Biography
Introducing the Urbana Worship Team! It’s an incredible privilege for us to join with thousands of others to praise our Lord as King at Urbana! Each member of the team is on staff with InterVarsity and loves leading students in worship. It’s been a thrilling time to come together and vision for worship that unites so many people of different cultures and traditions. As a team, we represent many diverse worship cultures and have had a blast learning one another’s heart worship languages.
At Urbana, we will be leading and modeling many different styles, reflecting many traditions and cultural expressions. Our worship times may feel like an extravagant feast, a table filled with the best dishes brought by different cultures to honor the celebration of God’s goodness. Learning a new way to worship: a new song, a new style, a new expression of love to God, is a tangible way to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Ps. 34:8) Our understanding of God’s character expands and our respect for the diversity of His creatures deepens as we experience the feast of multiple worship cultures together.
After you’ve met the team below, read what a few worship team members have written about worship and culture, to help you “dig in” at the extravagant feast of worshipping a Global God.
Krista-Dawn Kimsey
Campus Staff at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon
Krista-Dawn Kimsey was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She has been on staff with InterVarsity for 6 years at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, along with her husband, Joel. In the summer of 2001, she and her husband led a Global Urban Trek to Calcutta, India, and she is returning again this year. She has been on 5 short urban projects and 2 overseas summer mission projects.
She graduated with an associate diploma in piano from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Music Degree in piano performance from the University of Washington in Seattle. She is interested in student missions because she values acknowledging God’s faithfulness in the lives of students who take risks.
In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, cooking (with her husband) and reading.
Paul Chin
Campus Staff at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Paul was born in Malaysia, but grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
He received his BS in Geological Engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and his MS in Earth Sciences from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario in 1997.
He is committed to train and disciple a generation of student leaders through his staff work with Inter-Varsity. He has been on staff with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Canada for 6 years. He lives with his wife, Jacqueline and their two young boys in Kitchener, Ontario.
James Choung
Campus Staff at the University of California, San Diego, California
James Choung, a Korean-American, was born in Chicago, Illinois, and he moved to Seattle, Washington when he was 5 years old.
He has worked for the past 9 years with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and he is currently working at the University of California, San Diego. He also works with InterVarsity as a member of the Asian American Coordinating Team.
He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1995, with a BS in Management Science. In 1999, he received his Masters in Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is also a Doctor of Ministry candidate in Leadership Development at Fuller Theological Seminary. He enjoys leading worship at various conferences throughout the country.
He lives in sunny La Jolla, California with his wife Jinhee.
Sandra Van Opstal
Campus Staff for Multiethnic Chapter, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Sandra Van Opstal, a second generation Latina, was born in Chicago, Illinois.
She has been ministering to college students through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for the past 7 years.
She enjoys family gatherings and parties where she can dance, laugh and have a good time.
She graduated from Millikin University in 1996 with a degree in Music Business. Living in Chicago, Illinois, Sandra enjoys leading worship and serves on the national leadership team for La Fe, InterVarsity’s Latino Ministry.
Matt Ryan-Kelzenberg
Team Leader at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Matt was born in South Bend, Indiana, but he spent the majority of his young life in Aurora, Colorado.
He has been on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for the past 6 years, and he is currently working as a team leader at Arizona State University. He graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 1996 with a degree in Cello Performance.
Living in Tempe, Arizona, Matt enjoys spending time with his wife, Shelley and his 2-year-old daughter, Dora. He also enjoys singing and laughing (really loud), prayer, and eating good food with good people.
Todd Waldo
Campus Staff at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia
Todd was born in East Orange, New Jersey.
Todd currently is on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.
In 1997, he graduated from North Carolina State University with a BS in Electrical Engineering. As a worship leader in Virginia, he has seen God bring his students into real mult-ethnic worship. "It has been awesome to see God's people truly reflect God's heart for love, worship and unity." Todd will be serving as the drummer and percussionist for the Urbana 03 worship team.
Corey Saffold
2100 Productions, Madison, Wisconsin
Corey was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
He is currently the Music Director and Praise and Worship Leader for Fountain of Life Worship Center (FOL) in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to his music direction at FOL, Corey is also the music producer for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. He has shared his music ministry with various churches, organizations and artists in the Midwest. Corey comes from a family of musicians and has been playing bass for 13 years.
In his spare time, he writes music and plays basketball. He has been on staff with InterVarsity for 2 years.
Erna Stubblefield
Team Leader at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California
Erna grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington. She has been a part of InterVarsity since she came to college in 1993, and she has been a full-time InterVarsity staff member for 4 years. Currently, she is a team leader at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California.
She graduated from Scripps College in Claremont, California, with a major in American Studies.
She has participated on worship teams for various conferences and projects. In her spare time, she enjoys nature and swimming in the ocean.
Led by various members of the Urbana 03 Worship Team, this project is a compilation of 17 different songs, spoken word, and sung scriptures.
Artist descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. Feel free to contribute!
All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
