Our Leadership: Chris & Rebecca Knaebel

Our church planting couple, the Knaebels are (L-R):

Sophia, Rebecca, Elliot, Chris & Karis

After meeting as students at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and completing grad school at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Chris and Rebecca served several churches in Pennsylvania before being called to Florida in 2015. After 16 years of praying about church planting while serving in pastoral ministry, they felt the Spirit tugging on their hearts in 2020.  Burdened by a passion to see the good news of Jesus transform hearts, neighborhoods and cities, they sought obedience to the simplicity of God's call to gather and mature followers of Jesus through Worship, Discipleship and Mission (Matt 28:18-20).

They spent two years prayerfully establishing the firstfruits of a church – seeking local and national support, building relationships and meeting with families in their own living room. In 2022, early formations of Christ Church sprouted both at the Knaebels for Bible study and at the Archibald office building on Main Street for small gatherings.  

Today, Christ Church meets in the heart of downtown Sarasota, at El Melvin Cocina Mexicana (formerly Two Senoritas), where God has graciously and intentionally placed us to live out our faith and serve our city as a body of believers.