Fred Stayton

Lead Pastor

Pastor Fred joined the Sonrise staff in the summer of 2019 bringing with him his wife, Cheryl.  Together they have raised six children, four of which are married with children of their own. His love of family is evident daily and has helped to fuel his passion to help build great homes and strong families. His focus as a pastor and mentor is to guide the church into an adventurous relationship with the Holy Spirit and to fall madly in love with Jesus.

Ken Boyd

Associate Pastor

Ken is a long-time member of Sonrise Church with a professional history in the academic world.  A loyal Ball State alumnus, he also has degrees from Indiana University, Asbury Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Purdue. Ken has retired twice, once after 30 years at Asbury Seminary and then again after 6 years at Taylor University.  

God called Ken back into part-time work here at Sonrise and he pursues his passion for the spiritual development of young people by working with FUEL, College Care, and our Young Adult Ministry.  Another passion is his involvement with Local and International Missions through numerous ministries around the world.  He is also dedicated to our hospitality ministry, welcoming guests as well as building relationships with members of the regularly attending church family.

Daphne Gottfried

Children’s Ministry Pastor

Daphne has served the children, students and families of Sonrise Church through different ministries since 2002. As part of our Family Ministry, she oversees KidZone on Sundays, guiding the Christian education of our children from infancy to 5th grade. She is also passionate about the importance of the camping ministry, spending time every summer at Camp Lakewood with our elementary students, introducing them to Christ and encouraging their growing relationship with Jesus.

She and her husband Robert have been married for over 30 years and are blessed with four amazing children and their spouses.

Caleb Stayton

Student Ministries Pastor

Caleb joined the Sonrise staff in June of 2019, moving here from Muncie, Indiana, where he was involved in student and young adult ministry. He graduated from Ball State University and Wesley Seminary. He and his wife Rachel have been blessed with two young daughters.

Caleb expresses that the mission for the students at Sonrise is to raise up disciples of Jesus Christ who are completely capable of ushering in a move of God in any context. He is also passionate about guiding other believers into “finishing well” through personal rejuvenation of their relationship with Jesus.  He has completed his first book, The Rejuvenation Project, and along with Pastor Fred works with individual Christians to shepherd them through a process of personal restoration.

Susan Abbott

Executive Director & Care Ministries

Susan has been on our office administration staff for over 10 years with a history of upper level management in other organizations currently serving as the Executive Director. In addition, she oversees the Care Ministry at Sonrise, organizing ways to meet multiple areas of needs – spiritual, emotional, and physical.  She personally leads GriefShare workshops, organizes Divorce Care meetings, Blood Donation drives and other services as needs arise.

Susan and her husband, Rod, have a blended family of three grown children and several grandchildren.

Ken Drummond

Facilities Manager

Ken has been a regular member of Sonrise for many years and is a familiar face each Sunday as he serves the church family as a greeter and usher. He joined the staff in 2019, after being an “often called upon” volunteer, to manage and oversee maintenance projects around the building.

Stacey Hammond

Facilities

Stacey has attended Sonrise for many years and has been on staff taking care of the church facilities for over 15 of those years. Besides keeping the building tidy, she is completely passionate about building relationships and connecting people which she does on a daily basis with both Sonrise and Sonrise Christian Preschool staff.  She if gifted in hospitality, serving various ministries within the church, including MOMco, as well as spearheading a personal ministry to South Wayne Elementary.

Stacey has two grown children, Skylar and Savannah, as well as several “furry” kids.

Lois Litchfield

Worship Arts Pastor

Lois joined the Sonrise team at the beginning of 2020.  She and her husband Isaac have been married for almost 20 years and have 4 children. Isaac supports Lois by being actively involved in the worship tech department.

For Lois, her heart and passion is to see Jesus lifted high, and for God’s people to encounter Him in worship – not only on Sundays – but as a part of their daily lives.  She has been involved in worship in leadership roles ever since she was a teenager and continues to focus on building the worship team, not only in size, but in spiritual growth and understanding of worship.

Barb Lehman

Staff Accountant

Barb has been a dedicated part of the Sonrise team now for many years, graduating from I.U. with a B.S. in Accounting.  She has put her love and talents with numbers into vitally serving the people of Sonrise through her accounting abilities, guiding our financial stewardship.

Barb and her husband, Steve, have four children. Three are grown and have families of their own with a son still at home. They are blessed with four grandchildren as well!

Kristy Abramowski

Preschool Director

Kristy Abramowski and her family are long-time Sonrise member and she has served as the Preschool Director for Sonrise Christian Preschool for the past 15 years.

Kristy says she looks forward to building relationships with families and children and she learns something each year from every one she serves. She and her husband, Doug, moved to Fort Wayne from Chicago to be closer to Doug’s family. They met on a blind date in graduate school and both are licensed clinical social workers. In Chicago, Kristy was a therapist for teenaged girls while Doug worked with a variety of ages and he then worked as a child abuse investigator. In Fort Wayne, Kristy stayed at home with their two children for a time and then taught preschool for 5 years before joining the team at Sonrise while Doug ran his own company. They have two adult daughters, Karina and Kayla.