our team
Making a difference
Click photos to learn more.
Caleb Stanton
Caleb is the Senior Program Director. He has worked at Lifeline since 2010 and works at our elementary clubs as well as middle school boys club and summer camp.Casey Silliman
Casey joined our team in August 2020. She graduated from Grace College and then began teaching in Guatemala until COVID-19 brought her back to Indiana. She works with 4th grade students at our education camp and also helps with our middle school and high school girl’s program. Her background in teaching is a great asset as we navigate eLearning. Casey’s love for the kids and for Jesus is so evident in in how she lives and serves every day.Darrell Peterson
Darrell Peterson
Darrell has been the Executive Director at Lifeline since 2009. He also helps out at the high school boys and Renew programs.
David Gaona
David is our Elementary Director. He has worked at Lifeline since 2017 and his main role is with the elementary students and summer camp and he also helps out with the middle school boys club.Doug Buckles
Doug has been the lead instructor in the construction program for over 3 years. He has is definitely a “jack of all trades” and can do just about anything in construction. He has incredible patience as he works with our high school students. Doug loves seeing his former students applying what they have learned as they work in the trades. Jubae has called Doug a father figure in his life and credited him as a key to his spiritual growth.Emily Gaona
Emily has been the Girls Club Director since December of 2015. As well as leading our middle school and high school girls programs she also works with the elementary students multiple days a week.Iveth Gaona
Iveth Gaona graduated from Word of Life Bible Institute, then came to work with Lifeline in September of 2019. She worked at Hawthorne elementary as a para professional. She was a leader at our elementary after school clubs and also assisted with the middle school girls club. Now she works with 1st and 3rd grade students at our education camp and will be assisting with middle and high school girl’s programs. Her passion for the Lord is always visible in the way she loves His children.Jubae Augustine
Jubae came to Lifeline as a student working on our construction program. We saw incredible changes in his life and he ended up being student of the year at Elkhart Community Schools Life Program. After graduation, Jubae attended the Word of Life Bible Institute and is now an instructor in the construction program. In a recent talk with students, Jubae said that he learned a lot about construction in the program but more about life and a relationship with God.Kenton Schiele
Kenton came to Lifeline in January of 2020. He was introduced to our elementary after school programs as well as our middle and high school boy’s programs. Kenton also led a group of 7th grade students this summer as a camp counselor. Now he is leading another middle school group through their eLearning at our education camp. He brings joy and energy to our programs.Kevin Freel
Kevin has worked with Lifeline since September 2018. He started by working at our elementary after school clubs and since then has taken on more responsibilities. Kevin is a camp counselor at our summer camp, he helps at our middle and high school boy’s program, and also works as a group leader at our education camp which is assisting the schools with eLearning. Our team would not be the same without his servant’s heart.Liz Gaona
Liz started working with Lifeline in September 2019 after graduating from Word of Life Bible Institute. She began as a para professional with Hawthorne and also as a leader at our elementary clubs. Since then she has also been a summer camp counselor and currently works with our education camp and our after-school club at Concord Westside. She is an incredible asset to our team with her passion for the Lord and her heart for serving others.Tyler Litwiler
Tyler has been working with Lifeline since September 2018. He began as an assistant at our elementary clubs. He has quickly grown his skills and has taken on more responsibility. Fall 2020 was to be the year he would run his own elementary club. Now he is working with a 3rd grade class at our education camp and will be given more responsibility and leadership within that camp. He has a heart for hurting kids and leads with incredible patience and love. We look forward to seeing his growth.Show More