2024 Elders and Deacons

Elders

**Collin Brown**
Collin has been an elder at South since 2001. He is retired and, along with Brian Athy and Dick Novello, formed the Scrub Club, taking care of janitorial & maintenance needs around the church building. He married Laurie in 2019. They read & study God’s word together daily as part of their discipleship journey and desire to continue to grow in their walk with God individually and as a couple. Collin and Laurie have a heart for helping build strong Christian marriages & families. They co-lead a small group, along with Bryan and Joy Tarrant, focusing on just that. They also teach together monthly in Kid’s City and value building relationships with the kids and their parents. Collin would love to pray and discuss how your story connects with God and the next steps in your faith journey.

Jim Hobbs

This congregation at South Lansing has taught, shared, and cared for Jim since he was a small child. On a particular summer Sunday evening, he decided to step forward to be baptized at the invitation time. Standing at the edge of the baptistery, he saw his feet were covered in dust from playing outside that afternoon. Not only were his feet cleansed that day, but his sins were forever washed by the blood of Jesus on the Cross. Many leaders and teachers over the years have invested their time and talents to be mentors, and for that, he would like to say "Thank You."

**Joe Seaton**
Joe has known the Lord since his adolescent days but established a relationship with Jesus Christ as his relationship with his wife, Gail, developed. Beginning with the Albion Church of Christ and closer to Lansing, Gail and Joe attended many congregations, including West Lansing Church of Christ, Holmes Road church of Christ, and now at SLCC! Joe and his wife have two grown children, Annalise and Alexander. He has retired from the Lansing School District. He loves to lead people to grow in their knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, through discipleship programs offered at the church. He says it's great to work with the Men's Group and develop relationships through labor, study, and growth.
Joe has been one of your elders for twelve years and has enjoyed leading the team these past eight years. If it weren't for journaling, surely, He would have forgotten the plethora of ways in which God "showed up" in a great and mighty note-worthy way not only in his personal life but in the life of the congregation as well. Let's thank God in advance for what He is going to do by faith for the church.

**Bryan Tarrant**
Bryan Tarrant and his family have been a part of SLCC since 2012. Bryan first visited South because his daughter Jessica came and checked out our youth group when they moved to Holt. Jessica came home discussing the church, and Bryan wanted to check it out. Bryan likes to tell the story of how, on that first Sunday, he doesn't recall the sermon or worship songs played. All he remembers is God had led them here as their church home. Bryan has served as an Elder since 2017. Bryan and his wife Joy have been married for 29 years. Bryan currently serves as Director of Operations for Great Lakes Christian College. They have five daughters: Kaitlyn (John), Jessica (Carlos), Taylor, Katie, and Anola. They have nine grandchildren. Bryan currently serves in Kid's City and Guest Services. Bryan and Joy are members of the Brown small group focusing on helping others experience a God-centered, healthy marriage.

**Chris Long**
Chris developed an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus Christ while attending His House Christian Fellowship at Michigan State University in 1993. Chris has been married to his wife, Kathy, for 29 years. They have been members of SLCC since 1995. Chris and Kathy have three adult sons. Chris served as a deacon and then an elder at SLCC from 2001-2015. He has recently returned to the eldership after a sabbatical. Chris is passionate about small group and discipleship ministries. Chris enjoys volunteering on the Green Team and church-wide serve initiatives. Chris is employed by Michigan State University, serving as the potato extension specialist for the Michigan potato industry. He loves to disciple, coach, and mentor men and families to be like Jesus Christ.

DEACONS

Joy Baade

Joy works as a textbook proofreader and editor for blind students from kindergarten through college in all subject areas. She has been at SLCC since childhood. Joy's service areas include phone calls, prayer, women's ministry, and missions.

**Daniel Batdorff**
Dan has been a part of SLCC since birth. He has served as a deacon since 2006 and on the church’s finance team since 2011. Dan is married to Jennifer, and they have two sons, Christian and Jonathan. He works as a Headend Technician for Comcast. In his spare time, he enjoys backpacking, camping, hunting, fishing, and anything outside.

**Anthony Beattie**
Tony and his wonderful wife, Dana, have five adult children, three boys and two girls, in a blended family. They have been at South for eleven years at Christmas. Tony works in school safety, Dana runs a retail store, and they look forward to serving South using what God has given them in gifts and learning.

**Justin Beauchamp**
Justin and his wife, Samantha, have been a part of SLCC for fourteen years. They serve many areas of the church, including setting up chairs, packing boxes for the food pantry, helping out Kid's City, and helping on church workdays. Justin is a stay-at-home dad to his daughters, Clara (8) and Anna (5). He enjoys almost anything that involves spending time outdoors. He has a boat and likes to take people fishing.

**Ben Cohoon**
Ben and his wife, Erin, have three children, Adrienne, Adam, and Isaiah. He has been a part of SLCC for forty-five years. He is a self-employed residential contractor. Ben serves as a Deacon, Small Group Leader, as well as on the Chair Crew, Finance Team, and Property Team. His hobbies include basketball, carpentry/woodworking, hunting, and fishing.

