Lindsay Anderson spent her growing up years in Central Pennsylvania, and then in Northern Virginia. After graduating from Grove City College with an elementary education degree, she returned to the D.C. area where she taught elementary school for five years. During that time, she earned her master’s degree in Educational Leadership with a concentration as a Math Specialist. With a new focus on math education, she began working as a middle school math teacher and later an instructional coach. In the summer of 2016, she moved to New York City with her husband for his work. In her free time, she enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, exploring neighborhoods, and eating brunch.

A Massachusetts boy who’s called NYC home since 2004, Will hails from the Broadway lighting world and often feels more comfortable hanging from a harness in a box boom than he does hanging out in a suit. Energetic and analytical, he has about a 60% success rating in landing a joke. He’s been a deacon at Redeemer since 2016, and in 2019 he received a Masters in Biblical Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary. Will lives in New Rochelle with his wife, Eunice, and their ever-active toddler, Jacob. Before chasing his son around the house, Will’s been known to go for hikes, hit the water for a swim, do a triathlon or two, and even enjoy a nap.

Obed grew up right outside NYC in northern New Jersey. For college he traveled to Dallas, TX, and received an Associate's degree in Practical Theology from Christ for the Nations Institute. He then completed a BA in Political Science from Rutgers University and pursued politics for a few years in NYC, Washington DC, and on the campaign trail. Obed started attending a Redeemer Community Group in 2011, and, between political endeavors, he helped launch the Downtown congregation as part of the Operations staff in 2012. For fun, Obed enjoys nature outings, classic cartoons like Bugs Bunny, The Chronicles of Narnia, LOTR, and various arts and crafts. When time allows, he also works on home renovation and landscaping projects.

Charles is better known as “Cheech.” He was born and raised in Brooklyn. In 2010, he asked Christina to be his girlfriend three times before she said, “Yes.” They’ve been married since August 2015. He graduated from Cairn University with a Bachelors in Bible and a Bachelors of Social Work. A short time after, he was led to Westminster Theological Seminary to study theology and received a Masters in Divinity. He loves and reps NYC because of the diverse people, cultures and foods. Cheech loves all sports from local-known handball to basketball and everything in between. He is also a self-renown, amateur photographer and videographer.

The Redeemer Downtown Elders consist of Bruno Assante, Greg Buechele, Jon Endean, David Hawkins, and Bryce Humphrey. To be in touch with our elders, please send an email to [email protected] and someone will be in touch with you within 48 hours.

A native of sunny Tempe, AZ, Karen Dolan moved to New York City in the Spring of 2008, armed with a bachelor’s in education and ready to take on the schools of New York. After a teaching stint at two public schools in the Bronx, Karen decided to use her teaching background to pursue a master’s degree in school counseling. While working toward her master’s, Karen began working with Redeemer Children’s Ministry as a Sunday School and Moms’ Group teacher. She’s worked with a multitude of Redeemer families. Karen joined Redeemer Downtown in March 2013. She loves downtown, children, and their families and is thrilled to be a part of what God is doing here. Karen loves riding her bike to far-flung locales such as City Island, New Jersey and Coney Island — basically anywhere with a food-focused destination.

Harrison Hollingsworth was raised in suburban Texas and grew up in the church. At 18 years old, he moved to Center City Philadelphia for music school and attended Tenth Presbyterian Church, his first exposure to city ministry. His severe culture shock was cushioned by a church that loved students and loved the city. Harrison joined Redeemer in 2008 when he came to New York to play Principal Bassoon at the NYC Ballet. God took him through an amazing discipleship journey, led by a combination of the preaching, the experience of leading a Community Group, and the courtship of the woman who soon became his wife. Harrison’s hope for Downtown is that we will bring the healing power of the gospel to lower Manhattan in word and deed and that we will worship on Sundays in a way that both edifies the church and attracts seekers and skeptics to our community.

Marla was adopted when she was two. She grew up in Phoenix and moved to NYC in 1999 to work in publishing, where she enjoyed copyediting cookbooks and novels. During her first fifteen years in New York, she carried on a tumultuous love/hate relationship with the city but was eventually won over by the power of community (and a new Trader Joe's opening up in her neighborhood). In 2018, Marla’s birth sister found her, launching a cultural identity adventure that started with Skype calls and K-dramas and culminated in a half-year visit to rural Korea. As her story continues to unfold, God’s faithfulness is the consistent theme.

A graduate of Manhattan School of Music, Mark Lau grew up in Sydney, Australia and has lived in Downtown Manhattan since 2003. Mark and his wife Helen have three children, Jack, Jonah and Joshua. When Mark is not working as a freelance bass player, he likes to spend time with his family on the Lower East Side.

