Ed Courtney has three John Elway posters hanging in his office, a signed picture of John Elway and a special-edition commemorative John Elway plate. He’s seen The Breakfast Club more than 50 times (What we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess and a criminal.) Originally from Pawnee, IL, Ed graduated with a journalism degree from MU, where he met his wife, Beth. They married in 1997. He was ordained as a pastor in 2006.
E-mail: ed {{at}} columbiarock.com

John Drage has been the pastor at The Rock since it began in January 2001. He is passionate about competing, eating and talking. Some of his favorite movies are Braveheart, The Emperors Club, and The Patriot. Originally from Cleveland, he graduated with a degree in math education from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. John married Amy in 1989, and they have four children: Josh, Jessie, Caleb and Nathanael.
E-mail: john {{at}} columbiarock.com

With the last name Hoops, it’s hard for sports not to be ingrained into your existence! When he has a free moment, Brandon Hoops can be found launching 3-pointers, sinking birdie putts, smashing aces or watching his favorite teams on TV. But once his athletic side is exhausted, don’t be surprised if you find him writing, reading a good book, exploring nature or dabbling in a little photography. Originally from Freeport, IL (where his high school mascot was the Pretzels), Brandon graduated with a journalism degree from MU in 2005.
E-mail: hoops {{at}} columbiarock.com

When looking at Bill Lautenschlager’s last name, don’t be intimidated by all the letters. It’s not as hard as it looks. Pronounced lah ten shlay grrr, read it more than once and you’ll probably either be right or very close to spelling it correctly. Bill first spelled it when he was four. He has grown a few feet since that time and can now boast to being the tallest member of the staff team. Bill grew up in suburban St. Louis, majored in English education at Mizzou and married Ally in 2007. Their son, Calvin, was born in April 2010.
E-mail: bill {{at}} columbiarock.com

Mazvita Lewton has the kind of first name that looks difficult but is really pretty simple. It’s pronounced Mah-gee-tah. It is an original Zimbabwean name that is as common as Sarah or Ashley is here in the U.S. It means “thank you for the child” and is typically given to first-born females. Mazvita grew up in Columbia and is often found reading, writing, dancing (contemporary/modern dance) or hanging out at coffee shops, namely Starbucks or Kaldis. She has an intense love for boy bands like N Sync but is secretly an emo kid at heart. She graduated from Mizzou in 2006 with a broadcast journalism degree and married Ben in 2010.
E-mail: mazvita {{at}} columbiarock.com

Peggy Myers is a painfully slow runner, which may explain why some people think she’s still stuck in the 1990s. Peggy doesn’t own a CD that was released after 1997. Her favorite song is Counting Blue Cars, released in 1995, and her favorite movie is Empire Records, also released in 1995. In her free time, Peggy is known to dominate the crane game, though she has encountered a slump every now and then. Originally from Joplin, Peggy has degrees in communications and English from Mizzou.
E-mail: peggy {{at}} columbiarock.com

Garrett Naufel is one of the few people under age 50 who likes John Denver’s music. He also likes The Grateful Dead and The Godfather 1 & 2, but not 3. He loves basketball and Larry Bird. He is from Pawnee, IL. Garrett graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in psychology. He married Brenna in 1998.

E-mail: garrett {{at}} columbiarock.com

Andrew Schulz is a lot like Owen Wilson, unpredictable and excitable with a tendency to use a lot of words. When words run dry, don’t be surprised if he does multiples in his head, you know, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64…The highest he has gotten is in the billions. If you think that’s weird, it might help to know that he has a masters in accountancy from Mizzou. Andrew is also proficient musically. He plays the electric and acoustic guitar, bass, banjo, keyboard and trombone. He would love to learn harp. He is married to Kirstin.
E-mail: awschulz {{at}} gmail.com

Kirstin Schulz grew up on Shakespeare’s pizza and Mizzou football. But just because she’s a Columbia native doesn’t mean she knows where everything is in town. Sometimes she can’t remember street names.
Kirstin’s heritage extends beyond Columbia, though. She has dual citizenship between the United States and Germany. Her dad is from Croatia but immigrated to Germany and grew up German. Kirstin is conversational in German and has been to Germany five times. Andrew proposed to her in Munich. She has a degree in nursing from Mizzou.
E-mail: kirstin.schulz {{at}} gcmweb.org

Chris Swift has always wanted a sweet set of ninja skills. That might explain his obsession with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Whereas most kids outgrow their turtles phase, Chris is still in that phase. Of all the characters, Chris most relates to Raphael. He received a real pair of sais (Raphael’s weapon) for his birthday one year and proceeded to watched videos so he could get the technique down. Other passions of Chris’ include drawing, writing, music and coffee. He is married to Aimee and has a religious studies degree from Mizzou.
E-mail: chris {{at}} columbiarock.com