Meet Our Staff

  • Aaron Krueger

    Senior Minister

    aaron@crownheights.church

    Hello, my name is Aaron Krueger. I am the Senior Minister here at Crown Heights Christian Church. When we arrived at CHCC in 2010, our oldest child was 10 months old. Since then, we have added two more to our family. My wife, Emma, and I have been married for over 10 years, and I believe I am the luckiest man in the world to have such an intelligent, kind, thoughtful, creative, organized and beautiful wife. She has served a number of roles here at Crown Heights Christian Church, such as Deacon, Christian Education Team Co-Chair and Interim Children’s Minister.


    I grew up in a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) church. My parents were very active in my home church, and church has always played a big part of my life. I attended Oklahoma State University for one year. Then, I transferred to Oklahoma Christian University, where I graduated with a degree in ministry. Several years later, I felt a call to pursue a Master’s degree at Phillips Theological Seminary. In 2015, I graduated from Phillips and was ordained shortly thereafter at Crown Heights Christian Church.


    My greatest joy is spending time with family. Together we play, spend time outdoors, exercise, hike and cook together. Occasionally, I play basketball and golf. More often than that, though, I enjoy reading and learning.  We really enjoy cheering on the Oklahoma State Cowboys (Go Pokes!) and the Oklahoma City Thunder. We root for other Oklahoma schools, as well (when they’re not playing the Cowboys). I am also a Green Bay Packers and a Milwaukee Brewers fan. As you can tell, I am very adept at dealing with adversity and perseverance as an OSU and Brewers fan.


    Our family loves this church. We feel very blessed to be a part of such a wonderful community, focused on serving God and helping others. The people here are generous, kind, caring, loving and filled with a desire to know Christ more fully. We would be overjoyed if you, too, decided to be a part of such a special group of people, worshipping and serving alongside each of us.

  • Pam Ballew

    business manager

    pam@crownheights.church

    Pam (Roney) Ballew joined Crown Heights in 2016. Pam was raised Disciple of Christ on the Texas border town of Del Rio.  Pam is married to Gaines Ballew and has two kids, Lillie Van Pool and her husband Bart and Landon Roney and his fiancée Ireya.  Pam and Gaines have two cats, Dynamo and Bear.  They reside in Edmond where they are members of Santa Fe Presbyterian Church.

  • Jazmin nichols

    Interim DIRECTOR OF cdc

    CDC@CROWNHEIGHTS.CHURCH

    Hello, my name is Jazmin Nichols. I am the Director for the Crown Heights Child Development Center. I joined Crown Heights Christian Child Development Center in 2015. I enjoy working with children and building healthy relationships with families. I have chosen to use my Certificate of Mastery certification to focus on having an environment and curriculum to support all areas of development. I also make it a priority to ensure the developmental needs of children are being met.


    I am a certified professional who loves working for the CDC and overseeing the facility's day-to-day operations. It takes a big heart to shape little minds, and I must say my heart is extremely big. 

  • Kaleb Benda

    Music DIRECTOR

    My name is Kaleb Benda and I am the Music Director here at Crown Heights Christian Church. I am coming to you all from St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church where I directed the choir and handbell ensemble. In addition to being a church musician, I also serve as the Music Director of the Oklahoma Chamber Symphony and Assistant Conductor of the Enid Symphony Orchestra. As an educator, I am on the music faculty at Oklahoma Christian University where I am the conductor of the chamber orchestra, and I am the Director of Music at Mount St. Mary Catholic High School. 

    I hold a master of music in conducting from Oklahoma City University, a bachelor of music education from the University of North Texas, and additional studies in Budapest, Hungary. I grew up in Norman, Oklahoma where my family attended St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. My wife, Ashley, and I live in Oklahoma City with our two dachshunds, Lenny and Jet. Ashley is an acute Speech-Language Pathologist and holds a leadership position in rehabilitation at OU Medical Center. We are very excited to be attending Crown Heights Christian Church and meeting you all!

  • Madison Showalter

    Children and Youth Program Director

    MADISON@CROWNHEIGHTS.CHURCH

    Hi! My name is Madison Showalter and I am the Children and Youth program director here at Crown Heights Christian Church. I grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas and graduated from West Texas A&M University with a degree in Early Childhood Education. I have been involved in the Disciples of Christ Church community since 3rd grade and have developed connections with other DOC members all across the US. In my free time, I love to sit at coffee shops and read, as well as spending time outside on picnics or on a hike. I attempt to be active by taking dance and boxing classes but still get tired after walking up a flight of stairs. I live with my cat, Bukowski, who is my pride and joy. He makes sure all the plants in my apartment have at least one bite out of a leaf. I am so excited to be at Crown Heights Christian Church and share the love that God has for each and every one of us.

  • Gillian O'Daniel

    Online creative director

    gillian@crownheights.church

    Hello! My name is Gillian O'Daniel and I am the Online Creative Director at Crown Heights.  I have been singing in the choir at Crown Heights since my sophomore year of college, and I am thrilled to be serving the community in a new way through this position. I have always been interested in technology and my previous work includes web design, event planning, and media editing. I recently graduated from Oklahoma City University with a Bachelor's of Music in Music Theatre. I enjoy reading, cooking, playing guitar, and staying active in my free time.