Our Team

We become a part of you

Our team is a group of seasoned professionals who have completed 500+ staff placements throughout their careers. With over 100 years of ministry leadership experience collectively, we have discovered that one of the most important ingredients to a successful placement is alignment between the candidate and the culture of the church/organization, its staff, and its community.

Finding the right fit for your team can be tedious, tiresome, and time-consuming. That’s why we staff your mission by discovering new staff members who will ultimately serve as culture carriers who propel your mission forward.

Todd Rukes

Founder & President

With over a decade of church ministry experience, Todd Rukes has served in various ministry and pastoral roles including Worship Pastor, Director of Human Resources, Executive Pastor, and Sr. Director of Communications at Harvest Bible Chapel. Todd has a background as a Worship Leader and Musical Artist, recording multiple albums and leading worship for over 100 churches around the United States and Canada. 

Prior to full-time ministry Todd completed two undergraduate degrees in Worship Music Ministry and Business Marketing. He then completed an MBA in Leadership, all from Liberty University. 

In his spare time, Todd loves playing with his kids, watching and playing basketball, reading, and writing and recording music. Todd and his wife Rachel live in the west Chicago suburbs with their three sons.

Tammy Kelley

Executive Search Consultant

Tammy has a broad background in management consulting, partnering with organizations to help them grow impact by focusing and unifying their vision, strategy, and action plans. Throughout her career Tammy served on the senior leadership teams of Ginghamsburg Church and Willow Creek Community Church. In addition, she spent multiple years as a consultant with Vanderbloemen Search Group and The Unstuck Group.

Tammy is requested for specific expertise in executive search, staffing/structure alignment, change management, strategy planning and execution, executive communications, and client engagement.

In her spare time, Tammy loves to cook, which is enjoyed by her and her husband Mike in their Chicagoland residence. They have three children, three grandchildren and three cats. 

Sam Hamstra, Jr.

Executive Search Consultant

Sam Hamstra, Jr. has been a full-time pastor search and church staffing consultant since 2012 as the Founder and President of ChapterNext, a pastoral search firm. He was prepared for this work by nearly forty years of service to the local church. He has served five unique congregations and one Christian college. Through it all, he has experience as a Youth Pastor, solo Pastor, Senior Pastor, Interim Pastor, Worship Leader, Church Planter, and College Chaplain. Sam is also an author of several publications, including Pastor Search Team Guidebook (2020), Questions to Ask Before Searching For Your Next Pastor (2020), What’s Love Got To Do With It? How the Heart of God Shapes Worship (2016), and Practicing the Monastic Disciplines (2021).

He also helps out Visible Music College (Memphis, TN) with its Master of Arts in Worship degree program. Sam and his wife, Debbie (Ploegman), reside in the Chicago area. They have enjoyed over forty-five years of marriage; they have been blessed with four married children and a growing number of grandchildren, all of whom live in the Chicago area. In his spare time, you will find Sam hanging out with his family, watching a baseball game, playing piano, or fishing in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Tamekeyo House-Griffin

Recruiting Coordinator

Tamekeyo House-Griffin, M.Ed., M.Div. has dedicated the last 20 years of her professional focus on organizational alignment and performance.

Over the last 10 years, she continued her leadership by serving as Chief of Staff to the Senior Pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church in Lockport. In this role, she led initiatives for mission alignment, community engagement and organizational restructuring, gaining experience within the denominational region as a change agent.

Tamekeyo received her B.S. in Marketing at Alabama A&M University, Post Bachelors in Contract Management at Saint Louis University. While working in Aerospace for The Boeing Company in St. Louis she served as a buyer for military programs, managed and negotiated consultant contracts and facilitated organizational change workshops and events.

Brianna Nelson

Marketing Coordinator

Brianna has served in various ministry roles including Communications Coordinator, Content Coordinator, and now Marketing Coordinator. Passionate about driving impactful communication strategies for organizations and individuals, Brianna brings experience in managing social media accounts, designing compelling materials for events, and contributing to strategic planning meetings; all while studying Entrepreneurship at Grand Canyon University,

Rick Korte

Advisor

Rick has over 45 years of executive management experience at the C suite level. Most recently, Rick held the position of CEO, President and Managing Director at HEIDENHAIN Holding, which was comprised of 9 technical companies serving various market segments. In this role he provided leadership and direction for an organization of more than 450 employees.

Rick has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Marketing and has extensive experience in organizational structure, establishing a winning culture, technical R&D, and market development.

Rick now serves as an advisor, coach and mentor to specifically support companies and individuals in ministry.

ALLIANCE PARTNERS

Meet Our Consultants