Leadership

Meet our Staff

Joseph & Amber Hanthorn

Lead Pastor

Joseph Hanthorn holds an AA in Secondary Education and a BA in History from Austin College in Sherman Texas.  In 2002, he received his ministerial credentials from the United Pentecostal Church International. In 2004, he married Amber and God has blessed them with three beautiful daughters. For a number of years Joseph & Amber served in the role of Administrative Pastor and Assistant Pastor at churches in the DFW and Orlando metro areas.  In August of 2008, Joseph was invited to assume the pastorate at CLC. His ministry is both relevant and compelling, flowing from a personal testimony of redemption and divine restoration.

Stephen & Shelli Harris

Executive Pastor

Stephen was raised in a Pentecostal minister's home in North Texas and completed his undergraduate work at the University of North Texas with a B.A. in Communications and a Masters of Theological Studies through Urshan Graduate School of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri. He served as Senior Pastor at the First United Pentecostal Church of Center, Texas for almost 11 years. After several months of seeking the Lord, the decision was made to resign in the Spring of 2013 and pursue new avenues of ministry. Stephen launched Rejoice Life Ministries (rejoicelife.org) to help equip leaders and churches for revival.  He also served as District Global Impact Director for the Texas District UPCI and spent over 15 years in radio broadcast ministry.  Stephen and his wife Shelli have been married over 20 years, and are blessed with 3 beautiful children, Naomi, Lily, and Bella Grace. In 2014, the Lord led them to move from Texas to Wisconsin to serve in an Administrative role at Christian Life Church. Since then, God has opened the door for them to Pastor a new campus in Belgium, WI.  They are committed to faithfully preaching the Word of God, nurturing others in the faith, and fulfilling the Great Commission.

Andrew & Megan Najera

Associate Pastor

E. Andrew Najera was born & raised in El Paso, Texas. He received his BBA with a Marketing emphasis from the University of Texas at El Paso. He has spent the majority of his professional career in retail working at the corporate level at several major department stores. He has served Christian Life Church as a Sunday school teacher, Outreach Director and Youth Pastor. He also filled an instrumental leadership role in the CLC Building Campaign which led to the purchase of the current campus. In 2013, he received his local ministers license from the United Pentecostal Church International and currently serves as Associate Pastor. Andrew and his wife Megan have two young adult children, Olivia and Ellis. They have teamed together in several ministries and continue to work in tandem furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Nathan & Becka Peterson

Associate Pastor

Nate was born and raised in Green Bay, WI and moved to Milwaukee for college where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from UW-Milwaukee in 2002. In 2014, he achieved a Bachelors of Ministerial Studies degree from Purpose Institute and was locally licensed by the UPCI in 2015. He’s spent nearly twenty years of his professional career in business development within the supply chain and distribution industry. Becka grew up in Milwaukee and has an Education degree from Alverno College and after teaching for three years and nannying for five, she is currently a stay-at-home mom. Together, they launched and ran a Campus Ministry International (CMI) Chapter at UW-Milwaukee for seven years. Nate has also served the CMI organization as the Wisconsin District CMI Coordinator and the National Director of Promotions. At CLC, they currently lead the Hyphen Young Adults (18-30yr olds) and Advanced Ministry Training groups and are involved in Music, Sunday School and teaching bible studies and various classes. They also help to lead, organize, and plan special events, services and initiatives as needed. They have 4 children; Xander, Lydia, Canaan and Vera and currently reside in Germantown.

Reagan & Naomi Matheson

Student Pastor

Reagan & Naomi have served the students (grades 7-12) of Christian Life Church together since 2018. They were married in October of 2018. Not long after that, Reagan received his ministerial credentials with the United Pentecostal Church International.  Reagan not only serves as the Student Pastor of Christian Life Church, but also as the Wisconsin District Youth Ministries Secretary. They also serve in many other areas in our local church including Worship Ministry, Promotions, Service Production and more. They are passionate about being spiritually enriching & relationally engaging in their ministry. They make it a priority to look for opportunities to mentor & invest in the students of CLC. Despite the challenging culture around them, they are committed to developing young men & women who are radically committed to the call of God. 

Josh & Imelda Terrones

Spanish Pastor

Joshua Terrones was baptized and filled with the Spirit in 2013. He faithfully served in his local Church in Northern Wisconsin and received confirmation that God had called him to preach so he began attending Purpose Institute and graduated with a bachelor's degree in pastoral studies in 2016. He married Imelda Terrones and they both have a strong desire to fulfill the calling of God in their life. He has been called to preach the gospel and minister to the Spanish speaking community. He has served as youth pastor, and associate pastor at New Life Apostolic Church and Calvary Church under the ministry of Ronald Scheunke. He has a strong passion and desire to reach the Spanish speaking community and currently is serving as the Spanish Pastor at Christian Life Church.