City Church leadership & staff are here to serve you and to equip you to love God, love the church, love the city, and love the nations.
CORY WILSON
LEAD PASTOR
Cory serves as the Lead Pastor and Director of the Teaching Ministry as he oversees the preaching and teaching ministries of the church.
After studying Sports Administration at the University of Southern Mississippi, Cory served two and a half years in West Africa as a researcher and church planter. After returning the States he earned his M.Div. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Ph.D. from Reformed Theological Seminary. Before moving to Cleveland in 2012 to join City Church, Cory served in pastoral ministry in congregations in Mississippi and North Carolina. In addition to his role with City Church, Cory is the co-founder of Ohio Theological Institute, a fellow with the Center for Pastor Theologians, and as a Church-Planting Catalyst with SEND Network.
Cory was born and raised in Southwest Mississippi and became a Christian at a young age under the guidance of his parents. He and his wife, Jasmine, met in West Africa and have four children. When Cory isn't supporting the various pursuits of his children with Jasmine, he enjoys cooking cajun food and smoking meat.
EXECUTIVE PASTOR
Jason is the Executive Pastor, responsible for integrating and implementing the vision of the City Church elders through leading the staff and pursuing organizational health.
Jason is a graduate of Texas A&M University. He has served as an account manager for a Fortune 500 company and in various ministry roles in churches in Ohio and Texas. Maybe some day he will write that last paper to earn his masters degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Jason grew up in Sudan (the small farming community in West Texas, not the country in Africa) and is thankful to have been raised in a small baptist church where he gave his life to Jesus at an early age. Jason and his wife Jennifer have three “children” and are rapidly approaching empty nest stage. In his spare time, Jason enjoys the outdoors.
JASON BELLAR
JOEL NEGUS
WORSHIP PASTOR
Joel serves as the Worship Pastor and Creative Director where he leads the collaborative effort for planning Sunday services and oversees the teams in the creative ministry.
Joel attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, which provided him training in music performance as a double bassist and an entry point into the immense arts world in Cleveland. Though he has been at City Church since the first service in 2011, before coming on full-time he was and continues to be an active freelance musician and composer.
Joel met Jesus when he was 18 years old, had made a mess of his life, and understood the good news about Jesus through the testimony of his [now] wife Allison and others. They live in Coventry Village with their four children and can often be found on walks in the neighborhood!
PASTOR
Evan serves as a non-staff pastor, focusing on counseling and member care.
He holds a B.A. in History from Cleveland State University and completed a two year internship with City Church from 2012 - 2014. He is a Sr. Account Representative with USI Insurance Services where he implements employee benefits programs for businesses and government municipalities.
Originally from Northeast Ohio, Evan met Jesus at an early age and grew in love for him through the Puritans and living in NYC. Evan enjoys drumming, cooking, and reading nerdy books. He and his wife Heather live in the Grant Deming neighborhood of Cleveland Heights with their twin boys.
EVAN STOREY
© 2023 by City Church.
Founder & CEO
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JASON BELLAR
CORY WILSON
LEAD PASTOR
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© 2023 by City Church.
HUNG LU
PASTOR
Hung serves as a non-staff Pastor focusing on member care and counseling.
Hung has a degree in MIS from University of Dayton and is currently pursuing a certification in Trauma Care from the Allender Center at the Seattle School. Hung worked at a billing agency and IT in Columbus, OH before pursuing full time ministry with Cru in Chicago and now in Cleveland.
Hung was born in Toledo, OH. He grew up in a Buddhist family and went to church for 12 years growing up. He heard about God but really didn’t believe it because of so many deaths around his life. It wasn’t until around high school he got connected with FCA that begin his spiritual journey. At University of Dayton was when he came to an understanding of who Jesus was and decided that Jesus was worth it. Hung, and his wife Jennie, and Emma, Tessa and Maya love watching Disney, PBS kids and baking shows. Hung loves all things coffee, OSU football, now Browns football, reading books, playing volleyball, and just good time with friends listening to their hurts, dreams, and hopes as he comes alongside them.
MATT MOORE
Founder & CEO
Write a bio for each team member. Make it short and informative to keep your visitors engaged.
Founder & CEO
Write a bio for each team member. Make it short and informative to keep your visitors engaged.
JASON BELLAR
Founder & CEO
Write a bio for each team member. Make it short and informative to keep your visitors engaged.
JASON BELLAR
PASTOR
Keith serves as a non-staff Pastor and a member of the Teaching/Public Square ministry team.
Keith Oliver is currently an Investigator in the Office of Professional Standards where he has been working since 2016. There he investigates police misconduct allegations against the Cleveland Division of Police as well as unsworn police personnel. Prior to that, he received his B.A. degree in English from Langston University. He went on to obtain a J.D. degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law where he worked on employment and immigration matters while in the Civil Litigation Clinic. Prior to and during law school, Keith conducted criminal investigations at the City of Cleveland Prosecutor’s Office as a Misdemeanor Investigator.
Although he attended various churches in his youth, Keith became a Christian in college when he left his parents’ home and was forced to grapple with what he actually believed and not what was merely customary for his household. He met his wife, Te’Sheba at Langston University during their freshman year. They have been married for 17 years and have four children together. Prior to joining City Church, Keith and his wife served the Youth and Young Adults ministries at their previous church for several years. Keith enjoys reading books and listening to podcasts and discussing them with friends.
KEITH OLIVER
MATTE CASSIDY
PASTOR
Matte grew up in Hudson, Ohio and graduated from Miami University with a BS in Engineering. He currently works full-time as a software developer and part-time trying to explain to people what that means. He met his now wife (Lexie) in the third grade. Thanks to his poor performance in the class spelling bee, it took fifteen years to convince her to marry him. Upon moving to Cleveland Heights, he fell in love with City Church and all things Cleveland. When not in the office, you will probably find him walking around Coventry with his wife and children (Henley and Thatcher), working out in his garage, or writing hymns.
ADMINISTRATOR
Heather serves as the general office administrator and bookkeeper where she helps connect people with answers and community.
Heather has two degrees in music performance and holds a certificate in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Before joining the staff at City Church, Heather spent over 10 years as a Starbucks partner in varying levels of responsibility. She still plays oboe with the Erie Philharmonic.
Born in Guam and raised in Indiana, Heather grew up in the church, coming to an intentional understanding of the gospel when she was in middle school. Heather, her husband Evan, and their twin boys, Harold & Clive, love spending their time together reading books, watching movies and construction truck videos, listening to podcasts, or experimenting in the kitchen.
HEATHER STOREY
MATT MOORE
DIRECTOR
As Director, Matt helps City Church imagine and organize the ways we love our neighbors and renew our neighborhoods together. Sometimes this looks like coming alongside good work already being done in the community. Other times it is the invention of a new ministry where gaps exist.
Matt’s variety of education and work experiences share the common theme of “spanning a divide” or “building bridges.” His work often includes two or more pieces that are often separated; rural and urban, rich and poor, for-profit and non-profit, financial modeling and folk music… Matt sees this vocation as art-work and loves pursuing creative solutions that bring people together from across a spectrum to make something new. Check out Airloom or LinkedIn to view more of his work history.
Matt thoroughly enjoys listening to neighbors, serving people as they create new things, and helping institutions as they navigate change and growth. His wife, Caitlin, is his best friend and his hero in many ways. She is an educator in a nearby school and they have been making a home in the Cedar-Lee neighborhood since 2014 where they raise their son, grow garlic, host community events, and watch sitcoms.