Elders

The Role of Elder

The ministry of Geist Community Church is under the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ working in and through the elders. The elders are the primary decision-making body within the church, and make their decisions based on individual and corporate leading by the Holy Spirit, scriptural insight, carefully assembled facts, and input from the members.

The responsibilities of the elders are:
  1. Teaching/preaching biblical truth
  2. Modeling Christ-like behavior
  3. Maintaining doctrinal purity
  4. Leading the congregation in discipleship
  5. Overseeing financial matters
  6. Praying for the flock

For a more detailed explanation of the biblical elder role, click here.

Matt Walker

Elder | Senior Pastor

During his childhood years in northern Indiana, God opened Matt’s spiritually blind eyes and led him to repent of his sin and believe in Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6) After graduating from Purdue University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering God changed Matt's heart from pursuing engineering to vocational Christian ministry.  Matt graduated from seminary in 2005 with a Master of Theology degree and has served as senior pastor of GCC since 2009.  His passion is to proclaim the truth of God's Word so that all who hear might have faith in Jesus. (Romans 10:17)  Matt also serves our McCordsville/Fortville community as a fire department chaplain.  He enjoys spending time with his family and reading about early church reformers like Zwingli, Calvin and Knox - and he can usually be found building something outdoors.

He and his wife, Anna, have been married since 2002 and love talking about the Bible together over a morning cup of coffee.  Anna is currently pursuing a PhD in biblical counseling at  The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where she previously earned a master's degree in the same field.  She loves helping women learn to study God's word, having authored several women's bible studies, founded Reformed Womanhood, and currently works with Fieldstone Counseling.  Matt and Anna  have two high schoolers; a son named Grant and a daughter named Grace.  

Dustin Phillips

Elder

Dustin grew up in the countryside near Clayton, Indiana, surrounded by fields of corn and soybeans. His parents helped him understand at a young age that he needed a Savior, and that he needed to repent of his sins and put his trust in Jesus to save him. Since that time, God has been faithful to grow him “in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18), teaching him how he should abide by the Lord’s commands laid out in His Word.

After graduating from Purdue University in 2016, Dustin moved to the northeast side of Indianapolis, and soon after began attending GCC. He has involved himself at GCC in several ways, previously serving as the Support Deacon (aka “The Chair Shepherd”) and currently serving as a pianist in the music team. He first met his wife, Kristen, when they both showed up to volunteer as ushers at an Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra concert. In their free time, they enjoy playing music, hiking through Indiana’s state parks, and baking any dessert with a substantial amount of chocolate.