Leadership

Brandon Mathis has been serving as the Lead Pastor of Celebration church since June of 2020. Brandon has a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Colorado State University, and a M.Div. in pastoral ministry from Southeastern Seminary. Brandon has been married to his wife, Melissa for 12 years and they have 3 children. 

Rick Hale has been serving as an Elder at Celebration Church for many years and came on staff as the Discipleship Pastor in 2022. Rick is married to his wife, Julie, and they have 2 grown children. 

Julie Hale serves as the Pastoral Administrative Assistant at Celebration Church.  She grew up in Montrose and returned home after earning a Communication degree from Milligan College in Tennessee.   Julie loves to participate in God’s plans for Celebration Church.  She is married to Pastor Rick, and together they have 2 adult children and a daughter-in-law. 

Melissa Coram serves as the Media and Communications Director at Celebration Church.  She grew up in Montrose after moving from Cleveland, Ohio as a child. Melissa has served in Women's Ministry, Celebration Kids, and various roles on the Worship Team. She has been married for 19 years to her high school sweetheart, Ty, who serves as a Deacon and Worship Co-Leader at Celebration. Together they have 3 children.

Becky Gere serves as the Event and Volunteer Coordinator at Celebration Church. She grew up in Puerto Rico and returned to the US to earn a degree in Spanish and French. Becky has served in various roles in Christian camping throughout the years, and after having kids stayed home to homeschool them until they graduated high school. She loves working with children through Celebration Kids as well as helping organize the annual ladies retreat, and is also passionate about missions. Becky has been happily married for 28 years to Harry, who serves as a deacon at Celebration.  

Larry Walker serves as an Elder at Celebration Church. Larry is part of the oversight team, and he and his wife, Pat were one of the four couples that spent many hours in prayer seeking God in the founding of Celebration Church. They remain in awe of the working of God in Celebration. In addition to serving Celebration Church, Larry and Pat have spent the last twenty plus years serving as the directors of the Colorado Baptists' Colorado Missions Team.

Dave Bowman serves as an Elder at Celebration Church. He oversees the outreach ministry, and is a small group leader.  He has a heart for evangelism and sharing the gospel.  Dave has been married to his wife, Dawn for 43 years and they have been on numerous mission trips to South America.  They have one married son and 2 grandchildren. 

Gary Coram serves as an Elder at Celebration Church. Gary has been walking and talking with Jesus for 40 years, and he has been married to his best friend, Lisa for 47 years. Gary has two happily married children and 5 awesome grandchildren; Margo & Jake Poole, Ty & Melissa Coram, Lily & Violet Poole, Aiden, Blake and Chandler Coram. He is currently serving at Celebration as an Elder/Pastor, a D1 Teacher and a Small Group leader. You can't miss him, he's the one who hugs everyone!

Drew Granzow serves as an Elder at Celebration Church. He was fortunate to grow up in Christian home, but it wasn’t until his early 20’s that he made Jesus his Lord.  He serves in many ministries within the church including co-leading the youth, heading up the A/V team, teaching and administrative activities. He is also active in the community and serves as president of the Association of Montrose Churches. He married his high school sweetheart, Linda in 1980! 

Titus Tiplea serves as an Elder at Celebration Church and has been a member since 2021. Titus received his bachelor’s in accounting and biblical studies from Biola University and is currently pursuing his M. Div. with an emphasis in Biblical Counseling from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He co-leads the Worship Team and oversees the Counseling ministry in the church. Titus is married to his wife, Jenna, and together they have 4 children.

Ty Coram serves as a Deacon at Celebration Church. Ty is a native of Montrose, and has been in church his whole life. He co-leads the Worship Team alongside one of our Elders. He has been attending Celebration for almost 15 years, and has been a member for over 10 years. Ty has served in Men's Ministry, Celebration Kids and on the Worship Team. He has been married to his wife, Melissa for 19 years, and they have 3 children.

Randy Thibeau serves as a Deacon at Celebration Church. Randy was born and spent his first 50 years in Maine. He placed his faith and trust in the Lord at age 26, 43 years ago. He was a deacon and men's ministry leader there. Randy moved his family to Colorado in 2005 to be closer to his daughter and get out of the cold. Randy has been a member of Celebration Church for 8 years and has attended 9. Randy loves the Lord and enjoys introducing people to Him. He has done men's ministry for about 35 years. Randy and his wife, Jackie implemented and have overseen the Celebrate Recovery ministry at Celebration Church for 5 ½ years.

Scott Breithaupt serves as a Deacon at Celebration Church. Scott grew up in Forks, Washington and has been attending Celebration for almost 7 years. He works as a High Voltage Journeyman Lineman with DMEA. Scott has been married to his wife, Heather for 20 years, and together they have 6 children. Heather homeschools the kids, and as a family, they enjoy the outdoors and working their hobby farm. They raise horses, pigs, pack goats, and chickens, as well as owning cats & dogs.

Ed Douglas serves as a Deacon at Celebration Church and has made it his church home for 9 years. Ed grew up in Ketchikan, Alaska. Through his work on the Welcome Team, he is probably the first person you met when you visited Celebration.  Ed is passionate about serving and loves to cook for Men’s Breakfast, Fruit Bearers, and Shepherd’s Hand.  Although Ed is retired, his days are full of home projects, classic car work and serving God’s people. Ed and his wife, Joan have been married for 26 wonderful years. 

Jacob Dressel serves as a Deacon at Celebration Church. Jacob was born in Sterling, Colorado and moved to many places including Colorado Springs, Del Norte and Yuma, Colorado. He has been married to his Canadian wife, Natalie for five years, and has 3 grown children from a previous marriage, and two grandchildren. He has been attending Celebration for 3 years, and is a co-leader/host for a Celebration Group, a lifelong student, a handyman, and loves helping people. Jacob is a disabled veteran and has 21 years of experience leading Soldiers in IT/Cyber environment. Most of all, he loves the Lord and is His servant. 

Harry Gere serves as a Deacon at Celebration Church. Harry grew up in various states across the country and in Venezuela while his parents served in Christian camping and Mission Aviation Fellowship. His parents passion to serve the Lord trickled down to Harry as well. Harry has served in Christian camping as well, and now loves serving the Lord in various ministries in the church including the A/V team, Celebration Students, Celebration Groups, and on occasion can be found helping his wife of 28 years, Becky, in Celebration Kids. Harry and Becky have 2 adult children, Isaac who serves in the US Navy and Emma who is attending Sojourners School of Ministry. 

Keith Stephens serves as a Deacon at Celebration Church. Keith was born and raised in Florida, where he met and married his high school sweetheart, Jennifer. Together they have six children. Knowing life is short, Keith and Jen decided in 2020 to make a permanent move to Colorado with their family. His passions in life are his faith, family, and the outdoors. For over 20 years, he and Jen  served and raised their family at their local community church in Geneva, FL, where Keith served as an Elder and Deacon. His passion for the outdoors has turned into a career in real estate as a Western Ranch Broker. Along with his family, Keith enjoys volunteering time taking our military heroes hunting through Wounded Warrior Outdoors. 

Chris Jolley serves as a Deacon at Celebration Church. Chris grew up in the Montrose and Olathe area and graduated from Olathe High School.   He is married to his best friend, Tammy, and together they have 3 adult children, and 2 grandchildren. Chris is a manager for Tiger Electric and enjoys building relationships and setting people up for success. He likes to assist in helping those in need and showing the love of God.