Leadership Structure
We believe that Jesus is our true leader and head. We believe that Jesus provides his church with leaders who give their lives to serve and care for the church. Jesus gave the church a few offices to help structure leadership.
First, we are led by what we call elders or pastors (we believe the Bible uses these terms interchangeably). We currently have 3 elders and several others in the process to becoming elders.
Second, we also have deacons who function in a lead servant role. We currently have 8 deacons.
Lastly, we believe that membership at the church is an important commitment that comes with responsibilities to live out the "one anothers" of the faith and to be involved in the direction and decision making of the church.
Elders
Fletcher Lang, Lead Pastor
Fletcher is the lead pastor for CoaH Somerville. Fletcher is married to Megan works in biotech. They have three children - Kennedy, Shepherd, and Rowan.
Fletcher has been working in ministry since 2005 and has lived in Boston since 2012. Fletcher was the Executive Pastor at CoaH Brookline from 2012-2018 before taking the lead role in Somerville. He holds an M.Div. and a D.Min. from Southern Seminary. He enjoys playing bass in his neighborhood band - the Leonard DiVincis, riding his bike through Boston traffic, and watching the NBA.
EM: fletcher@coahchurch.org
Mark Schmeissing, Lay Pastor-Elder
Mark is a lay pastor-elder and treasurer for CoaH Somerville. Mark and his wife Kristen moved to the Boston area in 2013 where they attended CoaH Brookline before transitioning to CoaH Somerville in 2018. They have two boys – Luke and Liam.
Both Mark and Kristen graduated from Wheaton College (IL) and moved to Boston for Mark to pursue an MBA from Boston University. Currently, Mark is the Director of Finance and Strategy at a research institute and Kristen is an oncology nurse at Mass General Hospital. In 2017, they welcomed Luke into their family and in 2020, Liam arrived with a bang at the height of the initial pandemic surge. Mark has led the oversight of CoaH Somerville finances since 2018. In addition, he enjoys running half-marathons, watching the Red Sox, and constructing Lego sets with his kids.
EM: mark@coahchurch.org
Deacons & Staff
Emmanuel and Erica Okharedia, Worship director & leader, Deacons
Emmanuel and Erica are the worship leaders for CoaH Somerville. They have been married since 2020 and have a son - Ethan.
Emmanuel has been a keyboardist in worship teams since 2012 and is a practicing trademark lawyer. Erica has been singing her entire life and is a tax accountant.
Erica is a huge Top Chef fan and aspiring food star while Emmanuel lives out his NBA dreams on the weekends.
EM: emmanuel@coahchurch.org, erica@coahchurch.org
Alexis donnelly, Kids Director & Ministry Associate, deacon
Alexis is the Kids Director and Ministry Associate at CoaH Somerville. Currently pursuing a master’s degree at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Alexis is passionate about biblical literacy and discipleship—driven by a belief that people of all ages can approach, understand, and fall in love with the Word of God. She is originally from Upstate New York and earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Spanish from SUNY Potsdam in 2018. Alexis loves talking about grammar (whether modern English or ancient Greek), reading Jane Austen novels, and drinking tea with friends.
EM: alexis@coahchurch.org
Calvin Chu, Ministry Associate
He and his wife, Lindsey, and sons, Miles and Silas, joined CoaH in 2023. Calvin was born and raised in the Boston area. He began his ministry journey in 2009 at his former church and was previously the Director of Student Ministries before he joined CoaH. He holds an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. In his free time, you will find him consuming podcasts, working out in his basement, and playing board and video games.
EM: calvin@coahchurch.org
Christopher and LEAH Chestnut, Deacons, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Leah and Chris are deacons at CoaH Somerville. They've been married since 2023, live in Medford and have a blended family of 2 cats.
Leah is a full-time biotech researcher and part-time CoaH admin wizard. She handles various behind-the-scenes tasks such as editing and uploading the weekly sermon, prepping the newsletter, updating the CoaH Somerville website, and planning events. Leah enjoys baking, reading, puzzles, and setting mini self-improvement goals.
Chris works as a software engineer in Kendall Square. As a deacon, he serves to spread joy in the congregation through the announcements team and getting to know individuals through conversation. Chris enjoys eating, reading, video games, and a good nap.
EM: leah@coahchurch.org, chris@coahchurch.org
Michael villalobos, deacon, a/v leader
Michael is a deacon for CoaH Somerville. He and his wife Alexa moved to the Boston area in 2013 where they attended CoaH Brookline before transitioning to CoaH Somerville in 2018. They welcomed their daughter, Makaya, in 2022.
Both Michael and Alexa graduated from the University of Virginia and moved to Boston for Alexa to pursue an MBA & MSW from Boston College. Currently, Michael is a Sales Engineer at a software company called Jellyfish and Alexa is an Director of Operations with Transformations Care Network. In 2019, they bought a house with the Langs in Somerville and have enjoyed renovating it and hosting Community Groups (CGs) and other social gatherings. Alexa has sung on the worship team while Michael led setup/ teardown since they came to Boston in 2013, and they have led CGs together since 2016. Michael picked up Audio/ Video responsibilities as part of the re-launching effort post-pandemic shut down in 2020 and joined the worship team on drums in 2021.
In addition, Michael enjoys staying active by playing on the church softball team/ any sporting endeavor generally, creating practical small space furniture solutions, drumming in the neighborhood band, and playing strategy games.
EM: michael@coahchurch.org
Riley Orrell, Deacon, First Impressions Leader
Riley is a deacon at CoaH Somerville. After spending most of her life in Indiana followed by a short stint in Minnesota, she moved to the Boston area in 2019 and has been a member at CoaH Somerville since March of 2020. Riley leads our First Impressions Team and co-leads a community group in the Cambriville area. During the day, Riley is the Administrative Director of Cardiology at Mass General Hospital. In her spare time, she is learning how to roller skate outdoors and also enjoys board games, hiking, and Broadway musicals.
EM: riley@coahchurch.org
Anneke Lim, Deacon, meal ministry leader
Anneke is a deacon at CoaH Somerville. She and her husband Matthew met at CoaH the first Sunday they both visited in 2021 and have been attending together ever since. Anneke is originally from NJ and spent time in PA at Messiah College and Thomas Jefferson University studying Occupational Therapy before moving to NH and then MA. She works with older adults in a nursing facility and Matthew is a battery engineer. Anneke leads our Meal Ministry and also serves on the worship and kids teams. She enjoys singing and anything music related, cooking and hosting, and going on walks with her husband.
EM: anneke@coahchurch.org
Alex Bonitto, Ministry apprentice
Alex is a Ministry Apprentice at CoaH Somerville. He specializes in apologetics and is the author of The Blind Scientist. He holds an MA in Apologetics from Liberty University and has done some PhD work there as well. However, he decided to take a hiatus from academia to focus more on ministry. Before apologetics and ministry, Alex graduated with a BS in Science and an MBA from Franklin Pierce University while competing in the decathlon. He is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). He currently works as a mathematics teacher at his local high school while furthering his academic, ministerial, and athletic goals. In his free time, you’ll find him fishing, going on adventures with his dog, sipping tea at a local café, or “coolin” it with the boys.