas, Chris found his way to Arizona while serving as program director in camp ministry at UCYC in Prescott. He and his wife, Carrie have three children. Chris is passionate to see worship embraced in all aspects of life.

scott martin

local outreach pastor

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about scott

Scott enjoys the responsibility of leading our church body to have deep roots in Christ that outpour as service within greater Phoenix. Scott has been involved in ministry for years, including serving inner city LA in a state-side missionary capacity, leading youth in Northern California and Chicago, then settling back in Phoenix as a young adult and outreach pastor. Scott loves cultivating creative partnerships, serving diverse populations, and walking alongside people as they navigate the use of their gifts to serve others. Scott is married to Jenna. They have three children, Avery, Ellison, and Bode. They love the beach, surfing, being outside, and making memories as a family.

hudson garcia

youth & young adults pastor

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about hudson

Hudson has the privilege of overseeing all of the 5th-12th grade ministries, as well as the young adults ministry. He has been in ministry for six years and has worked in worship, college, and youth ministries. Hudson has a passion for seeing those who are far from God come to know his amazing love and experience forgiveness. Hudson is married to his wife, Brooklyn, and they love serving in the local church together. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, as well as being overly competitive with board games and pick-up basketball.

charlie coutrney

kids director

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about charlie

Charlie’s responsibilities include leading the Kids ministry’s staff and operations. Charlie has her degree in elementary education and has served in kids ministry since 2017. Her passion is found in sharing the love of Jesus with both children and their parents, supporting and encouraging them through this beautiful season of life. Charlie is married to her high school sweetheart, Ryan. They have three children, Cheney, Ryder and Lilly. Charlie loves spending time adventuring with her family and exploring all of God’s creation.

lisa robbins

director of women’s ministry

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about lisa

Lisa oversees all facets of Bible studies, events, discipleship, and leadership training for the women of Illuminate. She is passionate about women being in authentic community and discovering their identity in Christ through their knowledge of the Word of God. Through discipleship and leadership development, Lisa champions women to walk in their God-given potential and calling. Lisa is married to her husband, Zach, and they have three girls, Zoe, Ellie, and Laney. Zach and Lisa spend a lot of time on the sports field cheering on their daughters and escape to the beach to rest and recharge.

Nate Harper

Minister in Residence

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about Nate

Nate assists with facilitating Global Partnerships and Discipleship Pathways. Nate desires that followers of Jesus would grow in spiritual maturity and disciple-making. He is also passionate about cross-cultural ministry. Nate is originally from South Carolina, graduated from The Citadel, and moved to Arizona after spending time in the Marine Corps as an Infantry Officer. In his free time, he enjoys eating good food, reading, and exercising

matt burkholder

youth director

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about matt

Matt has the privilege of leading the junior high ministry and aiding in the high school and young adults ministries through teaching and administration. Matt has worked in youth ministry for four years and most recently worked in higher education as an academic and financial advisor. His heart in ministry is to help the next generation come to know Jesus and follow Him for a lifetime. Matt is married to his wonderful wife, Cara, and together they have three boys. In his free time, Matt enjoys road cycling, watching baseball, and spending time with his family.

brooklyn garcia

weekend experience director

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about brooklyn

Brooklyn oversees the first impressions team and assists in leading worship for the Sunday services. She graduated from Grand Canyon University with a Vocal Performance degree and enjoys using her gifts in this role. Brooklyn enjoys being a mom to her son, Judah, teaching piano lessons, and serving the students and young adults of Illuminate with her husband, Hudson.

jake pitner

communications director

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about jake

Jake is our Communications Director. He has had a love for creative media since he was 14 years old. Jake’s favorite thing is having meaningful conversations with people, and laughing…super hard. Overall, the thing that makes Jake the most fulfilled is knowing that what he’s doing is making an impact for people and their eternal destination.

isaiah patterson

technical director

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about isaiah

Isaiah oversees the audio, visual, and lighting for the weekend experience. He has spent several years working in different churches learning, leading, and loving volunteer teams to create worship experiences. Isaiah loves hanging out with friends, good food, and playing board games. With the help of his talented team, Isaiah hopes to continually improve the worship experience so others can encounter the love and hope only found though Jesus.

logan young

media director

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about logan

Logan is in charge of the creation of video and photo content for Illuminate. His job is to capture and tell the stories of how God is moving within our community. He has a heart for filming missions and traveling. Logan has a passion for the outdoors, food, and movies.

nisha binder

admin assistant

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about nisha

Nisha has the responsibility of organizational administrative support for various ministries. Nisha is a pharmacist by training and has worked primarily in managed care settings. Her passion is streamlining and creating efficiencies. Nisha is an Arizona native who enjoys baking (and eating!) pies in her spare time. She is married to her husband, Will and they have one child together.

