Pastor Gerry Miller was called as New Hope Church's senior pastor at its family night / business meeting on July 20, 2008, following the retirement of founding pastor Rev. David W. Yount.

Gerry joined the staff of New Hope Church as Associate Pastor in June 2006. He has since been assigned to oversee several ministries, including the newly organized  Couples Ministry, Chess Ministry and College Ministry . He came to know the Lord as his personal Savior while in college. Gerry’s primary secular work has been in management. He brings with him proven business principles which he aims to utilize in fulfilling his pastoral calling. Gerry is a very gifted teacher and an eloquent preacher of the Word. He and his wife Joyce have 6 children—Greg, Peter, Katie, Ellen, Luke and Leslie. His favorite hobby is tennis. His life verse is found in Ephesians 3:20: “Now unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.” 

 
JOAN VANA

Joan joined New Hope Church as fulltime Director for Youth Ministries in April 2006. Prior to that time, she had been doing volunteer youth work at New Hope since the church’s inception in 1997. Joan came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior at the age of 20 after having read through the entire Bible and having participated in a Bible study for about 8 months. Joan grew up in the Chicago area, and she and her husband Jeff have been married for 25 years. Joan has taught special education in the public schools, has done private tutoring and has home-schooled their own four children--Phil, Laura, Alan, and Gwen. In her spare time, Joan enjoys reading the classics and books by her favorite authors, Charles Colson and Frances Schaeffer. Joan has chosen 2 Corinthians 4:18 as her life verse: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

NILA DIMANGONDAYAO

Nila is New Hope’s Director for Worship and Arts MInistries. She came to know Jesus Christ as her personal Savior when she was 17 as a result of the clear presentation of the gospel by a Campus Crusade for Christ staff at a choir retreat. She has been involved in music ministry for more than 35 years with her husband Ed, an accomplished pianist and musical director. Together, they also handle Filipino choirs in the Chicagoland area. Nila and Ed have 3 children, Dennis (married to Lorajoy Tira), Charlene (married to Marlowe Salvador), and Via, and four grandchildren, Alyssa, Armin, Santiago & Isabel. They love to take their family to nice vacation places and scenic locations in the US and Canada. Nila loves to read books written by Christian authors Max Lucado and Beth Moore, and by historical fiction writer Bodie Thoene. She also delights in leading women's Bible studies and sharing Bible discoveries. Her favorite Scripture verse is Galatians 6:9—“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”