Meet Our Staff!

Ryan Koch

Senior Pastor

Ryan is the Senior Pastor at Hopewell. He is married to Nicole and has three delightful kids, Hudson, Oliver and Caroline. While Ryan is from Auburn, and Nicole from Fort Wayne (Carroll), they met at Youth Group in Grabill, Indiana, and started dating while Ryan was in college at Taylor University Fort Wayne. Ryan likes to fish, read, play board games, video games and do jumping jacks with his kids.

Ryan and his family are grateful to be a part of Hopewell Church and they look forward with great expectation to what God will do in and through the Hopewell community, and they pray that at Hopewell, you find the grace of God, the new life found in Him, and real community centered on Jesus.

Fun Facts
  • Has one of the biggest Lego collections in Fort Wayne…not really, but it’s still pretty awesome.
  • Refuses to appreciate fashion for himself but acknowledges it in others.

Celeste Kanka

Worship Leader

Celeste (pictured on the right) is the Worship Leader at Hopewell. She grew up in Leo in a loving home full of music, movie quotes, and bad jokes. Celeste went to Huntington University where she continued to grow her passion for serving in the church, she graduated from HU in 2021. She is very passionate about music, the outdoors, and spending time with her friends and family.

Celeste is honored to be a part of the Hopewell Church family and is excited to see how God will show up in the coming years. She prays that the Hopewell community is able to minister to those around them and be a light to the world.

Fun Facts
  • Really enjoys playing video games.
  • Believes that a sandwich is only good if it is so messy that you have to wash your hands afterwards.