heather abram

office manager

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about heather

Heather helps keep everything in the administrative office running smoothly and organized, and helps with communication among all of the staff. Heather loves organization, give her a label maker and she will go to town! Heather is a native to Arizona, growing up just a few miles from Illuminate. She met her husband, Matt, in high school and spent many years traveling watching him play baseball. They have two daughters, Allie and Sienna. The Abram family loves to watch movies, play games, enjoy the outdoors and especially play with their two French Bulldogs.

joshua lopez

audio director

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about josh

Joshua has a curiosity for all things technical including audio, video, and lighting. Joshua spent four years serving in the U.S. Navy, acquiring skills that he currently applies to his role at Illuminate. Because of his heart for the Lord, Joshua desires to build up the church through a genuine and unique worship experience. He enjoys taking his dog to the park, finding the best deals at Goodwill, and traveling.

emily talpas

local outreach assistant

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about emily

Emily works to build bridges between the Outreach Team, church, community, and ministry partners. She developed a heart for outreach as a teenager living in El Paso, Texas and it has continued to be a joy and privilege for her to help stir up that passion in others. Emily is also a worship leader at Illuminate and a member of the Women’s Ministry Team. Leading worship was the catalyst behind Emily’s involvement at the Phoenix Rescue Mission and a call to service there. Emily currently speaks at chapel, leads worship, teaches a Bible study, and helps coordinate service opportunities involving Illuminate that are designed to prevent homelessness. She was also asked to serve as an Ambassador for the Mission. Emily is married to Jeff and they have one daughter, Rachel.

ashlyn king cooper

kids ministry assistant

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about ashlyn

Ashlyn is a member of the Kids Ministry team and is primarily responsible for volunteer scheduling and communication, as well as the planning and execution of Kids Ministry and Family events. Ashlyn is married to her best friend from high school, Taylor. Together, they have two young children, Taylyn and Maddox, and a dog, Carson. As a family, they enjoy making memories traveling, doing fun things around the valley, spending time with family, and completing home projects together. Ashlyn was born and raised in Arizona and loves being a native. Ashlyn has a passion for helping those around her and really connecting with them.

nicole king

kids ministry assistant

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about nicole

Nicole is in charge of coordinating childcare for events during the week and assisting in all areas of childrens ministry. She is also a full time nanny and has been helping a family with their 3 girls for the past 8 years. She loves that she gets to raise strong leaders of the future and become an important part of their family’s lives. Nicole has always had a passion for children and a heart for Christ. She started attending Illuminate over a year ago and got involved serving in the children’s ministry right away. She knew that God has called her to be there and is so excited to help little hearts learn about Jesus! In her free time Nicole loves trips to Disneyland and spending time with her family, friends, and dog Grace.

adisyn richards

kids ministry assistant

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about adisyn

Adisyn is currently studying Biblical & Theological Studies at Phoenix Seminary. With her academic knowledge and experience at Illuminate, she hopes to teach people about the Word of God and its validity and relevance to life and eternity. She is passionate about the next generation, which is why she currently serves in Kids Ministry assisting in preparing lesson plans, facilitating childcare, integrating families into the church, handling email marketing and social media strategies. Adisyn loves to exercise and spend time in the sun, hang out with family, adventure through different parts of the world, drink coffee, and try new things. You’ll never see Adisyn without a book and journal in her hand!

camden weimer

facilities director

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about camden

Camden was born and raised in the Arizona valley and is full of love for Jesus and how He has transformed his life. Ever since he was young, Camden has had a passion for fixing and creating things. He enjoys the challenge of learning new concepts and applying them. Camden also has a heart for serving in youth ministry and seeing the dramatic life change that Jesus brings in the students. He is an avid mountain biker and enjoys going for a ride whenever he can.

jake mcguire

facilities

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about jake

Jake oversees maintaining a sanitary and safe environment for the congregation. He has heart for the lost because he was once lost himself. Jake’s hobbies include his dog and hockey.

Bennett Trommler

Facilities

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about Bennett

Bennett was born and raised in the valley and has a huge heart for ministry and God’s purpose in his life. He’s currently working on his undergrad at Grand Canyon University in Christian Studies and hopes to pursue ministry full time in the future! Right now, his goal is to serve in facilities, to maintain a clean, hospitable and safe environment for all guests at Illuminate! He enjoys everything outdoors, spontaneous road trips, and making meaningful connections. Bennett loves the Lord and hopes to serve him well in whatever he does!