Founding pastors of Christ Church. They have been married since 1984 and are the proud parents of two adult daughters – Danielle and Jessica. Having counseled hundreds of couples in their 29 years of pastoral ministry, the Irelands enjoy using their graduate school education in the area of marriage and family to help couples achieve emotionally healthy marriages. Marlinda recently completed her Doctor of Ministry degree at Alliance Theological Seminary. They are frequent guest teachers at regional and national marriage seminars, couples retreats, and other venues designed to enrich marriages. Through Dr. Ireland’s former radio program IMPACT, tens of thousands of marriages were strengthened as he taught on such topics as: How to Fight Fair; Building a Healthy Marriage; and Love for a Lifetime. To learn more about David Ireland and his involvement in the community and abroad visit www.DavidIreland.org

Each conversation with Marlize is promised to deposit timely and potent truth, delivered with her nourishing manner and a heart to see the local church and those in it flourish. Marlize is a speaker, pastor and mother; she leads TFH with her husband Pierre and together they have two children Chloe and Caleb, both students and part of the staff teams at The Father’s House.

The Father’s House is a growing, diverse, multisite church where Marlize serves on the Senior Executive Team. In addition to her role here, she is passionate about empowering others to live out their fullest potential at every stage and sphere of influence.

She leads a growing movement of Sisterhood through the local church, teaching women their true identity as daughters of God and loves “making room at her table” to foster relationships and mentor young leaders.

As a consummate communicator, Franklin is an articulate and dynamic speaker, who is comfortable delivering a presentation to an individual, small group, live audience of thousands or on the set of Christian television. His speaking journey has found him presenting keynote messages and presentations to leading companies such as Mercedes Benz, Microsoft and Frito Lay as well as noted celebrities such as Jane Fonda, Nolan Ryan and Phyllis George, plus a multitude of ministry conferences and churches in the United States and 15 other nations.

Santagate is a creative writer and author, penning ministry teachings, books, studies and curricula; strategic marketing plans, campaigns, and a plethora of media including internet, television, radio, newspaper and magazine ads, and more. One of his notable writing accomplishments is a proprietary strategic planning process, “The Power of the Plan”, based on the life of Jesus Christ. This planning process has been proven successful many times in his business practice.

Franklin’s ministerial and commerce leadership has been noted by government leaders where his invitations to various gatherings included President H.W. George Bush and Barbara Bush, the Vice President of Taiwan Lee Tung-hui and Chairman of the Board of Kabaka, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, King of the Kingdom of Buganda.

Mike Pagana is a Licensed Minister of Pastoral Care and Board Certified Life Coach, and he has a heart to see men, couples, families, and their children experience a life of freedom and victory while establishing strong relationships, whether in a traditional or blended family. Already with a Masters of Science in Education and Masters of Arts in Pastoral Counseling, Mike is currently enrolled in the Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) program at Nyack College's Alliance Graduate School of Counseling, and he is doing his MFT internship at Wellsprings under the supervision of Armando Palazzo, MA, LPC (License # 37PC00374300). In addition, Mike has spent the past decade helping men, couples, and families heal from habitual or unwanted sexual behaviors. He has received sexual addiction training through the International Institute of Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP) and looks to become a Certified Sexual Addiction Therapist (CSAT) after obtaining licensure. Mike lives with his wife and four daughters on an organic blueberry farm in upstate New York.

Anthony and Barbara Franklin are associate pastors of Christ Church, serve as pastoral leaders of the church’s successful marriage mentoring ministry. Married since 1981, they are the proud parents of two adult daughters and four grandchildren. Together, they have used their more-than 28 years of pastoral ministry experience to restore and strengthen countless families by mentoring and counseling couples through workshops, retreats and one-on-one sessions. Anthony is a graduate of Alliance Theological Seminary, and Barbara earned a degree in elementary education from Nyack College and is a developmental interventionist for the New Jersey Early Intervention System. Both are Certified Prepare-Enrich Marriage Assessment Facilitators. They are devoted to helping couples lay a foundation for strong, healthy families and they also lead the Christ Church pre-marital preparation program.

Chaz Smith is a 22-year-old from New Jersey who is majoring in Cinema Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

He has over four hundred thousand followers on Vine and is particularly known for his “watermelón inside a watermelón” vine, which has over 1 million likes.

His presence on vine also helped him land an internship with The Huffington Post where he ran their vine account and also produced an original web series for them.

Last year, he was hired by a non-profit called “One Student” that is dedicated to sexual assault education and awareness on college campuses to produce a PSA on rape culture.

The video has amassed over 140,000 views and has been screened all across the country in classrooms, on college campuses, at conferences, film festivals, and was even used by the National Coast Guard in their sexual assault awareness program.

He loves being on camera, but his greatest aspiration is to have a career in filmmaking as a director and producer, making films with meaningful messages in order to positively impact society, promote change, and point people to Christ.

Pierre and Marlize du Plessis are the Senior Pastors of The Father’s House located in Rochester, NY. The Father’s House is a growing, diverse, multisite church welcoming thousands each weekend. Both are passionate about mentoring and empowering others to live out their fullest potential at every stage, using vivid illustrations mixed with humor and practical life application. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Pierre and Marlize relocated to the USA in 1999. Pierre’s experience and insight has provided him with the opportunity to serve on the boards of national organizations and travel internationally to speak in churches and at conferences. Marlize leads a growing movement of sisterhood, teaching women their true identity as daughters of God. Pierre and Marlize have been married for 27 years and have the privilege of serving with their two grown children, Chloe and Caleb, both students, and part of the staff team at The Father’s House.

Liz Colizza is passionate about relationships. She is a couples and parenting therapist in St. Louis, Missouri where she works as part of a team to provide holistic services to families in the area. In 2016, she partnered with an entrepreneur to develop a relationship app called Lasting. The mission of Lasting is to help people love better. Lasting is designed as a DIY counseling tool that can be used alone or as a supplement to in-person therapy. Liz currently works as Lasting's Head of Research and Programs spending her time researching and designing content. Liz has been married to Chris for 14 years and they have three children. Liz and Chris are both east coast natives, but relocated to St. Louis over ten years ago for Liz to attend seminary. They stayed in St. Louis after falling in love with their church community where they are both actively involved in leadership roles.