staff

Adventure Club

Early Childhood Director & Mini Adventure Club Director

Jessi Telgenhoff
Lead Graphic Designer & Blessing Place Director

Lisa DenBleyker
KidsPlace Director

Dawn Buttrey
KidsPlace Assistant

Shania Buttrey
Children's Ministry Check-in Coordinator & Staff Support

Suzzi Snydar
Admin Assistant in Children's Ministry

Laurel VanderYacht
Early Childhood Administrative Assistant

Emily Colacillo
Childcare Coordinator

Shawna Sletvik
Director of Special Events

Elisa Cuellar
Early Childhood Director & Mini Adventure Club Director

Jessi Telgenhoff

Jessi was born and raised in Whatcom County. After graduating from Lynden High School in 2006, she attended YWAM Germany, where she grew deeper in her faith and understanding of the Lord. She went on to Thailand where she worked alongside a ministry that helped empower women to get off the streets and find their identity in Christ. After returning to Whatcom County, Jessi attended Northwest Hair Academy, and she uses her training and talents to help empower and love her clients. In 2013, Jessi married the love of her life Craig and was also blessed to become a mom to their precious Faith and in 2015 they welcomed their son, Daniel. Jessi loves spending time with her wonderful little family and enjoying the beautiful northwest and all it has to offer.

Email:jessi.telgenhoff@ncctk.com

Lead Graphic Designer & Blessing Place Director

Lisa DenBleyker

Once upon a time, there was a chick named Lisa. Her parents were tired of the hustle & bustle of the city & decided to open a Dairy Queen up in a small town where the grass was green, the cows were numerous & all was well in the land. So, in the summer of ’84, they packed their bags & moved up north to Lynden. Lisa went to Lynden High School & then graduated from WWU with a Visual Communications Degree. After a few frogs, she found her prince charming & married Tim Den Bleyker in 1996. Shortly after, lo & behold, children started to appear: Bo, Bailee & twin boys, Eli & Zach. Lisa has always loved art & graphic design & thoroughly enjoys what she does with the creative gifts God has blessed her with. After years of working at various places as a designer, she has found her “glass slipper” in a perfect fit here at Christ the King as their Lead Graphic Designer. And her happy ending? To be able to eat ice cream, Skittles & pizza without getting fat, to learn to not sweat the small stuff, & MOST importantly, for her kids to love & trust the Lord & be confident in Him, & for the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl. Amen.

Email:lisa.denbleyker@ncctk.com

KidsPlace Director

Dawn Buttrey

Long ago and far away in the land of Ohio, a precocious child was born (shortly after dinosaurs became extinct) and grew up in a loving household but not one who followed Jesus – at all. Upon graduating from high school at the ripe old age of 17, Dawn drove her 72 Vega out West to California where she took on many different jobs and heard about Jesus from a workmate and chose to follow Him. Shortly thereafter, she met the man of her dreams (literally) and promptly got married in 1986 to her husband, Randy. Upon the birth of their first child, Samantha, this new family followed their dream to live in the beautiful PNW and moved to Whatcom County in 1991. A few years later, their son, Dakota was born and then a few more years later, their daughter Shania was born. At last their family was complete and after many nomadic adventures in California and Idaho, returned to their beloved Whatcom County where they settled down at NCCTK and finally found their “framily”. Dawn began working at NCCTK in 2008 and has had various jobs, but in 2012, she found her passion – teaching kids about the unfailing love of Jesus and the greatness of God. Dawn LOVES kids and truly enjoys hearing their precious stories and doing her best to make sure they know they were created on purpose by a loving and all powerful God who has great plans for their futures – futures filled with hope.

Email:dawn.buttrey@ncctk.com

KidsPlace Assistant

Shania Buttrey

On a warm spring morning in 1998, the most wonderful surprise came to a loving family of 4: Randy, Dawn, Samantha and Dakota…Shania Raye Buttrey was born. And ever since then, this thoughtful, detailed, super shy and artistic child was raised in a truly one of a kind family where siblings never argued and always got along and outdid each other in kind deeds……NOT! Unlike most families, where siblings have time apart, her mother chose to home-school them all from K-12th – much to the chagrin of the Buttrey children : ) After years of being home-schooled and hearing, “Fair is a place where they show pigs and horses”, Shania chose to begin volunteering in Children’s Ministry at NCCTK at the then Everson campus along with her siblings and parents. At the age of 14, Shania’s mom lassoed her into helping out in KidsPlace and began running sound and being a small group leader. A year or so later, Shania became an official NCCTK staff member where her duties and responsibilities quickly increased – mainly taking care of her mother and her technological shortcomings and making sure she’s on top of things ; ) Shania has found her passion – helping kids know their Creator and Savior and loving kids who are having a hard time and feeling insecure. Shania loves being the KidsPlace Assistant because she gets to create and research, but mostly because she gets to work with her mom – who wrote this because Shania hates talking about herself ; )

