MEET OUR FOUNDER

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EMAIL:  joy@thecaringcongregation.com

Rev. Joy Dister-Dominguez is from Southern Michigan, and received her Bachelor of Science from Eastern Michigan University in communications. She had an extensive career in hotel management for almost 10 years before answering her call to ordained ministry, a call she felt from a very young age.

As a Licensed Local Pastor, Joy was appointed as the Director of the Wesley Foundation at Navarro College in 2013 for over two years, before being appointed as associate pastor at Arborlawn United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, Texas in 2015. At Arborlawn, Joy launched a successful care ministry and women’s ministry. In 2020, Joy was appointed as Associate Pastor at Arlington Heights United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, and oversees care and discipleship ministries, and leads and preaches weekly at their growing modern worship service, Encounter. 

Joy joined The Caring Congregation in 2019 as a national team member conducting webinars and seminars around the country. She produces a weekly podcast on various aspects of care and was a contributing author to the Concise Guide and Implementation Guide for The Caring Congregation.

Joy received her Master of Divinity from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in May 2017, and was ordained as an elder in full connection in The United Methodist Church in June 2019. Joy is an ICF trained coach, having completed 4 levels of training, specializing in spiritual coaching, and is working toward ICF certification.  

Joy and her husband, Ricky, have a young son, Ryan, and enjoy traveling and watching University of Michigan football.

EMAIL:  laura@thecaringcongregation.com

Rev. Laura Lee Berg is from Winter Haven, Florida.  She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work from Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky in 1981.  Laura then returned to Florida and worked as a litigation paralegal for approximately 16 years until she answered her call to full time ministry and attended Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida.  Laura received her Master of Divinity from Asbury in Orlando in 2006.  She is an Ordained Deacon in full connection in the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.  

Laura served at Edgewater UMC in Edgewater, Florida for 8 years as the worship leader for a non-traditional worship/dining experience intended as an outreach ministry to the homeless community and unchurched population in Volusia County, Florida. She then served as a Hospice Chaplain for 9 years before serving Coronado Community UMC in New Smyrna Beach, Florida as Minister of Congregational Care. Laura also serves as a Chaplain for the City of New Smyrna Beach Police & Fire Departments. While serving at Coronado, Laura received training in Congregational Care under the leadership of Rev. Karen Lampe, founding pastor of the Caring Congregation, LLC.  Alongside laypersons, Laura co-established a vital CCM ministry, facilitated several CCM workshops in her local church, and hosted a district-wide CCM workshop attended by clergy and laity from 18 churches.  In addition to overseeing the caring ministry in her local church, Laura has facilitated local support groups and nurtured CCUMC’s efforts in the area of outreach ministry/missions, both locally and internationally.  She has served in Peru, Haiti, Cuba and Guatemala.  

Laura has served in several Florida Annual Conference positions, including the District Committee on Ordained Ministry, Haiti/Florida Covenant Task Force, and the Board of Directors for the Wesley Foundation.

As a Florida native, Laura enjoys camping, boating, fishing, paddle boarding, kayaking and gardening.  Laura is married to Ward T. Berg.  As a “blended” family, they enjoy spending quality time with their 6 adult children and 3 grandchildren, on land or at sea.

EMAIL: monica@thecaringcongregation.com

Rev. Monica Childers is from Granite Falls, North Carolina. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Organizational Communications from Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, North Carolina, where she continued her seminary work at Wesley Theological Seminary through the Center of Deacon Education at Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, North Carolina .

Monica was a young business owner for seven years, then closed her business in 2000 and started working in the corporate world, as well as working in the church as a part time youth director at Grace Chapel UMC in Granite Falls, North Carolina. It was there she answered the call to ministry. She moved to Salem UMC in 2008 serving in full time youth ministry before being appointed to St. Luke’s UMC, Hickory, North Carolina in 2013 where she served as the Minister of Youth and College Age Adults. In 2017, Monica was reappointed to St. Luke’s as the Associate Minister of Leadership Development, and oversees, Congregational Care, missions, fresh expression dinner church, leadership development with adults, preaches every fourth Sunday and leads a women’s small group.

