Meet Our Staff

Joshua Rivas
Senior Pastor

Janell Wallis
Executive Pastor

Jason Hague
Teaching Pastor

Mark Wall
Community Pastor

Hannah Oakes
Children’s Ministries

Red Crabb
Senior Associate Pastor

Karen Rivas
Volunteer Coordinator

Carlie Davis
Administrative Assistant

Abbey Cox
Bookkeeper

Uli Jankowski
Youth Leader/Facilities

Joshua Rivas

Senior Pastor

When Pastor Joshua first came to Christ’s Center, he had no intention of becoming a leader. He just wanted to blend in. It didn’t work. When Jon Bowers, our founding pastor, decided it was time to hand the church over to a younger man, he felt God nudging toward “the guy who dances in the back of the sanctuary.” (Note: Yes, Joshua likes to dance. No, that was never a good trait for a guy who wanted to blend in. We don’t get it, either.)

Since taking over as senior pastor, Joshua has led the church through some hard times, and some wonderful times. He is a man who passionately loves Jesus and the family of Jesus. Joshua is an energetic servant leader who brings passion, optimism, and vision to our congregation, and to the larger body of Christ in Lane County. He is married to Karen. They have two daughters, one son-in-law, and one adorable granddaughter.

Janell Wallis

Executive Pastor

Pastor Janell has been working at Christ’s Center since she was a teenager. Back then, she helped Pastor Red keep the books, but her responsibilities kept growing. When Pastor Joshua took over, he recognized Janell’s immense administrative and pastoral gifts. She didn’t just take care of details; she understood the condition of the flock. That is, she knew when people were hurting, and she understood how to pray for them, and how to help them.

Thus, Janell became Pastor Janell. She runs point on prayer, women’s ministries, and all things related to facilities, calendars, and administration (and OCCASIONALLY, she agrees to preach.) The fact is, everyone who’s been here for any length of time knows the old saying, “Janell’s the boss, applesauce.” She lives in Harrisburg with her husband, Dan, and their three dogs.

Jason Hague

Teaching Pastor

Jason is the reluctant teaching pastor here at Christ’s Center. We all knew he should be on staff before he was ready to admit it himself. Jason brings a ton of Biblical knowledge and creativity to the team. He spearheads many of our creative projects in addition to being our de facto IT guy.

Jason and his wife Sara have five kids and one spoiled goldendoodle. When he’s not here in the building, you can find him in one of a couple places: kayaking the river, looking for his kindle, dropping tortilla chips for his dog Leeli, or at his East Office (Max Porter’s) writing his next great book.

Mark Wall

Community Pastor

Mark was a friend of Christ’s Center long before he became Pastor Mark. He worked with us for years with the One Hope Network, and with Every Child. When he and Kristin joined our congregation, we all began to realize the immense pastoral gifting Mark has. That is, we realized he wasn’t just a great guy; he was everyone’s big brother. He had an incredible knack for listening, and for offering his strength, warmth, and love to the people around him.

Mark became part of our team in 2019. As our community pastor, he wears a lot of hats. In addition to general pastoral care, he runs point on our men’s ministries, works with Kyle to take care of our facilities, and serves as a chaplain to the Junction City Police Department. Mark is married to Kristin Wall, and they have five grown children.

Hannah Oakes

Children’s Ministry Leader

Hannah is a third generation member of Christ’s Center, and she’s raising a fourth. She and her husband Aaron have been married for over a decade, and they are raising three adorable daughters and one son. As a mom of four, she knows how to take care of children, so in the fall of 2022, we gave her some more. That’s when Hannah took the reins of our children’s ministry in October. She now oversees all of our Sunday school classes, and our Wednesday night kids’ home group gatherings.

Hannah is a great teacher, who knows how to lead a classroom, and care for the needs of individual children. We are thrilled to have her on the team.

Red Crabb

Senior Associate Pastor

Red came to Christ’s Center in 1981, and it’s still amazing that he did. He had been the administrator of the entire Harrisburg School District. He had a good job, and was a legend in the community. But one day, he went to sell Amway to Pastor Jon Bowers at Christ’s Center, the and everything changed. “Red, you didn’t come here to sell me Amway,” Jon said. “You came here to meet Jesus!” It was true. Red met Jesus that day, and he soon gave up his position to join the staff of Christ’s Center.

Since then, he’s worn many hats. He’s been the principle of Christ’s Center School, the basketball coach, the church administrator, and the church associate pastor, among other things. Today, Red is our senior associate pastor. He meets with our senior members, who he affectionately calls “the q-tips,” and offers great encouragement and insight to our pastoral staff and missionaries in the field. Red is married to Loveta.

Karen Rivas

Volunteer Coordinator

Karen won’t want to be listed. She would prefer to be in the background, serving, mentoring, and making great things happen. Because truly, she makes things happen. Pastor Karen coordinates our local outreaches and service projects. She connects people with group like Local Aide, Every Child, and Love for Lane County. She takes care of our foster families by surrounding them with support teams.

Karen also leads a key women’s group, and she spends hours and hours mentoring people and helping them find their way in Christ. She is married to Joshua. They have two daughters, one son-in-law, and one spoiled grand-puppy.

Carlie Davis

Administrative Assistant

If you visit Christ’s Center during the week, chances are, Carlie is the first person you’ll meet. That’s by design. She’s a great communicator who always brings the fun. In addition to greeting visitors and answering phones, Carlie–who is Janell’s little sister–also runs all our social media accounts, and keeps our various volunteer teams on the same page with our digital technology.

Carlie and her husband Josh are also experienced foster parents who adopted two of their own. That means they now have five boys. They live in Harrisburg, where they spend all their free time shuttling kids to sports, theater, and robotics.

Abbey Cox

Bookkeeper

Abbey is an expert juggler, metaphorically speaking. She is a wife to Isaac, a mother to four adorable children, and the bookkeeper for Christ’s Center Church. Somehow, she keeps the balls in the air: crunching numbers, taking care of Isaac, and vacuuming cheerios out of her car (probably).

Abbey grew up attending G:Paradigm youth group, and is a veteran of multiple YWAM outreaches. She and Isaac are home group leaders, and are strong members of our church community. When she comes to the office, she usually has at least one of her kids with her, which is why we all love Tuesdays the most.

Uli Jankowski

Youth Leader

Uli has been in missions for the past 9 years. Most of that time was spent in Youth With A Mission in Namibia, his home country, where he worked with Discipleship Training Schools and led international outreaches. He spent last year with YWAM’s flagship base in Kona, Hawaii, and joined us at Christ’s Center in the summer of 2025.

Uli never planned to be in ministry. He wanted to be a chef! But in the past ten years, he discovered that he had a passion for working with youth people. We’re excited to have him on the team!