Karen Koch

Director of Guest Services

If you have already visited our church, she probably needs no introduction. Karen is practically a VantagePoint Church celebrity. She jumped into serving in 2009 and has quickly become one of the most well-known and respected people at VPC. Not only is Karen extremely friendly and social, but she has a gift for making people feel welcome and cared for. Seeing that her gifts were a perfect fit for our Guest Services Department, she was quickly recruited to come on staff.

Karen was born in Berkley, California and raised in the Bay Area. She grew up in a typical church-going family. In her college years she drifted from God while attending San Diego State University. She would later marry her college sweetheart, Carl, and have two boys, Andy and Evan. Karen and Carl would both confess today that raising their two boys has greatly influenced their renewed relationship with the Lord in their marriage. After college Karen taught in the elementary school system for 10 years until finally changing careers to pursue customer service and allow a more flexible schedule while raising her boys. It was this flexible schedule that allowed her to come on staff at VPC and make a tremendous impact in the lives of so many people at our church.

Steve Harper

Children's Pastor

Born and raised in Baltimore, Steve would proudly say that he is a die-hard Orioles fan. He spent most of his early years on stage, singing and acting. Steve moved to California to attend Vanguard University back in 1994 and never looked back to his roots in Baltimore. It might have been the climate, but most think it was because he met his wife, Nalaina. Although he was only 19 at the time, their relationship grew so much over the next few years, he knew God had brought them together. Today they have one daughter, Zaida, who is six.

Steve got his call to ministry early in his life. At the age of 11, someone in Steve's life told him that God would one day call him into ministry. Although he laughed at the time, that person's statement has become prophecy today. Steve has been working with children ever since high school. At the time, Steve thought God had other plans for his life, but little did he know that God was stirring in him a passion to share Jesus to kids in a way that is fun and connects. He has been in Children's Ministry since 1999, and most recently at Mariner's church before arriving at VPC. He has a saying he teaches all his kids that goes like this: You were created by God and you are special. Because of those two things, you can change the world.

Andrea De Corte

Small Group Coordinator

Andrea was born in San Dimas, California, but she grew up in Diamond Bar. It was there she spent her years as an athlete. She pretty much did it all: from being a gymnast, to diving, to cheerleading. If it was competitive and required athleticism, Andrea did it. She first met her husband Adam in 6th grade, and it was instant romance. They even won the Romeo and Juliet award at the end of their 7th grade year and dated off and on all the way through high school and after. Andrea finally tied the knot with Adam at the age of 23. Today they have three beautiful children.

Andrea coached gymnastics and cheerleading for 10 years. Today she works two jobs: one as a branch controller for Simpson Strong Tie and the other as our small group coordinator here at VPC. That is why our church staff sometimes refers to her as Superwoman. She has a bachelor’s degree in Operations Management and a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA).

Andrea is most passionate about community. She excels at bringing the body of Christ together. She believes very strongly that the power of our Lord can be seen when we love each other as God intended and reach out to the people around us. Her vision is to see the church become a family, loving each other and giving to whoever is in need.

Mark Lee

Lead Pastor

Pastor Mark grew up in an immigrant family. His father moved his family to the United States from Korea with not much more than a few dollars in his pocket and a hope in the American Dream. He spent most of his early years playing the violin, getting straight A's, getting kicked of chess clubs for yelling too much, and winning math competitions. He eventually would attend Purdue University in Lafayette Indiana.

During his college years, he met his wife, Andrea, who he is still in love with today. After getting his degree, he worked as a structural engineer for five years. It was only after getting an undeniable call into ministry that he left behind a promising career and years of education that he would never use again. As difficult as it was, he never looked back. It was clear he had found his calling.

