Phil is married to Sandy Green (since June 6, 1981) and together they have three married children and seven grandchildren. He has been a church planter (Midland, MI; Ellsworth, KS; Oskaloosa, KS) and pastor (Washington Island, WI; Lyons, KS) in the Evangelical Free Church of America since January 1986. He is committed to equipping people to follow Jesus so that they know Him personally, grow in their relationship with Him, serve Him as He has gifted them to serve, and send others to do the same. Phil also enjoys teaching at Sterling College as an adjunct instructor and is a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute (Diploma, 1979), Wheaton College (B.A. in History, 1981) and Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M., 1985; D.Min., 2001).

Pastor Kerry Relihan served as Senior Pastor at Stromsburg EFC for nearly 29 years. He and his wife, Joanne, have four boys, and twin granddaughters and one grandson who reside in the Dominican Republic, and one granddaughter in Omaha. Kerry has served in helping with MWD church plants, ministry in New Orleans, international church planting in Tatarstan Russia, gypsy ministry in Peny Russia, teaching at Trinity Video Seminary, outreach among the Sea Tribes People, and refugee ministry in Athens Greece. He also served on the International Missions Board of the EFCA for 6 years. He also served on the ministry leadership team of Global Assist for 5 years. He has encouraged ministry at Timberlake Ranch Camp and the Columbus and Living Water Rescue Missions. All of this is because of the mobilization of the local church. Today he serves churches in Regional & Global Initiatives for the Midwest District of the EFCA.   With this rich and varied experience in ministry beyond the local church, Kerry is motivated to help MWD EFCA churches and any other like-minded churches strengthen and grow their impact, whether each alone or (even better) churches working together.

Jane Schaible and her husband, Daniel, have been married since 2006 and have two children. She is the Women’s Ministry Director at First Evangelical Free in Wichita, KS. Jane has a M.A. in Theological Studies (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2022) and a B.A. in Social Work (Wichita State University, 2004). Serving her church and studying at TEDS have fueled her passion to build up the local church through faithfully conveying God’s word and encouraging her sisters in the EFCA. She loves to go hiking with her family, can't say no to a new commentary, and enjoys a good Nancy Drew mystery every now and then.

Mike is married to Traci. They have five children ranging in age from 11-19 with one in heaven. They love camping, exploring the outdoors, and serving the Lord together. He has been a EFCA church planter in Spearfish, SD (2001-2004) and Litchfield, MN (2005-2015), and the pastor of Evangelical Free Church in Oakland, Nebraska since 2015. Mike has always had a passion to see the gospel preached, disciples multiplied, and have healthy churches planted. He served a term on the Midwest District Board from 2017-2020. He started serving on staff at the Midwest District in 2020 as the Director of Church Planting. He is excited to encourage, support, and work with planters and churches to help them multiply disciples and start new churches.

Lige grew up in the center of Omaha, NE before moving to the small town of Minden in the spring of 2000.  He started his ministry career serving as a volunteer huddle leader for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, where he discovered his gifting and love for helping students understand who God is through the story of the Bible. In July of 2010, Lige came on staff as Pastor of Family Ministries at the Minden Evangelical Free Church. Over his years of serving that love for teaching students has grown into a passion for raising up children, students, and parents that would be disciple-makers in the everyday activities of life. Lige came on staff with the Midwest District in the spring of 2017 and continues to help expand NextGen ministries across the district through consulting, coaching, and caring for Next Gen. workers. He has been married to the love of his youth, Dusty, for over 20 years, and together they have five beautiful children with their oldest currently attending college. When he is not in the office or traveling around to network gatherings you will find Lige in the local wrestling room coaching kids from pre-school through high school in the best sport in the world, wrestling. 

Donald Adams is from Lincoln, Nebraska, where he was born and raised. His love for church music leadership began as a child and grew into his high school years. Donald sat first chair saxophone for the Nebraska All-State band for three years, as well as the United States Youth Ensemble, touring Europe the summer of 2004. He is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute where he studied music and theology, focusing on classical guitar. In 2023 Donald graduated with his Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with an emphasis in Worship Leadership. Donald is married to the far more talented Anna-Marie, and together they have three daughters, Charlotte Noelle, Lucy Grace, and Stella Mae.

Colby and his wife Lynne met at the Missouri University of Science and Technology as computer science majors, and wed in 1989. They both worked in the software industry in Austin, Rome, Italy, and Seattle. They have no children, but serve as host parents for sisters Bertha, Flo, and Metty, who are from Kenya. Colby entered seminary at Talbot School of Theology in 1999, where he completed an M.Div., and in 2011 he completed a D.Min. at Dallas Theological Seminary. Before stepping into the role of District Superintendent, Colby served for 20 years as pastor with churches in Southern California, Middle Georgia, and most recently in Kansas City. Lynne has a particular heart for the disenfranchised. Colby served on the board of Hungry4Him Ministries, has taught several times at the Ahero Evangelical School of Theology in Western Kenya, and currently serves on the boards of Timberlake Ranch Camps and Christian Homes Care Community. He is the New Testament editor of The Readable Bible. He enjoys cycling and studying Italian, while Lynne enjoys inventing Italian style dishes and caring for her mother. Psalm 51:6 (“Behold, you delight in truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden parts you make me to know wisdom”) compels Colby to draw people to the Truth that God desires to transform us with.

Cindy attended Trinity College, Deerfield, IL and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln before moving to California with a career in retail. Going back to school she changed careers to administrative assistant and started working in the aerospace and medical industries before becoming a stay at home mom for 11 years. Cindy, her husband Greg and their two children moved to Nebraska in 1998 near her hometown of Axtell, NE. Her husband has been working in the retail industry for over 36 years. Their son moved back to California to attend college and is now a Surgical Technician at a hospital in downtown Los Angeles and was recently married. Their daughter moved to Omaha, NE to attend school and is now working at the college she graduated from as a lab technician using her passion and skills in photography to teach and assist students.