MEET OUR STAFF
Rev. Jonathan Tony
Senior Pastor
Email Jonathan Tony
I am excited to be called as the Senior Pastor of Hackberry Creek Church. I’m thankful to serve a church that my family and I would attend if I wasn’t its pastor. What makes this even more special is that we first attended HCC nine years ago and worshipped here for a year and half before God called me as an Associate Pastor in Mississippi.
When Emily and I visited HCC, we found a congregation that loved Jesus, who were committed to living into the good news of the gospel, who longed to live according to Christ’s Word in Scripture, and loved one another as Christ had loved them. We are amazed at the providence of God that has called us back here to join HCC in its mission of sharing Jesus Christ with others and growing as his disciples.
Most recently, I have served as the Associate Pastor of Family Ministry at First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs, Mississippi from March of 2011 to March of 2019. I was able to use my gifts of developing Christ-centered community, inviting others to come and see Jesus in order to follow him wherever he leads.
I am a native of the Midwest, having grown up in St. Louis and Chicago, completing my BA in History at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. This will be my fourth time to live in Texas since undergrad: I was a youth director in San Antonio, 6th grade teacher in Brownsville, and then substitute taught in Coppell until God call us to Ocean Springs. I followed Christ’s call into ordained ministry in 2006 and graduated from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in 2009.
Emily is a native Texan, having grown up in Fort Worth and is a certified Occupational Therapist. All three of our children- Nathanael (8), Karis (6) and Clara (3) were born in Ocean Springs. They keep us busy with church and school activities, sports, and music lessons.
When I’m not at church or chasing our kids around, you can most likely find me on the golf course, a local coffee shop reading, maybe out for the occasional run, or at home baking and playing board games with the family.
Senior Pastor
Email Jonathan Tony
I am excited to be called as the Senior Pastor of Hackberry Creek Church. I’m thankful to serve a church that my family and I would attend if I wasn’t its pastor. What makes this even more special is that we first attended HCC nine years ago and worshipped here for a year and half before God called me as an Associate Pastor in Mississippi.
When Emily and I visited HCC, we found a congregation that loved Jesus, who were committed to living into the good news of the gospel, who longed to live according to Christ’s Word in Scripture, and loved one another as Christ had loved them. We are amazed at the providence of God that has called us back here to join HCC in its mission of sharing Jesus Christ with others and growing as his disciples.
Most recently, I have served as the Associate Pastor of Family Ministry at First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs, Mississippi from March of 2011 to March of 2019. I was able to use my gifts of developing Christ-centered community, inviting others to come and see Jesus in order to follow him wherever he leads.
I am a native of the Midwest, having grown up in St. Louis and Chicago, completing my BA in History at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. This will be my fourth time to live in Texas since undergrad: I was a youth director in San Antonio, 6th grade teacher in Brownsville, and then substitute taught in Coppell until God call us to Ocean Springs. I followed Christ’s call into ordained ministry in 2006 and graduated from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in 2009.
Emily is a native Texan, having grown up in Fort Worth and is a certified Occupational Therapist. All three of our children- Nathanael (8), Karis (6) and Clara (3) were born in Ocean Springs. They keep us busy with church and school activities, sports, and music lessons.
When I’m not at church or chasing our kids around, you can most likely find me on the golf course, a local coffee shop reading, maybe out for the occasional run, or at home baking and playing board games with the family.
Dave Ervin
Music Director
Email Dave Ervin
I grew up in Seattle, son of a salesman, grandson of a Minister of Music in the local Presbyterian church. Life was idyllic for me it seemed. I had a great family life, cousins just around the corner, all involved in the local church with granddad. Then, my parents divorced. We stopped hanging out with the family, stopped going to the local church and and in general, stopped doing everything we had been doing.
While I didnʼt really understand it all, I started spiraling out of control. I got in to drugs, started hanging out with the wrong people, and generally became anti-social. But God did not give up on me. About my senior year of high school I snapped out of it, cut off my friendship with the people Iʼd been hanging out with, and began a slow process of re-evaluating my life.
It took years, but I started opening up to God more and more. Eventually, I answered an alter call at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and over the next few years became more and more involved in the church. Still, it wasnʼt until I had a family that I really saw I was living a bit of a double life. I had not jumped in all the way. God is so wise. I had a passion for music, but if God had allowed it to flourish early, I would not have been ready to handle it. It would have gone to my head, Iʼm sure.
