Leadership

Pastors & Staff

Paul & Deidre Tindall

Lead Pastors

Pastor Paul and his family come to us from the Awakening Church of God in Springfield, Missouri.  The Tindalls pastored at Awakening for 6 years and served in a variety of leadership posts within the Church of God in Missouri. Deidre heads up our Ladies Ministries and is leading our worship vocal team.  Dexter Lake is very excited about our future serving with this great family!

Justin Candela

Worship Arts & Student Ministries Pastor

Since 2007, I have been working in student ministry as a team with my wife Erin.  Our passion has always been seeing students' lives changed through the power of Christ, watching them discover their calling, and seeing them grow in it.  Our goal at Dexter Lake Church is to witness this same transformation in the lives of our students.  We love spending time with students through community outreach, band practice, game night, counseling, watching movies, or just living life.  

I met Erin in Eastern Michigan University's Marching Band in 2002.  Erin invited me to her church and I got saved that night.  Little did I know the amazing adventure that I was about to embark on with God.  After serving as youth band leaders at Victorious Life Church of God for five years, we were asked in 2012 to lead as the youth pastors. I had the pleasure of leading the same youth group that I got saved in.  I marveled at what God was doing in my life.  We look forward to what God will do next!

Our favorite scripture is Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Erin Candela

Office Administrator

Justin and I have been ministry partners since 2006.  We came to Dexter Lake in 2017 and have come to know this church as home.  My spiritual gifts of administration and helps and my creative mind allow me to think outside the box and help our wonderful team.  We have two young, wild, and beautiful children who share our love for ministry.
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…”
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
1 Peter 4:10-11  “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others…so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

Tony Barger

Administrative Pastor

Tony’s life scripture is Mark 12:30-31 “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

His ministry passion is in Stewardship – of our time, talent, treasure and testimony. He believes that Stewardship is effected in service. As Jesus did, we’re here to serve – God and others. Tony is a local – born and raised in Battle Creek, Michigan – with exception of a 2 year stint in Alabama as a child and a 2 year stint in Canada as an adult. He’s attended Dexter Lake since adolescence and served in numerous church capacities over the years.  He’s the oldest child in his family, very happily married to Cori, has two adult children in Rachel & Michael, a son-in-law David and three awesome grandchildren, Thea, Evie and Dash.

Ironically, before serving in his current role as Administrative Pastor, Tony had a career at the Kellogg Company in Engineering, having received his degree from University of Michigan. He and Cori both completed their Chaplaincy certification and CAMs study for credentialing within the Church of God. While Cori’s talents and abilities are more creative and Tony’s administrative, it’s their desire to use those gifts in serving our church and community. Their single, united passion and purpose is in hospitality and building relationships. They enjoy spending time with family which includes traveling; staying fit and healthy; enjoying various home projects / hobbies; and antiquing. Tony’s favorite movie is the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which he has watched no less than a dozen times.

Danielle Harvey

Children's Ministry Pastor

Danielle Harvey is our children's ministry director. Before God brought her family back to Tennessee, she was born in Kalamazoo and spent her first three years in Athens, Michigan. She is southern raised and spent most of her life growing up in Clarksville, TN. She developed a personal relationship with Jesus in elementary school, grew a passion for serving in kid's and youth ministry through high school and college, and a love of sweet tea that runs deep to this day.
She spent five years as a first grade teacher in the public school system, where she taught students how to read and write, regulate emotions, and develop life skills to become better thinkers and speakers. She believes that learning becomes lasting when kids know they are loved, safe, and encouraged to have fun.
She believes in creating a space where the next generation can learn and discover the truth of the Bible through fun, hands-on, engaging lessons and worship. Her passion and prayers are that every kid comes to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior and continue to deepen their understanding and relationship with Him as they grow.
Her favorite verse is Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."
A few of her favorite things to do are explore God's creation through hikes and taking lots of pictures of the journey, dance cardio workouts (even though she has two left feet), and reading a good book

Vince Aldrich

Men's Ministry

I was born again on December 27, 1999 at 10 p.m. in the evening. I was laying on the living room floor reading a book. The main character in the book read a prayer of salvation. When I finished reading that prayer I heard God's voice for the first time in my life. He said, "You know what to do, just do it." I laid there frozen for about 5 minutes. Then I reread the prayer and said it aloud as I read it. Instantly I felt the void in my body  filled. It was a void that had been there my entire life. It was a void that I didn't recognize until it was filled because I was just used to it being there.

After that I came to Dexter Lake and felt the Holy Spirit confirm within me it was where I should be as soon as I walked in the door. I was mentored by my wonderful men of God and grew and leadership and roles within the church. Primarily in Men's Ministry.

Unfortunately, due to changes in my personal life, I fell away from my personal relationship with God. I never lost faith - I just lost the day to day relationship with him. For most of four years I was absent from church.

Thankfully that changed the summer of 2016. I came back to a daily relationship with God and returned to Dexter Lake. I desire excellence in everything that Dexter Lake produces. I desire excellence and supporting our pastoral staff and all that they do. I desire excellence in supporting anything that happens with the Dexter Lake name associated with it. I desire to love everyone on the teams that I work with. I desire that they know that I love them. I desire to present God's glory in anything that I do; that's why I'm thrilled to be a part of Dexter Lake Church.

Kelly Aldrich

Hospitality Coordinator

Kelly truly has a heart for the people of Dexter Lake Church, along with her husband Vince. She loves to serve others with kindness, patience and grace. She's one of the friendly faces you'll meet when looking for information about classes, ministry involvement, events and much more! 

George Willbrandt

Sparrows Ministries Coordinator

George Willbrandt, along with his beautiful wife Josie, have served as faithful members of Dexter Lake Church for 47 years! His heart is to help our community through the church in a number of ways - one being a leader in serving Battle Creek residents with free food and other essential items.

His hobbies include photography, gardening, spending as much time as he can with his family and cracking jokes!