Meet Our Staff

Joshua Rivas
Senior Pastor

Janell Wallis
Executive Pastor

Jason Hague
Associate Pastor

Mark Wall
Community Pastor

Hannah Oakes
Children’s Ministries

Jeff Starr
Youth Pastor

Red Crabb
Senior Associate Pastor

Karen Rivas
Volunteer Coordinator

Carlie Davis
Administrative Assistant

Abbey Cox
Bookkeeper

Kyle Donovan
Facilities

Joshua Rivas

Senior Pastor

When Pastor Joshua first came to Christ’s Center, he had no intention of becoming a leader. He just wanted to blend in. It didn’t work. When Jon Bowers, our founding pastor, decided it was time to hand the church over to a younger man, he felt God nudging toward “the guy who dances in the back of the sanctuary.” (Note: Yes, Joshua likes to dance. No, that was never a good trait for a guy who wanted to blend in. We don’t get it, either.)

Since taking over as senior pastor, Joshua has led the church through some hard times, and some wonderful times. He is a man who passionately loves Jesus and the family of Jesus. Joshua is an energetic servant leader who brings passion, optimism, and vision to our congregation, and to the larger body of Christ in Lane County. He is married to Karen. They have two daughters, one son-in-law, and one adorable granddaughter.

Janell Wallis

Executive Pastor

Pastor Janell has been working at Christ’s Center since she was a teenager. Back then, she helped Pastor Red keep the books, but her responsibilities kept growing. When Pastor Joshua took over, he recognized Janell’s immense administrative and pastoral gifts. She didn’t just take care of details; she understood the condition of the flock. That is, she knew when people were hurting, and she understood how to pray for them, and how to help them.

Thus, Janell became Pastor Janell. She runs point on prayer, women’s ministries, and all things related to facilities, calendars, and administration (and OCCASIONALLY, she agrees to preach.) The fact is, everyone who’s been here for any length of time knows the old saying, “Janell’s the boss, applesauce.” She lives in Harrisburg with her husband, Dan, and their many dogs.

Jason Hague

Associate Pastor

Jason is the reluctant associate pastor here at Christ’s Center. We all knew he should be on staff before he was ready to admit it himself. Jason brings a ton of Biblical knowledge and creativity to the team. He spearheads many of our creative projects in addition to being our de facto IT guy.

Jason and his wife Sara have five kids and one spoiled goldendoodle. When he’s not here in the building, you can find him in one of a couple places: kayaking the river, looking for his kindle, dropping tortilla chips for his dog Leeli, or at his East Office (Max Porter’s) writing his next great book.

Mark Wall

Community Pastor

Mark was a friend of Christ’s Center long before he became Pastor Mark. He worked with us for years with the One Hope Network, and with Every Child. When he and Kristin joined our congregation, we all began to realize the immense pastoral gifting Mark has. That is, we realized he wasn’t just a great guy; he was everyone’s big brother. He had an incredible knack for listening, and for offering his strength, warmth, and love to the people around him.

Mark became part of our team in 2019. As our community pastor, he wears a lot of hats. In addition to general pastoral care, he runs point on our men’s ministries, works with Kyle to take care of our facilities, and serves as a chaplain to the Junction City Police Department. Mark is married to Kristin Wall, and they have five grown children.

Hannah Oakes

Children’s Ministry Leader

Hannah is a third generation member of Christ’s Center, and she’s raising a fourth. She and her husband Aaron have been married for over a decade, and they are raising three adorable daughters and one son. As a mom of four, she knows how to take care of children, so in the fall of 2022, we gave her some more. That’s when Hannah took the reins of our children’s ministry in October. She now oversees all of our Sunday school classes, and our Wednesday night kids’ home group gatherings.

Hannah is a great teacher, who knows how to lead a classroom, and care for the needs of individual children. We are thrilled to have her on the team.

Jeff Starr

Youth Pastor

Jeff Starr is “awesome man of God” with an unquenchable desire to see our teenagers become lovers of Jesus Christ. He is the most energetic member of the team, and it’s not even close. Jeff doesn’t just lead our young people either. He coaches track at the middle school, works with Fellowship of Christian Athletes at the middle and high school, networks with youth ministries such as Young Life and Campus Life, and works with teachers and administrators around the school district. He is a visible, unmistakable presence in the lives of young people all over the Willamette Valley.

Jeff works hard to “mine the gold” out of all the student he works with,” and to teach them his own mantra: “Jesus Christ is my coach!” We love having him on the team. Jeff is married to Jaymie, and they have four kids.

Red Crabb

Senior Associate Pastor

Red came to Christ’s Center in 1981, and it’s still amazing that he did. He had been the administrator of the entire Harrisburg School District. He had a good job, and was a legend in the community. But one day, he went to sell Amway to Pastor Jon Bowers at Christ’s Center, the and everything changed. “Red, you didn’t come here to sell me Amway,” Jon said. “You came here to meet Jesus!” It was true. Red met Jesus that day, and he soon gave up his position to join the staff of Christ’s Center.

Since then, he’s worn many hats. He’s been the principle of Christ’s Center School, the basketball coach, the church administrator, and the church associate pastor, among other things. Today, Red is our senior associate pastor. He meets with our senior members, who he affectionately calls “the q-tips,” and offers great encouragement and insight to our pastoral staff and missionaries in the field. Red is married to Loveta.

Karen Rivas

Volunteer Coordinator

Karen won’t want to be listed. She would prefer to be in the background, serving, mentoring, and making great things happen. Because truly, she makes things happen. Pastor Karen coordinates our local outreaches and service projects. She connects people with group like Local Aide, Every Child, and Love for Lane County. She takes care of our foster families by surrounding them with support teams.

Karen also leads a key women’s group, and she spends hours and hours mentoring people and helping them find their way in Christ. She is married to Joshua. They have two daughters, one son-in-law, and one spoiled grand-puppy.

Carlie Davis

If you visit Christ’s Center during the week, chances are, Carlie is the first person you’ll meet. That’s by design. She’s a great communicator who always brings the fun. In addition to greeting visitors and answering phones, Carlie–who is Janell’s little sister–also runs all our social media accounts, and keeps our various volunteer teams on the same page with our digital technology.

Carlie and her husband Josh are also experienced foster parents who adopted two of their own. That means they now have five boys. They live in Harrisburg, where they go to tons of basketball games and piano recitals.

Abbey Cox

Bookkeeper

Abbey is an expert juggler, metaphorically speaking. She is a wife to Isaac, a mother to four children under six, and the bookkeeper for Christ’s Center Church. Somehow, she keeps the balls in the air: crunching numbers, taking care of Isaac, and vacuuming cheerios out of her car (probably).

Abbey grew up attending G:Paradigm youth group, and is a veteran of multiple YWAM outreaches. She and Isaac are home group leaders, and are strong members of our church community. When she comes to the office, she usually has at least one of her kids with her, which is why we all love Tuesdays the most.

Kyle Donovan

Facilities

Kyle and his family came to Christ’s Center in 2012. He was only a kid then, and it’s been a joy to watch him grow into a young man who loves God and loves the church. Kyle started interning with us three years ago, helping Pastor Mark with facilities, and Pastor Sara with kids’ ministries. Soon, two things became clear: 1) Kyle had an incredible knack for figuring out how to make things work, and 2) we realized we couldn’t imagine the place without him. We hired Kyle to take care to our facilities in 2019.

Kyle has a huge heart to serve the people of Christ’s Center. He always has a smile on his face, and a joke on the tip of his tongue. We love having him on the team.