The Team
Tim Kade, Lead Pastor
Tim grew up in Clawson with plans to live an average life and successful career, but in 1991, God interrupted those plans and led him to go into full time ministry. He and his wife Kathy have served in churches in Michigan, Indiana and Ghana, West Africa. He is a gifted teacher and passionate about helping people discover their vital role in the story God’s writing in this world. You can reach Pastor Tim at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Youth Ministries
Kathy Kade, Children's Ministry Leader
Kathy is the leader for Epic Church's children's ministry, Epic Explorers. It is her goal that Sunday morning is the best hour of a child's week. She loves serving alongside her husband, Pastor Tim. Pastor Tim and Kathy have three amazing daughters (Emily, Becca, and Hannah) who keep their household very busy and filled with laughter. If she gets spare time, she enjoys hanging out with friends or becoming entranced in a good, action-packed novel. Kathy can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Marie Kuchenmeister, Epic Explorers Director
Marie is the leader for Epic Church's children's ministry, Epic Explorers. She strives to be the hands to bring all the pieces of Kid's Ministry together, so that our children can take their next steps in their walk with Jesus. She has been a part of the Epic family for almost 8 years, along with her family, Ryan (who can be seen in the Worship team playing a variety of instruments) and her three kids, Maddie, Bennett and Owen. Marie is a bibliophile, who has more books than she can count and had aspirations of being a world traveler...once her kids are grown. Marie can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Kevin and Laura Koss, Student Ministry Leaders
Kevin and Laura are the Student Ministry Leaders at Epic Church. It is their job to bring middle and high school kids into a relationship or grow closer in their current relationship with Christ through group bible studies on topics that teenagers encounter daily at school, home, and amongst their friends. They also plan retreats, camps, and social outings where kids can develop new relationships and/or grow existing relationships with other young followers of Jesus. Kevin and Laura live in Lake Orion with their 2 boys, Austin and Nathan. They love to play practical jokes on other people as well as each other just to keep life full of laughter. They can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Mike teaches Activate classes for the middle-schoolers of Epic, and is passionate about seeing his students grow and get excited about their faith! He is also part of the tech team at Epic Church and is one of the individuals responsible for editing and displaying the video messages you see on the big screen every Sunday morning. He lives with his beautiful wife and daughters, and works as a Physical Therapist when he's not at Epic. Mike has recently taken up running, and finished the Detroit Free Press Marathon in 2012! You can reach Mike at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Craig Caruss, Activate Teacher
Craig, in addition to helping teach Epic's Activate Class, is a bit of a “Jack-of-All-Trades” at Epic Church. On a typical Sunday morning, you'll see him running around setting up the kids ministry, making sure the hallway is ready, and assisting in Communion. After service, you will see him packing it all back up. His wife, Lisa, is the Worship Director for Epic and his little girl, Charlie, can be found walking around like she owns the place at 5 years old. Outside of Sundays, Craig works in Physical Security for a local bank, enjoys reading the Good book, video games with out too many buttons, and long walks around the bases. He can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Matt teaches FUEL (Filling Up Empty Lives) classes for the high school students of Epic. He is a fun-loving individual who enjoys sharing his faith in real and relevant ways. In addition to FUEL, Matt helps in Epic Explorers, teaching elementary students. He is married to his wife Mary, and they have two boys Eli and Sam. Matt taught kindergarten for five years, before deciding to take a break and become a stay-at-home dad. Matt enjoys music, board games, coffee, and the great outdoors. You can reach Matt at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Leanna is the female FUEL group leader for high school aged girls at Epic Church. In her groups, she loves discussing real life issues that affect youth today. No topic is off limits! In her personal life, Leanna is a mental health therapist who works with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. In addition to FUEL, you can also find Leanna rocking out for Jesus on Sunday mornings with her signature purple bass guitar! Feel free to contact Leanna at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Laura Claussen, Epic Parents of Young Kids Coordinator
Laura is the Coordinator of Epic Parents of Young Kids. Laura and her team put together field trips, service events, playgroups, bible studies, and other events for kids (ages birth through fifth grade) and their parents to enjoy. She is married to Jamie (who you might see playing guitar and singing in the worship band), and together they have two wonderful children, Hendrik and Carter Jane. Laura has an MA in Early Childhood Education and a BA in Elementary Education, and is currently using those skills as a domestic engineer (stay-at-home-mom.) Laura loves to travel, read, workout and cook delicious vegan food. You can reach Laura at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Worship Ministry
Lisa Caruss, Worship Arts Director
Lisa Caruss is the Director of Worship Arts. She works to help create authentic moments of worship through music, video, lighting, and interactive elements. Lisa is a graduate of Michigan State University and is currently working on her MSA at CMU. She loves drawing, painting, and being silly with her daughter, Charlie. Contact Lisa at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Outreach/Communications Ministry
Lauren Reisig, Outreach Coordinator
Lauren is the Outreach Coordinator for Epic Church. It is her job to find new ways for Epic to connect with people and the community through event planning and outreach. She currently lives at home with her father, mother, and sister as she works on completing her B.A. in Communications at Oakland University. In her spare time, she enjoys going to concerts and drinking way too much coffee. You can reach Lauren at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Brandon Kennedy, Communications Director
Brandon is the Communications Director and a current board member at Epic. He looks for creative ways to make it easy for people to take their next step with Christ through tools such as the bulletin, website, email, welcome packets, and a whole lot more. Brandon runs a financial planning practice and lives in Rochester with his wife and two little boys. He is a huge movie buff, loves woodworking/home remodeling, and spending his free time with his family. You can reach Brandon at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Wendy Boer, Project Hope Coordinator
Wendy is the Project Hope coordinator for Epic Church. She plans missions and serving events such as Camp Epic, Kids Against Hunger and Gifts for All God's Children to carry out Epic's desire to reach out and share God's love with the local and global community. Wendy also organizes various Epic activites and volunteer appreciation events. Wendy lives with her husband Dave, who is also a part of the Epic team, in Macomb. They have two grown daughters, Kelly and Liana. She is a court reporter with Hanson Renaissance Court Reporters and adjunct faculty at Macomb Community College. For infomration about missions and serving, you can reach Wendy at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Jeff Briley, Epic Gives Back Coordinator
Jeff is on the Board of Directors and runs the "Epic Gives Back" program. He lives in Lake Orion with his wife (Kim) and 2 daughters (Dani and Allie). He enjoys looking for "hidden treasure" in his spare time at estate and garage sales. You can reach Jeff at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Michele Syska, First Impressions Leader
Michele is the leader of the First Impressions ministry at Epic Church. Her job is to help create a welcoming environment for people arriving to Epic every Sunday morning. She lives with her husband, Mike and two daughters, Avery and Peyton. In her spare time, she enjoys catching up on her DVR shows with a cup of coffee while folding laudry (to cut down on the mommy/wife guilt). You can reach Michele at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The people are what makes Epic unique. Whether it’s an energetic greeting at door, the talented musician up front or all the behind the scenes volunteers, we couldn’t do it without every one of them.
2013 Board Members
Tim Hoekstra, Board President
Pam Dippel, Treasurer
Bev Terry , Secretary
Brandon Kennedy
Jeff Briley
Kelly Vallone