Rev. Douglas W. Merkey CFL President	Reverend Douglas W. Merkey - President Brief bio & experience in the life arena: Just months after I was converted to Christ, I was confronted with the spiritual conflict over the sanctity of human life. It happened when I was suddenly called upon to help a single friend struggle through an unplanned pregnancy. About four years later (1995) during my first year in seminary, God began to show me more about the depth of the spiritual conflict over life. It was in that year that a friend invited me to join him in prayer on the sidewalk in front of an abortion clinic. Terrified as I was at that prospect, I went with him and while there was stricken by two unforgettable things: (1) the unmasked reality of men and women walking into a building to pay to have their children killed, and (2) the conspicuous absence of the church at that location to graciously reach out to those men and women directly and their unborn baby indirectly.  Since 1995, God has taken me on an amazing journey of theological and practical training as a leader in the life arena. As an ordained pastor, I am most grateful that He has grown me to understand how the gospel of Jesus Christ directly relates to the content and conduct of Christians in the battle for the sanctity of human life. Becoming President and Founder of Churches for Life is the culmination to date of all that God has taught me about radiating His heart and mind in the battle for life. To see the details of His “training program” – that is, my ministry and vocational experience - please click here.  Contact Doug at doug@getintolife.org.
Katherine Hannemann Ministry Assistant	Katherine Hannemann - Ministry Assistant Brief bio: Katherine was born and raised in Greeley, Colorado. She graduated from Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska in 2006, where she majored in Psychology. In December of 2005 she was married to Justin Hannemann of Lincoln, Nebraska. They moved to St. Louis where Kat was hired as an Administrative Assistant for the Small Group Ministry at St. John Lutheran Church of Ellisville. Justin attends Concordia Lutheran Seminary and is also working to complete a PhD at St. Louis University in Marriage and Family Therapy. Their son, Kaiser, was born in March of 2008. Katherine very much enjoys time with family and friends, as well as reading and scrapbooking. Experience in life arena: Championing life has been a passion of Katherine’s and has become all the more important since the birth of her son in 2008. Growing up as a Christian, Katherine has always understood the importance of valuing life, as it is a precious gift from the Creator Himself. She is very thankful for this opportunity to take the next step in serving God in His work through life-affirming advocacy. Why serve through Churches for Life? I am very excited to begin my life-affirming ministry with Churches for Life and was impressed to see their wholistic approach to life. I have felt for some time that my passion for upholding the gift of life needed to become part of my ministry for Christ. I was very excited about the opportunity to serve as a part of a life-affirming organization and feel honored and blessed to be counted among those serving with Churches for Life. As Don Lessin says, this is a way that I want “the heart of God to be flowing through [my] life.”  Contact Katherine at katherine@getintolife.org.