Pastor Dan Cramer grew up in Pittsburgh before attending bible college to pursue the Lord’s call to ministry in his life. He traveled to Scotland for an intensive with YWAM (Youth With a Mission) called Summer of Service, where he met his wife, Charlene.
They stayed in Great Britain to plant their first Church in Scotland and, eventually, a second church in England. Coming back to Pittsburgh in 1985, Dan and Charlene now pastor their third church, Zion Christian Church in Carrick. Zion was launched on Christmas Eve of 1991 at the Howard Johnson’s Hotel .and has been a beacon of light in the greater Pittsburgh area.
Charlene was called to ministry as a teenager, when God gave her a vision of herself in a boat on a stormy sea, leaving lights along the coastline to help guide people to safety. Charlene and her husband, Dan, have left “three lights” during their time in ministry: they’ve established three churches in three different countries and have helped others to establish even more.
Charlene leads the Women’s Ministry and Prayer Ministry at Zion Christian Church in Pittsburgh. She’s a talented Bible teacher, a comforting counselor, and a strong prayer leader. She has a sympathetic heart for the hurting and is an encourager to many.
Ed Freidenberger has a sense of the holy presence of God and leads our church in worship every Sunday. Ed was voted Pittsburgh’s Best Pianist twice and is passionate about guiding others into a personal connection with the Lord.
Pastor Tom Duke leads the Wednesday night Bible study and often instructs and encourages the congregation on Sundays with a sermon. You can usually find him greeting everyone with a smile at the beginning of service.
Janet McCauley, over 50 years of dance training. Professional Dance instructor for many years. I trained in tap, ballet, jazz and lyrical throughout the Pittsburgh area. Now my focus is expressive worship dance. My training with Dancing For Him Ministries includes expressive signing through Dance, billow cloth beauty, the use of streamers and much more.
I look forward to dance class each week with the youth which includes fun warm-ups and preparing dances that we do for our congregation on special occasions.
My hope is my students will gain confidence, grace, discipline and a deeper connection to their faith through dance.
I am 22 years old and originally from Texas. About three years ago, the Lord brought me to Pittsburgh for a Discipleship Training School, and afterward He called me to stay and serve as a full-time missionary. I have been in full-time missions for the past two years, and this year I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with the Alpha Youth Program here at Zion. It has been wonderful to serve with the youth and grow in valuable skills such as preparation and time management. Most of all, I have been excited to see God use this ministry to impact students’ lives, and I look forward to watching their relationships with Him continue to grow.