Staff & Leadership | Meet Our Leaders — Get Inspired Today — Church | Crested Butte, Colorado

Jessica Thomas, Business Operations Director

Western State College brought Jessica to the valley in 2007 where she met her now husband, Kyle. They have an energetic a son named Beckett who makes life a great adventure and have recently added a sweet daughter to the mix. In her free time she likes to get outdoors with her family and create sweet times with friends. Jessica handles business and building operations for OBJC and serves as a behind the scenes ninja to help things run smoothly.

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Tyler Hansen, Worship and Arts Pastor

Tyler has been a part of OBJC in some form or another since the late 80's. He has served with the worship team since 2000 and now oversees all aspects of OBJC's worship services, communications, special events, and whatever else is needed. He lives in a hobbit house in an aspen forest with his wife Janna and their two sons, Micah and Elijah.

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Grant Hickman, Lead Pastor

Grant grew up in the Panhandle of Texas and met his Maui-raised wife at a country-western dance hall while earning a degree in business at UMHB. Together, they have 6 kids who love the outdoors and all that Crested Butte has to offer for free-range children. After pastoring in Texas, Grant pastored in the Pacific Northwest before coming to OBJ. He has a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary and is pursuing a Doctorate from Denver Seminary. He is passionate about practical teaching and making the gospel relevant to all people. He is a long-suffering Dallas Cowboys fan.

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Renee O’Neal, Children's Ministries Pastor

Renee, aka Nay Nay, aka Mother Goose, is the most valuable member of the OBJC team because she does what no one else can…deal with kids all day! Renee has years of experience leading children's storytimes and finds her magic moments singing and dancing with children. Renee has a passion to use children's storybooks as modern-day parables to teach God's Word. She has two grown songs, Brian and Michael.

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Peggy Kirby, Financial Manager

For several years Peggy has faithfully overseen OBJC’s finances in conjunction with our Trustee Team to make sure all of our resources are accurately accounted for. Peggy and her husband Kenneth live in South Carolina (she serves as our only remote staff person) and have two married sons and three grandchildren.

Tyler Smith, Director of Adult Ministries

Tyler brings a lot of great skills to the team at OBJC. He’s a deep thinker, a great teacher, and has a passion for outreach and evangelism. He’s one of those uber-athlete types (like, he ran a 100 mile race for fun) and fits right in with Crested Butte. Tyler has a passion to grow a discipleship culture among the men and families of Oh Be Joyful Church and is working hard to achieve it.

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Molly Holsteen, Director of Women’s Ministries

Molly and her highschool sweetheart-turned husband, Andy, moved from their hometown of Colorado Springs to Crested Butte in 2012. Molly's happy place is on a bike, skis or water - adventuring with Andy and their three kids- Kate, Jackson and Hunter. As a family they engage in ministry and discipleship with the great people of Oh Be Joyful Church. Molly has a passion for gathering believers around knowing God and His Word, and loving the community well.

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Grace Nyhus, Youth Ministry Resident

Grace grew up in small town in central Minnesota alongside her twin brother and older sister. She graduated from the University of Northwestern - St. Paul with degrees in Nonprofit Leadership and Intercultural Studies; in addition to earning a Masters Degree in Ministry Leadership. In late 2024, Grace took a leap of faith and moved to Crested Butte, where she serves in the Ski School Support Staff. In her time here, she has enjoyed finding a home at OBJC and Grace loves doing any outdoor activities, sports, and trying new things.

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Olivia Wogen, Children's Ministries Assistant

Olivia grew up in England and attended college in both England and California. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and a postgraduate teaching credential in Elementary Education. In 2019 Olivia moved to Crested Butte with her husband Nik and two children Zeke and Zoë. She loves being outdoors and finding adventures in Crested Butte with her family and friends. Olivia has a passion for teaching and serving God's children. She is currently the Elementary STEM teacher at Crested Butte Community school and at church she is honored to serve in our children's ministry and be Renee's sidekick.

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Whitney Gilliam, Young Adult Pastor

Whitney has lived in Crested Butte since 2016 and has loved being a part of the OBJC community, particularly the Young Adults group. Originally from Little Rock, Whitney attended Pepperdine University, Mountaineering School, and most recently moved from Alaska. Whitney loves experiencing the Lord here in Crested Butte, particularly through outdoor activities with others such as split boarding, mountain biking, rock climbing, and hiking!

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Nathan Haley, Director of Youth Ministries

Nathan grew up in Houston, Texas, alongside his younger brother and incredible parents. Since moving to the valley in 2022, he has faithfully served with Young Life and alongside Whitney in pastoring the Young Adults community at OBJ. He loves spending time outdoors and has immersed himself in the local community through trail running, mountain biking, fishing, and snowboarding. Most importantly, Nathan has a heart for Jesus and is passionate about helping the next generation build a faith rooted in the firm foundation of the Lord.

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