MINISTRY TEAM

Geoff Schultz
Senior Pastor
 
David Hoovler
Elyria Campus Pastor
 
Rich Bennett
Pastor of Care & Fellowship
Jason Cork
Pastor of Worship Arts
 
Adrianne Nolan
Pastor of Youth Discipleship
Adam Falkenstein
Pastor of Children and Family Discipleship

SUPPORT STAFF 

Robby Crichlow
Elyria Campus Worship Leader
 
 
 
Ginger Hoovler
Morning Secretary
Mary Lynne
Afternoon Secretary
Debbie Freed
Events Coordinator
Tony Seritti
TJ Klima
Custodian

ABOUT OUR MINISTRY STAFF 

 

Geoff Schultz
Senior Pastor
Pastor Geoff Schultz has been the senior pastor at Friends Church since 1995. His passion is to make Jesus Christ attractive to others. He often reminds the church that “this church was not built for those who are in it, but for those who aren’t in it yet!”
 
Pastor Geoff grew up in Richwood, Ohio. He attended Asbury College and received his Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. In 2012, he received his Doctor of Ministry Degree from Ashland Theological Seminary.
 
Under his leadership, NOEFC has seen steady growth. What excites him most, though, is what God has in store for the church in the future. Geoff and his wife, Mary, have four children: Caleb, Joshua, Micah and Faith. In his spare time, Geoff loves playing video games with his kids, working in his yard and watching Ohio State football games. Although an avid Buckeye fan, he still welcomes any fans from up north to come and worship.
 

 

David Hoovler
Elyria Campus Pastor
Pastor David is passionate about exploring and teaching God’s Word and helping others to grow in their relationship with God. With responsibilities for our new campus at Elyria Friends and adult discipleship opportunities at both locations, he seeks to equip the church to love people to life in Jesus Christ. 
 
David and his family have been attending North Olmsted Friends Church since 2013. He followed God’s call into full-time church ministry in 2018, after many years of preparation and nudging by the Holy Spirit. Before joining the staff at Friends Church, David spent a total of 14 years working in higher education public relations and communications. In addition, from 2005 to 2008 David and his wife, Ginger, taught and shared hope with their students in Weinan, Shaanxi Province, China.
 
A native of Butler, Pa., David earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism from Asbury College and a master’s in Intercultural Studies and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Wheaton College. He and Ginger (who serves as NOEFC’s morning secretary and bookkeeper) have two children, Wilson and Joelle.
 

 

Rich Bennett
Pastor of Care & Fellowship
Pastor Rich has been involved in pastoral ministry for more than 25 years, serving churches in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Ohio. Growing up in Massachusetts, he completed his undergraduate work at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and went to Andover Newton Theological School, outside of Boston, for his graduate theological studies.
 
Having grown up in the church, Rich accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord at the age of 12. The Lord planted a call to pastoral ministry in his life at the age of 16. Rich’s personal mission is to be increasingly transformed into the likeness of Christ for the sake of others by pursuing: a dynamic spiritual life, a lifestyle of healthy choices, the blessing of life-giving relationships and a ministry of helping others find freedom and the fullness of life in Christ.
 
Pastor Rich has been married for over 28 years to Elizabeth. They have six children – Sharon, Isaac, Bobby, Courtney, Kyle and Anna – and six grandchildren. Rich and Elizabeth celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a trip of a lifetime to Iceland. In his free time, Rich enjoys playing golf and games with his family.
 

 

Jason Cork
Pastor of Worship Arts
Pastor Jason grew up in Orange, Conn., and has a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance and Music Education from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY.
 
He has served at various churches in Florida, Connecticut, Michigan and Ohio since 2008. In between and alongside ministry opportunities, he has been a high school music teacher, realtor and Walt Disney World cast member, and he has worked in a few Chick fil-A restaurants.
 
He has been married to his wife, Melissa, since 2004, and they have two kids: Sadie and Matthew. They live in Willoughby, Ohio.
 
Jason is passionate about helping people discover their calling and giving them the tools they need to live it out. He also believes that through worship hearts can be restored, relationships can be renewed and true unity of purpose can be manifested in the church. “God doesnʼt need our worship,” he said, “but WE need to worship Him.”
 

 

Adrianne Nolan
Pastor of Youth Discipleship
pastoradrianne@noefc.org
Adrianne grew up in Berea, Ohio, and began attending church in the 7th Grade. She accepted Christ at the age of 15 and was called into ministry at 16 while serving on a youth mission trip. After graduating from Berea High School in 2013, she attended Malone University in Canton, Ohio, where she pursued a double major in Youth Ministry and Bible & Theology. 
 
Adrianne graduated from Malone in May 2017 and was blessed to start working at NOEFC soon after graduation. Outside of ministry, she is a music enthusiast. Though she admits musical talents are not where her gifts lie, she does enjoy playing the guitar, violin and ukulele. Additionally, she loves to read and ride roller coasters, though likely not at the same time.
 
If you see Adrianne around, feel free to stop and introduce yourself; she would love to meet you!
 

 

Adam Falkenstein
Pastor of Children and Family Discipleship
Adam was raised in North Olmsted, working with kids throughout his teenage years before graduating from North Olmsted High School in 2007. After high school, he worked as a teacher/counselor for Horizon Activities Center in North Olmsted while finishing an English degree in Creative Writing from Cleveland State University.
 
Growing up in a Christian household meant that the presence of God was a constant in his life, but ministry was not necessarily something on his radar. In his last two years of college, he began to truly understand what Christ’s Lordship in his life meant, and he completely embraced being fully surrendered to God’s will. Adam heard God’s call in 2012, and began serving in full-time ministry the day after graduating college in 2013.
 
Adam and his wife, Sarah, were married in May 2015, and they both share a love of children and a passion to see the next generation of leaders come to Christ. They welcomed their daughter, Gwen, in 2022.

Since coming to NOEFC in 2016, Adam has combined his love of superheroes with his ministry methodology. In 2019, he rebranded our Children’s Ministry into Faith Force Kids, leading our youngest friends to understand that Jesus is the ultimate superhero, who empowers us “to love and live supernaturally, for the sake of God and the sake of others