OUR STAFF & LEADERSHIP
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DJ Choi
Lead Pastor
DJ (Jakov DongJin) Choi joined us as Lead Pastor on July 1, 2021. Pastor DJ was born in South Korea. He answered the call to Ministry in 2000. Since then, he has served churches in Virginia and Pennsylvania. He met his wife EJ (EunJung) in their high school and got married in 2001. They have two children, Joseph and Deborah. DJ loves to travel and go camping.
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Dave Coryell
Volunteer Executive Pastor
Dave previously served as the youth and leadership development pastor at First Church from 2001-2007. He began to serve as Executive Director for Christian Endeavor in the USA following that time and added the role of General Secretary (CEO) for World Christian Endeavor in December 2016. In addition to Christian Endeavor, Dave teaches one course at Lancaster Bible College during the school’s Spring semester. Dave and his wife, Jen, have four children (Kate, Ben, Kendra, Zach). They live in Ephrata with Dave’s mother, Nancy, whom many of you know from her involvement at First Church.
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Coenraad Appelgrijn
Worship Leader
Coenraad, a native South African, began leading worship at churches in the Tampa Bay area over 20 years ago. In 2019, he moved to Lancaster with his wife, Rhiannon, and their three children, James, Emmalise, and Colin. Coenraad loves woodworking, surfing, and of course, making music!
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Jeremy Shirk
Youth Pastor
Jeremy is a graduate of Ephrata High School, has volunteered in the ICON student ministries for over 10 years, and was once a student in this ministry. He is married to Amber, and they have five children: Adrielle, Lucas, Nicholas, Jackson, and Nathaniel. In his spare time (if there is any), Jeremy likes to play sports (especially soccer), read, and spend time with his family.
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Carol Denlinger
Office Manager
Carol has been with First Church since December of 2004 as the office manager. In her spare time, Carol enjoys walking, reading and spending time with her family. Carol is married to Beanie and is the mother of three daughters, Lindsey, Lauren and Lia, and the grandmother of Chase, Brooke and Olivia.
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Don Kinnier
Don Kinnier is our organist for the 8:30 a.m. traditional service. He shares his wonderful talents with us, leading us into worship and bringing much glory to God. Outside of church Don is gifted and accomplished as an accompanist of silent films. He is considered one of the premier silent film accompanists in the Northeast. Click on "organist" above to read his story in this 2009 newspaper article.
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Rhiannon Appelgrijn
Director of Life Ministry
Rhiannon recently joined our staff but has been part of the First Church family since 2019 when she moved to Lancaster with her husband, Coenraad, and their three kids. She has been volunteering on the worship team since their arrival and is very excited to begin branching out into other areas of ministry in this new role. She holds a BA in English from the University of South Florida and has extensive teaching, writing, and ministry experience that she prays will serve our community well. Her hobbies include having tea parties with family and friends, baking, writing songs, and creating crafts of all kinds.