David Lee moved to New York City from the mean streets of Delaware in 2005 to study finance at NYU. After making use of his degree as an investment banker for a number of years, he recently left Wall Street to pursue a Masters of Divinity at Westminster Theological Seminary. He joined Redeemer's staff in 2015 as a Community Group Intern for the Downtown congregation and has also served as an intern for the Center for Faith & Work. In his free time, David enjoys exploring new cafes with good coffee and air-conditioning, and walking the streets of the city to his own soundtrack. He also likes talking sports, eating good food and wearing colorful socks!

Born and raised in Seattle WA, Carlin Lee moved to New York City in 2017 to study jazz piano at The New School. After a few semesters, Carlin transferred to NYU where he finished his Bachelors of Music degree in 2021. He was first referred to Redeemer by Cheech’s former youth pastor who coincidentally pastored Carlin’s home church in Seattle. The worship services, especially the music, became a weekly blessing for him, and he eventually studied with several of the pianists who regularly play for Redeemer. Carlin joined Downtown’s Staff in 2020 as the Worship Arts Coordinator, working under the two music directors Harrison Hollingsworth and Mark Lau. When not working as a freelance musician, Carlin enjoys spending his free time cooking, in nature, and reading.

Christa is a NYC transplant of seven years by way of Los Angeles, CA. Christa had visited NYC three years prior and fell in love with the beating heart of the city. After nine months of reflection, prayer, and reading about what was going in the churches here — she took a step of faith. Christa sold her belongings, packed her SUV, and drove cross-country to her new home. Along the way, she did one of the things she loves most — document life.

Christa holds a BA in Sociology and an MA in Communications with a specialty in multi-media production. She draws from these two disciplines to connect with people and tell stories. She has been an active member of Redeemer Downtown for the past two years, been involved in community groups, and recently completed the Gotham Fellowship program this past Spring. She loves walking around the city, getting lost with her camera in a new neighborhood, travel, deep and fun conversations, and stops to greet every puppy she meets along the way.

Shara Powell hails from sunny Southern California! She grew up in Moreno Valley and has a degree in Culinary Arts with an emphasis in Business Administration and Marketing. After starting her own company in Los Angeles, God led her to a partnership that allowed her to expand her business to Las Vegas, Houston, Atlanta, and Boston. Coming to New York was completely a divine intervention since cold weather was not on the life agenda! She loves how God will completely turn your world inside out and put it back together in ways that she could have never imagined! Learning to trust God and grow through the unknowns can be challenging, but rewarding. For fun, it’s all things family, Disney, Marvel, basketball, football (Go Cowboys!), and testing out the latest Joanna Gaines’ recipes for her family to enjoy!

A native New Yorker who has lived in four of the five boroughs; she moved to Dallas, TX for a number of years where she raised her three grown sons. Upon her return to NYC in 2000, Marie started to attend Redeemer. She became a Community Group Leader and then went on to serve on the Diaconate from 2005 to 2009. Marie spent most of her career in the field of staffing and Human Resources and assisted in forming the Job Search ministry. She is thrilled to be working on staff at Redeemer assisting John and the helping the team serve the Downtown Congregation. Marie enjoys exploring the many neighborhoods in NYC and spending time with her five grandchildren.

Ulysses Shields is a native of Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of a minister of a church in Jamaica, Queens, and has been part of an active part of a church community throughout his life. In his spare time, he thoroughly enjoys the arts and creating, mostly in the form of music or musical poetry. Ulysses also serves people in need at a neighborhood shelter in Midtown, Manhattan as an Operations Supervisor. He is the proud father of one daughter.

Josh Simmons grew up in Tennessee and spent nine years in South Carolina during and after college. In May 2010, Josh and his wife, Meggie, packed up a Penske truck with all of their belongings and headed to the city. In October of that same year, they found out that Meggie was pregnant — as if a move from South Carolina to New York City wasn’t a big enough change for them. Since being in the city, all of Josh’s work has been downtown, so he has come to love this area of Manhattan and the people there. Josh loves spending time with his family in Prospect Park, going to new restaurants, discovering new music, attending concerts and working from a standing desk.

A graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary, Jeff started his ministry at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia and then went on to serve as the first associate pastor at Redeemer from 1990 to 1998. At Redeemer, he oversaw community formation through fellowship groups before moving on to become the organizing pastor of New Song Community Church, a multi-ethnic, church-based community development effort in Harlem. Jeff is very excited to have rejoined the staff of Redeemer to launch and serve the Downtown congregation. Jeff and his wife, Rebecca, have been married since 1985 and have three children (Kirsten, Corina, Andrew) and two grandchildren. Prior to entering the ministry Jeff worked as a physical therapist.