Ron Zappia, Senior Pastor

Ron grew up as any good Italian kid from Cleveland: attending church and following tradition. It wasn't until he was 28, however, that his marriage fell into crisis and he understood he needed a relationship to save him, not a religion. As only God can do it, Ron and Jody, turned to Jesus in repentance and faith and committed their lives to follow Him.

Before ministry, Ron crunched numbers as an accountant and worked in sales, selling nozzles and valves to municipalities and chemical companies. God had other plans for him though, calling him to leave all that glory behind to attend seminary, work as Student Ministries pastor at Harvest Rolling Meadows, and in 2000, to plant Harvest Glen Ellyn (now Naperville). A nozzle still sits on his study shelf, a reminder of how big and unexpected God's plan has been! With a passion to see others ignite a love for Jesus in their own personal lives, Ron is driven to see lives changed by the power of Jesus.

You may think it's Ron's lack of a middle name, his commanding height, or his coordination and skill on the basketball court that sets him apart from your average pastor, when really, the amount of dish soap he uses provides him with such a marked distinction. When Ron leads meal clean-up in the Zappia household, it's an accepted fact that half a bottle of Dawn disappears. His other hobbies include sporting a messenger bag like Jack Bauer, watching 24 marathons, and running in 5k & 10k races with Jody and the girls. Still in his prime, he works to retain his youth by following his daughters' clothing suggestions and cruising the concert scene with Jody, highlighting the bands from their high school days. Ron's claim to fame is his (brief) appearance on America's Funniest Home Videos. Curious? Click here (he's the guy being strangled).