Leadership
Eric Knoll
“Back in 1980 the center of my world was athletics. I was playing football at UNL and even played a semester of Baseball. Yet, As athletics started to challenge and not fulfill me in life due to injury and a lack of joy I made a decision to ask Jesus into the center of my life. I saw changes in my life, 2 Corinthians 5:17. This faith guided and grew during my 31 years teaching in LPS finally retiring in 2014. During that time there was a missionary with the Navigators that invested in my life and my marriage. My wife Tish and I have a passion for working with pre-marital and young married couples. We have a heart to disciple others the way others did for us.”
Eric and Tish have been a part of Citylight South since we first launched as a campus in 2018, and committed to South when we launched as our own church plant in 2020.
Ricky Kennedy
“When I was about 5 or 6 my parents were divorced and I was going to church with my mom. I was in a Sunday school class and kind of had the hell scared out of me. I didn’t want hell and Jesus seemed like a better option. After that my parents got back together and we moved but didn’t go to church. So my thoughts of God was that He was grumpy and kind of didn’t like me but He had the keys to the good place. When I was in high school I started going to church and learned more about what Jesus did on the cross and what the gospel really was. God has continued to show me over the years more of who He is and the depths of the gospel. I was a youth director for 12 years and then came onboard with Citylight as a pastor.”
Ricky, Kristy, Carson, Colton, and Everly have been a part of South since 2018. When South launched as its own plant, Ricky came on to serve as one of the Co-lead pastors.
Jason Banks
“I was raised in a Godly home. My parents love the Lord and his Word and modeled that with their lives. When I was young, my brother was getting baptized, so I asked what that meant. They explained to me that is something you do when you trust Jesus as your Savior. I said I wanted to do that too. My pastor came and spoke with me and walked me through God’s plan of salvation and I accepted Christ’s payment for my sins and God’s gift of eternal life. Through the years since, there have been many different periods of growth in my faith as I learn more and more about the character of God.”
Jason, Krista, Parker, Kinley, and Carson have been a part of Citylight South since we first launched as a campus in 2018, and committed to South when we launched as our own church plant in 2020.
Alex Leyva
“In 2014 I’d had a friend reach out to me and invite me to Cru on campus. Through my time with Cru, I met some friends that were on the track team with me. I began to fake my faith, while attending Cru, church, and Bible studies through the rest of my college career. Through a Bible study at our church, encouragement from older men to read the gospel of Mark, and a book titled “Jesus is Greater than Religion” I realized who Jesus really is and how he had paid the price for my sin. By God’s grace, I was saved in July of 2015.”
Alex, Mariah, and their little girl Eden have been a part of Citylight South since 2018. When South launched as its own plant, Alex came on to serve as one of the Co-lead pastors.
Dakoda Kilzer
“The Lord saved me in the fall of 2013 during my freshman year of college. Prior to being saved, I idolized family, friends, academics and sports. After moving to a new city for school, these idols crumbled. The Lord used a Bible study with my roommates and a sermon series through James to reveal my brokenness and need for Christ.”
Dakoda and Pamela have been a part of Citylight South since we first launched as a campus in 2018, and committed to South when we launched as our own church plant in 2020. They have two boys, Ezra and Simon, and an Australian Shepherd named Luna.