Monica and her husband, David, are new empty nesters and welcoming a new daughter-in law, and son-in law into their family in the fall of 2022. When they are not busy planning two weddings, Monica and David like traveling, binge watching TV & sports, gardening, spending time with family and their fur babies Daisy, Bella, Lily, and Little Bit.

EMAIL: tino@thecaringcongregation.com

Rev. Tino Herrera is the lead pastor at Trinity UMC in Kansas City and an Ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church. Prior to his current role at Trinity, Tino was a congregational care pastor at Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas (five years), and prior to that served as an associate pastor at McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church in the Oklahoma Annual Conference. He loves the day-to-day work of pastoring the people of his congregation and receives joy from helping them recognize the movement of God in their lives. His passion is creating and living into God’s beloved community.

Tino grew up in Norman, Oklahoma. After feeling a call to ministry from his home church, he attended Oklahoma City University in OKC. At OCU he studied religion and dedicated much of his time to full time youth ministry. After graduating, he pursued his MDiv. at Saint Paul School of Theology. Currently, Tino is working on his doctorate at Wesley Theological Seminary and serves on the Board of Trustees for Saint Paul School of Theology.

Tino is married to the love of his life, Samara, who works for the Kansas City Public Schools, and together they have one daughter Samaiyah. For fun, Tino loves fishing, reading a good book, and watching a good flick.

EMAIL: mary@thecaringcongregation.com

Mary Haines is a Congregational Care Minister for Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. It was at the urging of Karen Lampe, while working on staff in Congregational Care for five years, that Mary received her CCM training. 

In her first career, armed with a BS in Accounting, Masters in Business (University of Alabama and Western Illinois University) and a CPA license, Mary spent 20 years in private accounting as a Controller, Auditor and Systems Analyst working for companies such as Standard Oil in Chicago, President Riverboat Casinos in Iowa, and Kindercare Learning Centers in Alabama.  After God blessed Mary and her husband with two adopted sons, she left full time employment, started teaching accounting and consulting part-time using her passion for technology and life long learning. 

Beyond grateful to blend her passion of teaching, technology, and serving pastors as a CCM, Mary plays a vital role running webinars and marketing for TCC while providing perspective as an end user for Karen Lampe's model of care ministry.

Mary resides in Overland Park, Kansas, with husband Terry. They have two adult sons, Joshua and Caleb. Mary loves watching a good movie or an exciting game of football, travel,  and volunteering in her community.

Rev. Melissa Collier Gepford is an ordained Deacon in the UMC, originally from East Texas. She answered her call to ministry in 8th grade, though she was unsure what that would look like. She earned her Bachelor of Christian Studies and Greek at Ouachita Baptist University and began seminary at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas immediately after college.

Melissa met her husband Bill at seminary, and six days after graduation, they were married. Two weeks later, they moved to Western Kansas, where he was appointed. Melissa served as the Christian Education director and fell in love with establishing effective ministry systems. After two years, they moved to eastern Kansas, where melissa served as the Discipleship Pastor. They moved to Nebraska next, where they co-pastored a church until they had their son, Finnegan. Melissa then joined conference staff as the Intergenerational Discipleship Coordinator, where she resources Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry leaders in Kansas and Nebraska. In all these local church appointments, Melissa has helped establish the Congregational Care Ministry model and tailor it to fit the church's context. Most recently, Melissa's husband was appointed as Campus Pastor at Church of the Resurrection's RezWest campus and just relocated back the the Kansas City area in Shawnee, not far from Finn's grandparents who are quite pleased!

Melissa enjoys drinking good coffee, working out, and trying her hand at gardening. She and Bill enjoy dancing when they can and love playing with Finn.