Our Team
JASON FRITZ
Lead Pastor
Jason is a pastor with a heart for God’s Word and God’s people. He is a skilled Bible teacher desiring to bring the wisdom of God to everyday life. He has a master’s degree in biblical studies from Western Seminary and a doctorate from Phoenix Seminary specializing in preaching that connects with postmoderns. Jason’s passion is to see people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and become disciples.
Born and raised in Scottsdale, he has been in pastoral ministry in this city for over 20 years. His faith began to deepen in college when he was challenged by teachers at Arizona State University. Obtaining an undergraduate degree in psychology and minoring in philosophy taught him to engage the culture with passion and conviction.
Jason’s greatest joys are being married to Jill for over 25 years (after first meeting as newborns!) and of course being dad to Chandler, Caleb, and Faith.
Email Jason at jasonf@illuminatecommunity.com
DANA ERICKSON
Executive Pastor
Dana Erickson is our Executive Pastor with responsibility for overseeing the staff, ministries and operations of Illuminate. Dana has been in ministry for 32 years mostly in Executive Pastor roles. He spent 21 years at a Overlake Christian Church in the Seattle area, 9 years at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Southern California, and has spent the last two years at Compass Christian Church in Chandler before joining the staff team here at Illuminate. Dana has expertise in Change Management, Strategic Planning, Crisis Management, Team Building, and Leadership Development. His passion is helping individuals and organizations find their “sweet spot” in ministry. He loves the church and seeing the life change that happens through Jesus Christ.
Dana is married to Denise, his wife of 30 years. They have 5 children, two who are married with three grandchildren, two other adult children and one child still at home. Dana loves all things Star Wars, Lord of the Rings etc. Disney and the Ocean are his “Happy Place.”
Email Dana at danae@illuminatecommunity.com
CHRIS HERRINGTON
Worship Pastor
Chris is a Midwest native who moved to Arizona 11 years ago. He and his wife Carrie met 23 years ago in music theory class during their freshman year of college. Chris completed his Bachelor’s of Science in Bible/Music Ministry with a minor in Family Ministry and has over 18 years of full-time ministry experience, serving primarily in worship ministry, college and camp ministry. Chris and Carrie have been married over 19 years and have three children, Colin (14), Charis (12) and Cuyler (10). They love traveling and building memories as a family, especially in the mountains of Arizona and in Southern California. Chris’ passion for worship and discipleship is to see God exalted vertically in worship so we can bring glory to Him and live on mission for Him daily.
Email Chris at chrish@illuminatecommunity.com
STEVE JOHNSON
Discipleship Pastor
Steve is a pastor with over 40 years of local, cross-cultural, and international ministry. Four days after accepting Christ as a high school senior, Steve set his heart on becoming a pastor. He graduated from Arizona State with a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Communication, and then finished a Masters of Divinity at Western Seminary, a Masters of Sacred Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, and he is currently finishing his doctoral dissertation on integral discipleship at Phoenix Seminary.
Steve has served as a church planter and the Teaching Pastor of several churches in Arizona, California, Florida, and Argentina. He led Latin America Mission (an interdenominational ministry with several hundred Anglo and Hispanic missionaries and partners in over 20 countries), and most recently served as Executive Vice President of Phoenix Seminary.
Steve and Shellie have been married for 45 years and find incredible joy in loving their four adult children, and spoiling their 9 grandchildren. Steve is a crazy fanatic of real futból – soccer.
Email Steve at stevej@illuminatecommunity.com
SCOTT MARTIN
Young Adults & Outreach Pastor
Scott is a California native that moved to Phoenix and pursued a ministry internship when he was 18 years old. Scott met Jenna, his wife of 10 years during that internship. They have lived in California and Illinois while pursuing various ministry positions and educational opportunities before settling at home in AZ. Scott completed his Bachelors of Science in Christian Ministries and Counseling at Arizona Christian University and after seven years of work with youth in a local treatment facility, Scott entered into full-time vocational ministry as a College Pastor. Scott and Jenna have two sweet girls, Avery (6) and Ellison (4), and Bode (1) and love exploring their city, creating memories with their family, and visiting the beach as much as humanly possible. Scott’s heart for ministry is to see young adults, and the larger church body live in such a way that His light shines through us in every opportunity; walking alongside others to be a true example of Christ in their homes, families, workplaces, and communities.
Email Scott at scottm@illuminatecommunity.com
TODD ROBERTSON
Family Life Pastor
Todd is a Southern California native, spending his first 25 year along the coast. He graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in 1999 with a degree in Business Communications. Todd 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 help 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 to disciple young men who are considering the ministry.
Todd and Sonja have been married since 2000 and now have two teenage sons, Caleb and Noah. They are a very active family, enjoying hiking their dogs, days at the lake, and watching their boys play baseball.
Email Todd at toddr@illuminatecommunity.com
BRITNEY IBARRA
Children’s Ministry Director
Britney is a wife, mother of three, and a Phoenix native with a dual bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Special Education from Northern Arizona University. Britney has a love for God, people, and kids! Being a mom, she understands how important a church is to the whole family and thrives to make the ministry fun, nurturing, and a God honoring environment for every person that walks through our doors.
Email Britney at kids@illuminatecommunity.com
HUDSON GARCIA
Youth Director
Hudson is in his final year at Grand Canyon University, majoring in Christian Studies. He feels called and led to pursue vocational pastoral ministry and is excited to join the team at Illuminate. You will most often find him at a local coffee shop drinking a pour-over, chatting with a friend or listening to a podcast.
Email Hudson at hudsong@illuminatecommunity.com
EMILY LONG
Office Administrator
Emily was born in Canada and moved around the U.S throughout her childhood. She is #5 out of 10 kids in her family. In college, she was studying to be an Elementary School Teacher, and decided to move back to AZ and transfer schools. It was during this move, on a job interview, where she met her husband Eric and together they have three kids; Makenzie, Cameron, and Lexie. Emily has devoted the last 11 years volunteering in her kids’ school district and classrooms. Her kids have medical needs, and she has made it a focus to advocate for them, as well as for kids with medical needs and raising awareness. Her faith in God is what has gotten her through tough challenges, and she gives God the credit for having strength and perseverance. Emily has has a heart for special needs and likes to volunteer with her daughters in animal rescue, and loves to be outdoors; hiking in the mountains, being active, and watching her son play sports. She also likes to make recipes food-allergy friendly, and loves connecting with the body of the church.
Email Emily at emilyl@illuminatecommunity.com
NICOLE FORWARD
Administrative Assistant
Nicole has spent half of her life in California and half in Arizona. She graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. in Communication with an emphasis in Advertising and a minor in Marketing. Nicole enjoys traveling and going on adventures. She met her husband of five years, Jason, on a mission trip in Mexico, started dating in Peru, and got engaged in Argentina. They have two sweet little girls, Selah (3) and Phoenix (1), who will soon be joining their adventures. She loves spending as much time as possible with her family, being outdoors and finding God’s beauty & creativity in all things. She feels blessed to be able to use her gifts for Him on a daily basis!
Email Nicole at nicolef@illuminatecommunity.com