Email:shania.buttrey@ncctk.com

Children's Ministry Check-in Coordinator & Staff Support

Suzzi Snydar

Suzzi was raised primarily on the Olympic Peninsula and traveled a lot as a child in the great Northwest because her father was a musician. Suzzi has been employed at NCCTK since 2007. She enjoys getting families plugged in and making sure they know all that is available to them at NCCTK. Suzzi is Check-in Coordinator and nearly every Sunday you will find her meeting and greeting new families in the KidsPlace Commons. Suzzi is passionate about safe environments for children and has furthered her training to be a Stewards of Children Facilitator. She is a DO-ER of many things for the KidsPlace team and you will frequently see Suzzi doing ministry shopping, cooking for the team and volunteers for all our events. She LOVES to feed her people and keep them energized to serve the LORD. She has 11 pet companions on her families farm, 10 of which that have been adopted or rescued. That’s right! 4 dogs and 6 indoor/outdoor cats. She has a Border Collie cattle dog in training for work on the farm. Who’s training who is the question! She’s a bit of an animal whisperer.

Email:suzzi.snydar@ncctk.com

Admin Assistant in Children's Ministry

Laurel VanderYacht

Laurel grew up in Lynden, WA and graduated from Lynden High School in 2018. She is currently attending Western Washington University for a degree in Early Childhood Education and qualifications in Spanish and Education & Social Justice. Laurel has worked with kids all her life, starting with babysitting and volunteering at NCCTK in the preschool rooms. She started working at NCCTK in 2017 and has gotten to work with all different age groups. Now, you can find her teaching in our preschool rooms! Laurel loves showing the littles how precious they are and how much Jesus loves them. She also loves spending time with her family, reading, crocheting, and everything to do with coffee!

Email:laurel.vanderyacht@ncctk.com

Early Childhood Administrative Assistant

Emily Colacillo

Emily grew up in Lynden and became a Christian after attending middle school youth group here at NCCTK. She served in middle school and high school ministry for 6 years until she moved to Argentina as a full time missionary with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) where she met and married her best friend Cristian in 2013. In January 2017 they moved to Lynden. Together they have two daughters, Sofía and Constanza.
Emily loves loving people and wants to help them realize their full potential in Christ. She also loves all things soccer, pineapples, hippopotamuses and dinosaurs.

Email:emily.colacillo@ncctk.com

Childcare Coordinator

Shawna Sletvik

Shawna was born and raised in Deming, WA. She attended college at Whatcom Community College and studied Business Administration. She married her husband in 2007 and they have two sons and a daughter together. In 2008 she started volunteering with the toddler’s at NCCTK and absolutely loved it! In September of 2012, Shawna started her career at NCCTK. God has given her a passion for working with young children and she feels blessed to be working with God’s youngest children. She loves spending time with family, scrapbooking, doing crafts with her children and reading! If the sun is shining, you will see her outside playing with her children.

Email:shawna.sletvik@ncctk.com

Director of Special Events

Elisa Cuellar

Elisa Cuellar grew up all over the United States but came to Lynden in high school. She married her husband Randy in 2004 and started working at NCCTK in 2007. She has 3 beautiful daughters, Crystal, Bailey & Alexa. God has blessed Elisa with a detailed and organized creative mind, a heart and a passion for serving kids and families through Children’s Ministry, and connecting with young women to help them discover their identity in Christ. You will always see Elisa wearing fabulous shoes; but as much as she loves shopping, she loves reading a good book with some hot tea and a cozy blanket! If Elisa could be any animal, she would be a bear so that she could eat as much as she wanted in the warm sunny weather and then sleep for six months in a cozy cave.

Email:elisa.cuellar@ncctk.com

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