Instead, God slowly groomed me for full time ministry. I began volunteering at our local church in California as the sound engineer. Then, pretty soon I was playing guitar and singing with the team. Over time, the music leaders of this church started asking me to help lead. Each year, it seemed God allowed me a little more responsibility, until finally I was asked to lead a small church music team on a part time basis.
Currently, I lead our church praise band here at Hackberry Creek Church, and it has been a huge blessing. I love working with volunteer musicians here at HCC, hopefully helping to groom them in the same way God used the friends I had in California to groom me. I have a beautiful wife of twenty five years and two fantastic girls, much wiser than I ever was.
God is so good. Looking back, it is clear God had this plan all along, but I would have never guessed this would be the direction my life would take. I pray that I am open to Godʼs call on my life for the rest of my life. And may God use me in this local community to touch others lives for His purposes.
Music Director
Email Dave Ervin
I grew up in Seattle, son of a salesman, grandson of a Minister of Music in the local Presbyterian church. Life was idyllic for me it seemed. I had a great family life, cousins just around the corner, all involved in the local church with granddad. Then, my parents divorced. We stopped hanging out with the family, stopped going to the local church and and in general, stopped doing everything we had been doing.
While I didnʼt really understand it all, I started spiraling out of control. I got in to drugs, started hanging out with the wrong people, and generally became anti-social. But God did not give up on me. About my senior year of high school I snapped out of it, cut off my friendship with the people Iʼd been hanging out with, and began a slow process of re-evaluating my life.
It took years, but I started opening up to God more and more. Eventually, I answered an alter call at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and over the next few years became more and more involved in the church. Still, it wasnʼt until I had a family that I really saw I was living a bit of a double life. I had not jumped in all the way. God is so wise. I had a passion for music, but if God had allowed it to flourish early, I would not have been ready to handle it. It would have gone to my head, Iʼm sure.
Instead, God slowly groomed me for full time ministry. I began volunteering at our local church in California as the sound engineer. Then, pretty soon I was playing guitar and singing with the team. Over time, the music leaders of this church started asking me to help lead. Each year, it seemed God allowed me a little more responsibility, until finally I was asked to lead a small church music team on a part time basis.
Currently, I lead our church praise band here at Hackberry Creek Church, and it has been a huge blessing. I love working with volunteer musicians here at HCC, hopefully helping to groom them in the same way God used the friends I had in California to groom me. I have a beautiful wife of twenty five years and two fantastic girls, much wiser than I ever was.
God is so good. Looking back, it is clear God had this plan all along, but I would have never guessed this would be the direction my life would take. I pray that I am open to Godʼs call on my life for the rest of my life. And may God use me in this local community to touch others lives for His purposes.
Joel Costa
Director of Christian Education
Email Joel Costa
I grew up in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo and immigrated with my family to the USA just before turning 10. Always very involved and active in church as a pastor’s kid, I very early on felt a divine call to make ministry my life’s work. During my teenage years I was given many opportunities for training, leadership and missions work through our church in South Florida, and several other chances to further explore my calling. I treasure those formative years immensely. I eventually came to be employed by the ministry and served for years in South Florida, Nebraska and Texas. It was during this time that my passion for Christian education became increasingly solidified. I believe that in a world where we take for granted a continuous bombardment of profoundly conflicting narratives, values and worldviews, solid spiritual and intellectual formation and a passion for truth should be elevated as crucial priorities.
As a young adult I became very interested in the history of Christian thought and, in particular, the Protestant Reformation. I read everything I could get my hands on about that great and generative period in time, and fell deeper and deeper in love with the beautiful theological insights of the reformers. The persistent, all-encompassing, no-holds-barred, overwhelming, baffling, commanding and radically transformative nature of God’s unconditional love in Christ took fast hold of my heart and turned my world upside-down. It was during that time that I married the love of my life and we decided that I should further my education. During my time in college I worked for another Brazilian ministry in South Florida and, after graduating with a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and History, was offered a scholarship to pursue my interests at Yale Divinity School, where I got my Master’s in Religion and Philosophy.
