CF Ascend Leadership
Richie Christie is the Teaching Pastor at Christ Fellowship and is also leading CF Ascend. Before moving to Kingsport to join the CF team, he was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan.
Launching Ascend is a decade-long dream realized for Richie. During his 10 years in Youth Ministry, he began to dream about what it would look like to solely focus on pouring into the hungry young people, ready to be pushed beyond what they currently know and experience in Jesus. He is deeply passionate about helping people come into their original design God created them to be and sending them out on fire.
He has been married to his amazing wife Jenna for 10 years and they have little 3 kids, River, Abel and Maeve, along with their Golden Retriever, Izzo. He is a die hard Detroit Lions and Michigan State fan and if he has any free time, you can probably find him on the golf course.
Kim Wheeler is the Adult Ministry Director at Christ Fellowship Church. Before taking a full-time position at Christ Fellowship, she completed a 20 year career as a high school English teacher. She is a life-long resident of Kingsport and a life-long lover of Jesus.
For the past 28 years she has been married to Jason, who truly is her best friend, and they have 2 young adult kids – Abbey & Creed.
Kim is deeply in love with the voice of God and her passion is encouraging others in developing a real, meaningful relationship with Him – a relationship that impacts the Kingdom and brings heaven to earth.
SPECIAL GUEST TEACHER
Jamie has decades of experience bringing peaceful solutions to some of the world’s highest conflict areas.
Starting with a distinguished career in law enforcement in the metro Washington, DC area, his unconventional efforts to bring about societal and racial reconciliation led him to Indonesia, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Israel, and back to the US. In recent years, Jamie has worked with leaders in a variety of sectors, from police departments to pro football teams to churches and other faith-based organizations.
Jamie is the author of the Energy series and “Living Fearless: Exchanging The Lies Of The World For The Liberating Truth Of God”. He loves to help people hear from God and live fearlessly in their true identity.
Derek is a Pathblazer. Like Caleb from the Old Testament, he doesn’t let unchartered territory intimidate, but rather enjoys forging new paths and making new trails for people to traverse in the Kingdom of God.
Derek is originally from the hills of southeastern Ohio. He has a degree in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University, where he also played football. Upon graduation, he entered the corporate world where he would work for eight years before stepping into full-time ministry.
He is now the lead pastor of Christ Fellowship Church in Kingsport, Tennessee, where he lives with his wife, Kate, and three children.
Derek delights in the presence of God, and wants nothing more than for others to do the same.
Gina Hawkins’ greatest joy is serving the Lord, and she believes every person holds the power to turn their dreams into reality. Guided by a commitment to transformation, she partners with teams to pioneer bold visions—and to see them come to life. Gifted in crafting effective systems and processes, she builds strategies that create lasting impact and help both individuals and organizations thrive.
For more than 28 years, Gina’s steadfast anchor has been her marriage to Gary, alongside their three young adult children, Katey, Max, and Grace. Her family’s love and support fuel her passion for collaboration and lend purpose to all she undertakes.
