Our Director
Director
Keith was ordained as a minister in 1981 and has served in pastoral roles and as a curriculum writer, editor, and designer. His career spans 20 years in Christian publishing (14 at Randall House, now D6 Family Ministry). In 2009, he returned to pastor the Free Will Baptist Church, the church he grew up in (now JCity Church) and led the congregation to envision the community ministry that became JCity Center for Hope and Renewal in 2020. Feeling God’s leading to devote himself to this ministry, Keith “retired” from full-time role as pastor December 31, 2021 in order to become the director of the Center. He still serves JCity Church in the volunteer capacity as Community Pastor. Keith is a certified Christian life coach and has trained as a Pastoral Sex Addiction Specialist. He has been a part of peer-led recovery 25 years and served in Celebrate Recovery in Tennessee and Illinois. As a participant in other 12-step programs and a sexual discipleship group in St. Louis, Keith organized a regional men’s group focused on Christ-centered sexual integrity.
Lead Counselor
Counselor
Sarah is an LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois) and a National Certified Counselor. She is EMDRIA certified (Level 2 Therapist in EMDR –Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). She is trained in other evidence-based trauma treatments. A graduate of Welch College (B.A.), Sarah earned an M.A. in Counseling from Missouri Baptist University in 2016. Upon graduation, Sarah worked in community mental health, serving marginalized populations before transitioning in 2019 to her current position with a Christian counseling agency in Marion, Illinois. She sees 12-20 clients of Caring Counseling Ministries per week at the Center (CCM’s satellite office). Sarah also provides pro bono services in the Center’s “Invested Counseling” program, offering counseling to underserved individuals in exchange for community service. Prior to becoming a counselor, Sarah served Free Will Baptists as publications editor for Free Will Baptist Women’s Ministries (14 years), and earlier, as a curriculum writer/editor for Randall House Publications in Nashville, TN.