I came on staff at HCC in the summer of 2017 and one of my favorite things about our church is that it is absolutely non-apologetic about prioritizing authentic discipleship, spiritual formation and Christ-centered living. My primary goal as DCE is to work closely with our leadership and congregation to provide ongoing development of and support for abundant and meaningful educational opportunities for all ages – opportunities that include Sunday school, small groups, Vacation Bible School, our well-stocked resource library and many others to come. On my downtime you’ll probably catch me cooking, playing board games with my wife and two girls, reading and nerding out on scifi movies.
Director of Christian Education
Email Joel Costa
I grew up in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo and immigrated with my family to the USA just before turning 10. Always very involved and active in church as a pastor’s kid, I very early on felt a divine call to make ministry my life’s work. During my teenage years I was given many opportunities for training, leadership and missions work through our church in South Florida, and several other chances to further explore my calling. I treasure those formative years immensely. I eventually came to be employed by the ministry and served for years in South Florida, Nebraska and Texas. It was during this time that my passion for Christian education became increasingly solidified. I believe that in a world where we take for granted a continuous bombardment of profoundly conflicting narratives, values and worldviews, solid spiritual and intellectual formation and a passion for truth should be elevated as crucial priorities.
As a young adult I became very interested in the history of Christian thought and, in particular, the Protestant Reformation. I read everything I could get my hands on about that great and generative period in time, and fell deeper and deeper in love with the beautiful theological insights of the reformers. The persistent, all-encompassing, no-holds-barred, overwhelming, baffling, commanding and radically transformative nature of God’s unconditional love in Christ took fast hold of my heart and turned my world upside-down. It was during that time that I married the love of my life and we decided that I should further my education. During my time in college I worked for another Brazilian ministry in South Florida and, after graduating with a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and History, was offered a scholarship to pursue my interests at Yale Divinity School, where I got my Master’s in Religion and Philosophy.
I came on staff at HCC in the summer of 2017 and one of my favorite things about our church is that it is absolutely non-apologetic about prioritizing authentic discipleship, spiritual formation and Christ-centered living. My primary goal as DCE is to work closely with our leadership and congregation to provide ongoing development of and support for abundant and meaningful educational opportunities for all ages – opportunities that include Sunday school, small groups, Vacation Bible School, our well-stocked resource library and many others to come. On my downtime you’ll probably catch me cooking, playing board games with my wife and two girls, reading and nerding out on scifi movies.
Savon Peña
Youth Director
Email Savon Peña
I am from Grand Prairie, a now large city between Dallas and Fort Worth. I had a friend who pursued me for years trying to get me to come to church. After many invitations I finally said yes, I began attending what would be my home church. On January 3, 2010 I finally realized that I was dead in my sins and I needed a Savior.
This was the beginning of my walk with God.
Shortly after that however, I left the church for almost two years trying to find joy in the world. On my first night back at Church I met the new Youth Pastor who would also become my mentor and one of my closest friends. In my Junior year of High School, I stopped trying to run away from my call to ministry. My mentor took me on as his intern and showed me what ministry looked like and I fell in love with it. I knew that I had found the calling in Student Ministry.
After graduating High School, I met my beautiful wife Danika and we dated for five years before getting married in May 2018. During those years I attended Dallas Baptist University and worked for a church in Carrollton on the Student Ministry team. I joined the HCC staff January of 2020; Danika and I are excited to be part of a church that has a loving community and a desire for others to know the gospel. Danika and I are also expecting our first child February 2021!
In my free time I love reading, playing with our dog Milo, cooking, and watching the Minnesota Vikings…SKOL!
A verse that has defined my heart for ministry and my personal life is 1 Thessalonians 2:8,
“Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”
Youth Director
Email Savon Peña
I am from Grand Prairie, a now large city between Dallas and Fort Worth. I had a friend who pursued me for years trying to get me to come to church. After many invitations I finally said yes, I began attending what would be my home church. On January 3, 2010 I finally realized that I was dead in my sins and I needed a Savior.
This was the beginning of my walk with God.
Shortly after that however, I left the church for almost two years trying to find joy in the world. On my first night back at Church I met the new Youth Pastor who would also become my mentor and one of my closest friends. In my Junior year of High School, I stopped trying to run away from my call to ministry. My mentor took me on as his intern and showed me what ministry looked like and I fell in love with it. I knew that I had found the calling in Student Ministry.
