Staff

VitalChurch staff includes administrative and other types of support staff, such as analysts and ministry specialists, who support the overall revitalization ministry of VitalChurch.

Tom Wilkens – Executive Director/Partner

Tom resides in Colorado and has been married to his best friend, Jan, since 1982. They have two married daughters. Tom earned a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Denver. His passion is how marriages, teams, churches and organizations develop and grow well—with special interest in …

Mike Merwin
Mike Merwin – Chief Financial Officer/Partner

Mike manages the finance side of VitalChurch Ministry. Mike retired from the BIC Corporation after a 33-year career that allowed him to use his skills in sales and marketing in the both the USA and overseas. He and his wife, Bev, have been married for 36 years and call San Clemente, California home. They have …

laurel schumacher coo
Laurel Schumacher – Chief Operating Officer/Partner

Laurel Schumacher serves as the Chief Operating Officer for VitalChurch Ministry. Laurel has a background in education and has worked in various roles in the non-profit sector for close to ten years. She holds two Master’s degrees—one in Education from Adelphi University and one in Literature from Long Island University-Brooklyn. Laurel and her husband, Noah, …

John Gee – Associate Director, Diagnostic Division

John Gee and his wife, Jamie, have 5 children, ages 3 to 20 years. John is a recently retired Senior Chief Submariner in the US Navy and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt for Process Improvement. His awards include the Purple Heart, Joint Commendation Medal, and Navy Commendation Medal. John has also been a pastor with the C&MA …

Ainsworths
Chet & Rochelle Ainsworth

Chet Ainsworth has been the Diagnostic Specialist for VitalChurch team since 2012. His passion is to figure out why things are the way they are. He works closely with Gregg Caruso on all church diagnostics and report writing, as well as ongoing materials development. Chet has a BA in Psychology, an M.Div. from Fuller Theological …

Let's Talk

Is your church in a season of transition or crisis? Are you a part of a denomination needing an assessment of member churches or training for your interim pastors? VitalChurch would love to talk with you about how we can help. Contact us for an initial consultation.

Latest News & Insights

Transitions: Good Beginnings Start With Good Endings

 As common as change and transition are, many of us struggle to navigate them effectively. We often like new beginnings, though as the French poet Paul Vallery wrote, “Every beginning is a consequence.  Every beginning ends something.” For a variety of reasons, we often don’t like endings. We find it hard to do transitions well. As a child, I remember going to the circus and being captivated by trapeze artists.  Swinging up high.  Letting go of one bar.  . . .

Testimonials

"I was the last holdout on the Elder board as I felt this was admitting we could not do our jobs as Elders and it was expensive. Was I ever wrong! Only by observing the skillful, experienced way [VitalChurch Ministry] handled the situation was I able to see how far off we were from having the skill set to deal with things. It took many months of prayerful, unbelievably difficult, diligent work, but today the church is revitalized, there are young people in leadership positions, the church is growing spiritually and numerically, and God is being honored."   Read More Testimonials »

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VitalChurch Ministry, Inc.
507 Calle Luego
San Clemente, CA 92673