James Palmer is married to Gretchen and has 3 daughters.  He is a Traverse City native, leaving only to attend Hope College and Asbury Theological Seminary and was lucky enough to return to Traverse City to raise his family.  He first sensed the call to ministry in 1995 at the age of 19.  James is… Read More »

Pastor Matt has been in ministry for over 20 years in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Michigan working as a youth pastor, children’s pastor and senior pastor. He is currently the transitional pastor at FCC focusing on church renewal and ministry development. He has also worked in the business arena in the field of sales and marketing… Read More »

Aleshia Oosterhart is the worship director at First Christian Church. Although new to FCC, she is a Traverse City native, born and raised. She studied Christian Worship at Indiana Wesleyan University, and graduated in 2014 before moving back home to marry her husband and adventure partner, Jared. Aleshia and Jared enjoy hiking, biking, camping, and… Read More »

Char, her husband Mitch, and son Manny are a talent-packed family with a calling to ministry.  Char is very artistic and helps our church with everything from the church sign, graphic print material, video production, and social media.  She and her husband Mitch play on the worship team together and lead the High School Youth… Read More »