After graduating High School, I met my beautiful wife Danika and we dated for five years before getting married in May 2018. During those years I attended Dallas Baptist University and worked for a church in Carrollton on the Student Ministry team. I joined the HCC staff January of 2020; Danika and I are excited to be part of a church that has a loving community and a desire for others to know the gospel. Danika and I are also expecting our first child February 2021!
In my free time I love reading, playing with our dog Milo, cooking, and watching the Minnesota Vikings…SKOL!
A verse that has defined my heart for ministry and my personal life is 1 Thessalonians 2:8,
“Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”
Jaycie Skidmore
Music Director/Children's Music
I grew up in a musical family and don't remember a time when music was not a part of my life. My father is a trombone player and my mother is a pianist so it wasn't a matter of if I would play an instrument, but what. I began studying flute at age 12 at Coppell Middle School East and ultimately earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 2007 from Baylor. I was blessed with wonderful church choir directors growing up who gave me a fantastic foundation in singing and who helped me develop a love of musical service. I have always felt closest to God when playing music or singing and I am so grateful to be able to use those gifts for the glory of Jesus Christ!
God brought me to Hackberry Creek Church when I was finishing up my student teaching semester here in the DFW area. I had never experienced such a true representation of a "church family" and I began serving on the worship team from day one. In addition to serving as an assistant music director, I have served as the Children's Music Director here at Hackberry Creek since 2015 and hope that I can continue to build a program where children feel a connection to Jesus Christ through music and learning how to worship. Our goal is not to learn how to perform, but how to praise!
When I am not working at HCC, I teach musikgarten classes through East Dallas Children’s Music and private lessons in flute, piano, and guitar. I am also part of a local Celtic music band called The Selkie Girls where I sing and play Irish flute and tin whistle. In whatever spare time I can scrounge up, I enjoy triathlon training, reading, watching movies, baking and cooking, and spending time with my husband, Donald, daughter, Cayley, and dog, Trixie.
Music Director/Children's Music
I grew up in a musical family and don't remember a time when music was not a part of my life. My father is a trombone player and my mother is a pianist so it wasn't a matter of if I would play an instrument, but what. I began studying flute at age 12 at Coppell Middle School East and ultimately earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 2007 from Baylor. I was blessed with wonderful church choir directors growing up who gave me a fantastic foundation in singing and who helped me develop a love of musical service. I have always felt closest to God when playing music or singing and I am so grateful to be able to use those gifts for the glory of Jesus Christ!
God brought me to Hackberry Creek Church when I was finishing up my student teaching semester here in the DFW area. I had never experienced such a true representation of a "church family" and I began serving on the worship team from day one. In addition to serving as an assistant music director, I have served as the Children's Music Director here at Hackberry Creek since 2015 and hope that I can continue to build a program where children feel a connection to Jesus Christ through music and learning how to worship. Our goal is not to learn how to perform, but how to praise!
When I am not working at HCC, I teach musikgarten classes through East Dallas Children’s Music and private lessons in flute, piano, and guitar. I am also part of a local Celtic music band called The Selkie Girls where I sing and play Irish flute and tin whistle. In whatever spare time I can scrounge up, I enjoy triathlon training, reading, watching movies, baking and cooking, and spending time with my husband, Donald, daughter, Cayley, and dog, Trixie.
John Banach
Membership Administrator
Email John Banach
I grew up in East Orange, NJ. I've been a member of Hackberry Creek Church for nine years. Prior to moving to the Dallas Metroplex in 2010, I was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood where I served on staff in the Evangelism Department, with a specialty in Membership. I'm a graduate of Princeton (Economics) and the University of Chicago (MBA). I like to read, watch films, and write. Two of my plays were produced by our church: "The Trial of Dietrich Bonhoeffer," and "Interview With Sojourner Truth."
Membership Administrator
Email John Banach
I grew up in East Orange, NJ. I've been a member of Hackberry Creek Church for nine years. Prior to moving to the Dallas Metroplex in 2010, I was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood where I served on staff in the Evangelism Department, with a specialty in Membership. I'm a graduate of Princeton (Economics) and the University of Chicago (MBA). I like to read, watch films, and write. Two of my plays were produced by our church: "The Trial of Dietrich Bonhoeffer," and "Interview With Sojourner Truth."