Melissa Berlean,
Pastor of Community Arts (Interim Lead Pastor)

Melissa believes that to live like Christ can be defined in one word: Love. Christ loves each person with an unconditional, relentless love. We could never be "good" enough to earn his love, yet he freely and fully gave his love to the point of death for every one of us. In his resurrection from the dead, he made it possible for us to enter into a love relationship with God that will last eternally. Because of this transformational love personally, we are free to extend that love to others. Jesus said that all people would know his followers by their love, not just in word, but through our daily actions. It is Melissa's prayer that God's love would be made complete in her life as she loves people the way Christ loves them, and that others would personally encounter the love of Christ that can transform their lives as well.

Melissa first felt called into ministry while she was in high school, but didn't fully understand that calling until her sophomore year at Mount Vernon Nazarene University while working at an area church with at-risk youth. She graduated from MVNU with a degree in Youth Ministry in '06 and was in Youth Ministry before coming to ERC. She is now Pastor of Community Arts at our church. She is passionate about building community among those at ERC and also organizing community outreach opportunities in the surrounding neighborhoods in the Toledo-area. 

In her free time she loves to spend time with her husband, Chad, and daughters, Ryleigh and Sydney. She is interested in people, interior design, music, art, reading, reality TV, and good coffee in artsy coffeehouses.