Leadership & Staff
Kyle grew up in Iowa and attended Iowa State University. After graduating, he served in campus ministry before moving to Chicago to attend Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, completing his Master of Divinity in 2013. He works as a financial advisor. Kyle and his wife, Celia, were married in 2014 and live in Skokie. Kyle has served on the elder board since 2017.
Roby was born and raised in Illinois (Chicago, then Naperville). He has a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and he works in the nonprofit sector, currently serving in a fundraising capacity at DAV. Roby and his wife, Anita, met as freshmen in college and have been married for 13 years. They are blessed with three children: Joshua, Isaac and Lia. They have been attending EBF since 2014 and Roby joined the elder board in 2018. His family loves Chicago sports as well as having people over at their home.
Kent was born in South Korea but immigrated to the US when he was seven. He grew up in the north side of Chicago ever since. He attended Wheaton College where he double majored in History and Theological/Biblical Studies. Kent is in the field of Information Technology where he currently works at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Kent has attended EBF since 2005 and joined the elder board in 2018. Kent and his wife, Erin have two sons.
Ben grew up in the Dominican Republic and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. He moved to Evanston to attend Northwestern University in 2002, and has been attending EBF ever since. Ben has had a career in the field of materials science before getting an MBA and currently works as a business manager for a division for Illinois Tool Works (ITW). Since 2002, Ben has served in various ministry areas prior to joining the elder board in 2015. Ben and his wife Stephanie have three daughters - Morgan, Maya, and Mercy.
Johan was born and raised in South Africa. He earned a Masters in Divinity from Moody Bible Institute. He is married to Heather since 2006. They have a daughter who keeps them busy. The Wessels have been attending EBF since 2013. They love food & to travel. Johan joined the elder board in 2018.
Hannah grew up in California and moved to Chicago to study Children's Ministry and the Bible at Moody Bible Institute. She started attending EBF in 2017 and soon after began serving in the Children's Ministry. After gradutating in 2018 she became the Children's Ministry Director and in 2019 she became the Office Manager at EBF.
Rachel grew up in Skokie and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has served in children's ministry for many years, worked at local schools, and she received her Masters in Education at National-Louis University. She now works as a substitute teacher at the Christian Heritage Academy. She started attending EBF in 2013 and has since served in DoX and the hospitality team. In September 2015, Rachel became the Director for Children's Ministries. In May 2017, Rachel became the Women's Ministry Coordinator. Rachel and her husband, Aji, have been married since June 2015.
Jeff comes to Evanston from the Washington, DC area where he grew up in a Christian home and came to faith at an early age. His passion to help people recalibrate their hearts in affection for Christ. Jeff is married to Eileen and they have three boys.
After two years on staff as a Pastoral Resident, in 2019, Danny began his current role as Director of Ministries & Operations, where he oversees the planning of special events, coordinates logistics & details for Sunday mornings, and helps lead the staff team. Danny has been attending EBF since 2010, when he began his time in Evanston as a student at Northwestern University. Danny is married to Penny, and they enjoy trying new pizza places, cooking, and going on walks. Danny also enjoys a good game of Spikeball, watching his Northwestern Wildcats in any sport, and listening to an engaging podcast (oh, and did we mention he likes pizza?).
Originally from Ohio, Michelle moved to the area to study accounting at Trinity International University. After graduating, she took a job at a public accounting firm in Chicago where she continues to work full-time. She began attending EBF in 2009 and started working for the church as the financial coordinator in 2010. Michelle and her husband, Andrew, have been married since 2008.
Danielle grew up in Bloomington, Indiana and moved to Chicago to go to Moody Bible Institute in 2013, where she studied Counseling and Bible. After graduating she married her husband, Beau, in Jun 2017. Currently they are in seminary together at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where Danielle is pursuing an M.A. in Theological Studies.
After being born in St. Louis, the Lord graciously intervened in Sam's life by allowing him to grow up in Flower Mound, Texas. Sam has been at EBF since the Fall of 2016 and has been serving as a Pastoral Apprentice since the Fall of 2017. Sam is currently a full-time M.Div. student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a part-time barista at Backlot Coffee on Central Street. Sam and his wife Anu were married in the summer of 2018 and currently live in south Evanston (where you can find Anu regularly beating Sam in tennis). Sam enjoys running, golfing, and cheering on the Lord's favorite football team: the Philadelphia Eagles (cf. Isaiah 40:31).
Matt grew up in Maryland before moving to Chicago in 2013 to study theology at Moody Bible Institute. He earned his Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 2019, and is now pursuing a PhD in systematic theology. He works as the Managing Editor for the Henry Center for Theological Understanding, and is passionate about theology that serves the local church. Matt started attending EBF in 2016 and has been a Pastoral Apprentice since then. He lives in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago.
Born and raised in the Bay Area, Michael obtained his bachelor's from UCLA, and subsequently moved to Evanston to pursue his Ph.D. in industrial engineering at Northwestern. Michael has been attending EBF since 2016 and has served in various ministries before becoming a deacon in 2019. He has been married to his wife Charlotte since 2018. In his free time, he enjoys playing board games, reading books, watching/playing basketball, and eating good food.
Birdie was raised in a Mennnonite farming community in Kansas. In 1970, she got married to Tim. They have two married children and several grandchildren. She has been serving at EBF for about nine years. Now retired, she and her husband enjoy their family, serving at EBF, golfing and she especially loves hymns. In 2019, Birdie became the Deacon of Welcome Team.
Matt spent much of his early childhood in Venezuela as a missionary kid before returning to the U.S. He attended Northwestern University, where he met his wife, Laura. They have stayed in Evanston ever since, and have two daughters: Audrey and Lily. Matt works in the financial industry in Chicago. Matt and Laura have been attending EBF since 2009 and Matt has been the Missions Committee Deacon for the Missions Committee since 2012.
Chelsea grew up in rural Michigan and moved to the big city of Evanston to go to Northwestern (BS16, Journalism, Psychology). She began attending freshman year and became a member in 2014 and hasn't been able to stop going since. In 2019, she became the Deacon of Community. Chelsea currently works as a social media specialist at a marketing agency and spends her free time hanging out with people, baking, watching too much TV, and asking people what their enneagram type is (she's a 2w3).