Pam Coulter

I have been attending South Lansing Christian Church for 19 to 20 years (not sure which). I enjoy spending time with my family: daughter Mandy and her family of 5, Older son Devon and his son Leo, and my youngest son Aidan, 16 years involved in Modified. I enjoy reading, walking with my dog Shadow, working on my flower garden, camping, and music. I love the U.P. I volunteer with the Flood. I have been a medical assistant for a Sparrow Family Practice for the past 20 years. I enjoy serving at South Lansing Christian Church.

**Ben Hobbs**
Benjamin J Hobbs has been attending South Lansing Christian Church since 1983. He has served in the A/V ministry (including the stream team) and as a Deacon for many years. He and his wife, Jenny, have six children: Damian (16), Angel (14), Lillian (12), Skyler (11), Saphyre (8), and Aurora (4). Ben works as a Software Engineer. He is an avid gamer and enjoys sharing old movies and video games with his kids.

**Justin Lundy**
This is Justin, but 90% of the folks at South know him as Lundy. He's been part of South since 2008 as a high school student attending Modified. When Lundy moved back to Lansing after graduating from college in 2016, he jumped back into Modified as a volunteer, where he served until 2023. He is now helping Habacuc expand the creative ministries here at South. When he's not serving at church or playing drums on Sunday morning, Lundy is the caretaker to his cats and/or watching movies and spinning his favorite albums on vinyl

**Annette McNamara**
Annette has called SLCC her church home since Christmas Eve 2008. Her husband of thirty-eight years (Mick) went to heaven in 2016, leaving her six grandchildren the primary fun in her life. Her grandchildren often attend with her or their parents: her son Shawn and his wife Kara, son Ryan and his wife Theresa, or her daughter Mary Sarah and her husband, Steve VanDyk. Annette serves in Kid's City. She's honored to serve on this team of awesome Deacons and looks forward to serving however she can.

**AJ Miller**
AJ is married to Michelle and has two boys, Griffyn and Tristan. You may have seen them running around the church after service. He has been attending South Lansing Christian Church for over a decade. He started attending back when his older sister Erin was an intern from GLCC for worship under Wally. AJ has been involved with the middle school youth group for about 12 years. He’s seen it through some changes but has been there just about every Wednesday. He’s always tried to make himself available to serve around the church, be it in Kid City, at a picnic watching bounce houses, or being helping hands to help someone move. AJ has been a deacon for about a year, but during his time, he has been blessed with many opportunities to help his church family and our community. He hopes to keep seeing where God leads him and his family and be a good and faithful servant.

**Suzanne Miller**
I started attending South with my parents in 1972 or 1973. I serve in Kids City in the zoo room. I am an RN and currently work at McLaren Greater Lansing. I enjoy traveling, gardening, reading, and crafts in my spare time.

Tim Palmer Jr

Tim Palmer has been a member at South for thirty-seven years and a deacon for thirteen years. Tim plays guitar in our worship band, often accompanying his wife, Jackie, who sings with the worship team. The Palmers have been married for nineteen years and have two sons: Jace (11) and Travis (9). Tim is a Physician Assistant at Great Lakes Rheumatology. Jackie is on-demand as a professional photographer and videographer. Tim enjoys tinkering with their family’s 100-year-old steam traction engine in his spare time.

**Quinten Sackett**
Quinten was raised in a church of Christ in his hometown and has been a part of SLCC since 2016. He has been married to his wife Hailey since 2019, who was raised at SLCC. He met Hailey while attending Thrive here at SLCC. Quinten was baptized at 12 and attended Rock Lake Christen Assembly yearly for camp. Quinten currently volunteers at Modified as a small group leader and is a part of the Safety Team. He is also involved in a small group. Quinten works as a Research Agronomist at AgroLiquid, conducting crop research. He enjoys being outdoors in his spare time, hunting, fishing, and camping with his wife. He looks forward to serving God and the family here at SLCC for years.

**Martti Siltanen**
Martti Siltanen was born in Hammond, Indiana, in 1964. His first years were spent in Gary, Indiana before his parents moved to the Lansing area for work. Martti grew up and went to Holt schools. After High School, Martti lived in Rockport, Texas, for six years before moving back to Lansing in 1990. He started working at Silver Lead Company in July 1990 and still works there. It is a division of Oleary Paint. He went to several different churches until he was invited to SLCC by friends. He started coming to SLCC in 2010 and was here several years before joining a Men's Group. He serves in Guest Services and the Serve25 Ministry.

Dave Vliet

Dave’s family has been attending SLCC for about ten years and lives in Dewitt. He has been a Deacon going on ten years. He has been married to Shelly since 2004, and they have two children, Samuel and Annabella. Shelly and he baptized their children here at SLCC. Dave serves weekly with the Modified Ministry, Deacon, and Safety Team. Throughout the year, he volunteers for VBS, snow removal, and, at times, helping with blessing bucket requests/activities. General Motors employs him as a Die Maker. In his spare time, Dave reads the bible, does yard work, watches college football, and attends his children’s school activities. His goal is to walk closer with the Lord.

2024 Elders and Deacons

Elders

DEACONS

Seek | Study | Serve