Pastor Mark brings new meaning to the word high-energy. He is a gifted communicator, who excels in connecting people to God by preaching messages that are relevant for today’s challenges. Mark received his seminary degree at Talbot School of Theology, part of Biola University. He founded VantagePoint Church in 2008, and was honored as the 2008 EFCA Church Planter of the Year. He loves finding great restaurants on Yelp, running marathons, and romantic date nights with the love of his life. His fandom list includes: the Lakers, the Angels, and whatever football team is winning this year.

His dreams include: That his four kids would always come running to meet him when he walks through the door, memorizing all of the Pauline Epistles, learning to see people the way God does, and making the Inland Empire the most difficult place in the world to go to hell.

Tom Lanning

Worship Arts Pastor

Pastor Tom grew up in Long Beach. He spent most of his time in high school excelling at just about any sport you could think of. After he graduated, he worked for UPS where he met and instantly fell in love with his wife Tracey. They were married in 1990, but if you saw them today, you would think that they were still newly weds. They have four wonderful kids.

In his former life, Tom was a deputy with the Los Angeles County sheriff's department for 21 years. Many of those years were spent not only as a full-time police officer, but also as a full-time worship leader. If you saw him in uniform pulling you over for speeding you would never guess he could sing. Although he may not look the type or wear the skinny jeans, if you saw him lead worship you would know why he left the sheriff's department. Tom is not only a gifted musician, but he is also extremely creative and an exceptional leader. People below and above him respect him and would stop at nothing to help make his vision become a reality every Sunday. From series planning, to stage design, to dramatic skits, to set up team, to worship team, Tom does it all. If someone on staff needs a graphic, a creative idea, or a question about something on stage they go to Tom.

Monique Whritenour

Director of Community Outreach

In her early years Monique was an athlete. She grew up competing in roller skating from the age of 8 years old. She was a National Champion Artistic Dance Skater. She took first place at Nationals in 1984, and also has 2 bronze and 2 silver National medals. She quit skating in 1996 after a career-ending injury. As shocking and devastating as it was, little did she know that God had a plan to use her in huge ways for His Kingdom.

Before working for the church, she worked in the accounting department of an insurance company for eight years, where she learned all the skills she would need to begin her ministry journey. She first started working in the church at the Evangelical Free Church of Diamond Bar, where she was a book keeper for four years. She started out as the book keeper at VantagePoint Church, but soon was promoted to Director of Outreach.

She is the unsung hero of VPC. You will never see her on stage because she would die before stepping foot on it. From Trunk or Treat, to the Easter Egg Hunt, to passing out free In-n-Out to the teachers in our community, Monique keeps us organized and effective. If any staff member has a budget question they go to Mo, our human calculator and budget control. She is happily married and in love with her husband, Mark, and a mother of one son, Jeff, who is a very gifted artist.

Chris Kirish

Ignite Pastor

Chris is the pastor of Ignite, our junior high and high school ministry. He grew up back in the Midwest in a little state called Indiana. As a kid, he never had plans to be a pastor and would have laughed at the idea. Chris was more focused on becoming the next Joe Montana. He was the quarterback on his football team, and his goal was to be the most popular kid at school. After high school he spent his college years searching for meaning and purpose in his life. His career path could be described as inconsistent at best. In his early years, he wanted to play quarterback in the NFL. Then it was becoming a director in Hollywood, which led him to an internship on the show 24. Then it was college and the hopes of becoming a business owner. You might say his career choices were a bit optimistic, but he would tell you to stop being so pessimistic.

It was then, in 2007, that God grabbed hold of his life and sparked a passion that led him into ministry. In just a short period of time, he went from leading a simple bible study in 2007 to becoming the Student Pastor at VPC in 2009. It was clear that God had called him into ministry. Chris is a gifted communicator who has a heart for sharing the love and grace of Jesus Christ and how it has changed his life. He has a passion for bringing the Gospel to those who are far from God. One of the greatest impacts in his life has been meeting and marrying the woman of his dreams, Brianna. He would tell you  that she is his voice of encouragement, and constantly reminds him of God's calling in his life. They recently had their first baby, a little boy named Jonah.