Our Team
Mark Carlsson
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Mark loves helping people find and follow Jesus. The areas of ministry he enjoys most include preaching and teaching Scripture, making disciples who make disciples, and leading the church toward flourishing and impact in the world.
Mark has served in ministry since 1994 and is ordained in the Church of Sweden. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Mark is married to his sweetheart, Christie, and is the proud father of two sons in college. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, hiking, fishing, mushroom hunting, skiing, and drumming.
He’d love to connect with you on a walk or over a meal!
Lead Pastor
Scott Murray
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Scott Murray has been serving in ministry since 1999, with a passion for helping people encounter Jesus in authentic and life-changing ways. Over the years, he has served primarily in youth ministry, while also spending time as a young adults pastor. Scott currently serves at The Grove, where he leads worship and programs at the church while continuing to invest deeply in the next generation and communicate God’s Word in a practical and relatable way.
Scott and his wife Katie have four wonderful children and love doing ministry and life together as a family. A funny fact about Scott is that if he is not at church, there is a pretty good chance you will find him either wandering the aisles of Costco or somewhere on a golf course.
Worship & Programming Pastor
Laney Bauman
Children’s Ministry Director
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Laney loves being able to work with kids to teach them more about and connect with Jesus while also getting to run things behind the scenes and working on the fundamentals to run the Grove Kids! She has been in the Children's Ministry in a leadership role for a year, but has been serving since she was in middle school. She graduated with her degree in early childhood education and part time aides in a preschool classroom during the week. Laney and her husband, Jake, have an energetic puppy keeping them on their toes!
When she isn’t working, you will probably find her at a concert (especially country), drinking coffee or rewatching her favorite binge worthy shows (and coloring)!
Fun facts:
Coffee order: Vanilla latte (literally anything vanilla)
Favorite verse: Romans 8:18
Ask me about: kids surviving and thriving with learning disabilities in schools today
She’d love to meet your family on Sunday morning!
Alison Gardner
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Alison treasures working in and supporting the body of Christ. When she is not managing the office of The Grove Church, she is either teaching math and science at Classical Consortium Academy homeschool group, or providing support for her two young adult sons and her husband Joe at home in Elk Grove Village. Her favorite free time activities are driving to Michigan to visit family, hiking, gardening, cooking, and visiting and praying with friends.
Favorite things: coffee, family time, listening to people’s life stories, and sleep.
Office Manager
Leah Jensen
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Leah enjoys supporting others in her role as administrative assistant and has found so much joy leading women’s ministry, helping women build meaningful relationships with one another while growing deeper in their faith. With a background in education, she is passionate about using her organizational and communication skills wherever God places her.
Leah and her husband, Carl, have two young daughters, whom Leah also homeschools. As a family, they love camping, watching movies, doing puzzles and playing board games.
Fun facts:
Favorite beverage: lime sparkling water
In my earbuds: Shane & Shane
Most memorable vacation: the Great Smoky Mountains
She would love to connect at church or over coffee!
Administrative Assistant
Don Lipp
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Don brings over 25 years of facilities management experience, including a 22-year tenure at Timothy Christian Schools. Downers Grove residents since 1982, Don and his wife, Natalie, have two children and four grandchildren. Don has played drums from an early age and has been playing in church since 1995. He and Natalie were original members of the plant that became The Grove. Don says, “Being part of this church since its beginning has been a blessing and I look forward to what God will do as we continue to move forward.”
Facilities Director