OUR TEAM

Chris received a degree in Finance & Operations from Indiana University while attempting a minor in intramural sports. After two years in corporate finance, he married his college sweetheart, Katherine. They did what all rational newlyweds do: move to Las Vegas.
 
There, Chris pastored a dynamic church in the heart of Sin City while completing his master’s
in Theological Studies. In Vegas, he also discovered the beautiful tension Jesus held between Word and Spirit. It’s a pastoral commitment Chris adopted as his own, and one that describes the culture of City Church OTR today.
 
Chris and Katherine stay busy raising two young kids. Chris loves Tex-Mex more than you, is an avid reader of the Wall Street Journal, and is always down to compete in something athletic.

Ivo started playing the guitar at the age of eight, and he hasn’t stopped since. He gives vision and direction to our Sunday Worship Services and leads our worship team. Ivo and his wife, Amelia, have three incredible children.
 
He was born and raised in Brazil, where he was part of a family who loved the local church. He has a diverse church background, having worshipped as part of various church traditions and served in many different capacities including sound, production, worship, kids, and youth ministries. He also brings extensive experience in construction and has the tools to care well for our historic building.
 
Ivo enjoys spending time with his family and close friends, reading, playing music and eating great food!

After graduating from the University of Kentucky, Kristen moved back to Cincinnati to join the corporate world. In her 20s, God moved her towards vocational ministry. She spent over nine years in a multi-site church working to create a discipling culture by helping people get in life-changing, Jesus-loving community. Kristen is passionate about creating space for people to grow in their relationship with Jesus, helping them reach new levels of potential, freedom, and impact. Her love of fostering community and serving people helps City Church continue to feel like family as we grow.

A self-proclaimed southerner at heart, hospitality runs in her blood. She loves hosting, a good book recommendation, a tough workout, spending time with her friends and her pup, Eloise. Kristen loves getting to know people over coffee or good food.

A born and raised Floridian, Michelle found herself transplanted to the Midwest in 2015 and fell in love with the culture, people, and four seasons of Cincinnati. With a background in restaurant and retail, small business operations, learning and development, and organizational change management, Michelle brings her experience together to lead City Church OTR in stewarding the resources God has entrusted to us. You'll find her doing a variety of work, including finances, communications, assisting Ivo in managing our building, and keeping the Nespresso stocked to feed the team's coffee addiction.
 
Michelle loves Chick-fil-A, FC Cincinnati soccer, Hallmark Christmas movies, assembling IKEA furniture, and spending lots of time with friends. She's always up for grabbing a cup of coffee or going for a walk around the city!

Brandon loves the “Big C” Church. Since he gave his life to Jesus in the 7th grade, his biggest passion is that fellow believers would have a healthy, intimate relationship with the Lord. Brandon leads and shepherds all of our ministries investing in the next generation, from the babies in KidsCity all the way through our high school ministry. He is passionate about seeing kids of all ages discipled to love and walk with Jesus in community. Professionally, Brandon has worked in a genetics lab, an ice cream shop, IT Human Resources, and as a financial supervisor. It seems that a psych degree from Northern Kentucky really can get you anywhere you want to go.
 
He’s usually at a coffee shop playing board games, but if not, then you’ll find him exploring somewhere he’s never been or celebrating one of his friends.

Since graduating college, Mandy spent several years on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Las Vegas. After attending church with the Marlins in Vegas, Mandy, and her husband Ben, felt called join them in Cincinnati. She loves to help start new ministries and fell in love with the idea of two front doors for a church model. She provides relational support for City Church missionaries, various church family needs, and House Group Leaders.

Besides hanging out with her family and golden retriever, she enjoys getting coffee with friends. Mandy loves being outdoors, for any reason, enjoys her garden and is grateful to experience four seasons again. 

After spending his early years in addiction, alcoholism, and brokenness, Jason had a "born again" experience with Jesus that changed everything. Since then, his heart has been to see men and women walk in freedom, authority, and power as sons and daughters of God. He loves equipping the body to hear and respond to the Father's voice and to participate in bringing God's Kingdom to earth, which he now does in his role at City Church. Jason leads our prayer teams, as well as "Come Holy Spirit" events and other opportunities for both equipping and outreach in our neighborhood.

Jason is married to Kristin, and together they have two teenagers. They enjoy walks on the Loveland bike trail, great coffee, and good food. Jason and Kristin also run Activation Ministries, which keeps them connected to the body of Christ across Cincinnati.

Proudly born and raised in Cincinnati, Annie has been a part of City Church OTR since spring of 2021. She is deeply committed to her community, ministry, and family. Annie manages City Church OTR’s social media, creating all content and graphics that tell the story of the church. She also coordinates events, supports the planning of Sunday services, and helps ensure that ministries run smoothly behind the scenes. With a heart for community and a talent for bringing color and life to projects, Annie is passionate about bringing the church’s vision to life.

Annie enjoys living in the heart and soul of Cincinnati with her husband, Nathan. She loves listening to audio books, staying active, and spending time with friends!

Jeffrey moved to the midwest to attend Cedarville University, then landed in Cincinnati in 2022. He immediately fell in love with the culture, the people, and the new home-away-from-home he found at City Church OTR. Joining the staff team in 2025 as a part-time ministry resident, Jeffrey’s day to day at the church looks like anything from contributing to the development of church programs, dreaming of events and projects to serve the community, working to improve the worship and production department, and always finding a way to integrate coffee into the workday.

In his remaining time each week, he can typically be found at BLOC Coffee working on projects for various clients, traveling to a new city for a production event, or dreaming of another trip with friends to a different continent (one day his dreams will come true).