Will is a native Texan with a background in both campus and church ministry. In 2010, God called him to round up some friends to plant a church in Central Austin together. His teaching and leadership is driven by a growing hope that the gospel really does change everything. He attended Stephen F. Austin State University and Covenant Theological Seminary. Will and his wife Debbie have two boys, Ethan and Holden.
Todd Stewman
After serving 19 years in campus ministry, Todd helped plant Providence Church in 2010 and has been one of our pastors ever since. He is captivated by the idea of growing a gospel-centered church in Austin that will plant churches, multiply disciples of Jesus, and extend God’s kingdom in our city and the world. Todd graduated from the University of Texas at Austin (B.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (M.A.), and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (D.Min). He and his wife Amy have three daughters.
Kendal Haug
After earning degrees from the University of Texas and Dallas Theological Seminary, and 2-and-a-half years in Omaha working on staff at Coram Deo Church, Kendal moved back to his hometown of Austin to help Will and Debbie plant Providence Church. His leadership is driven by a desire to see people holistically formed in their worship of God, as they come to treasure Jesus above all things.
He enjoys spending as much time as possible building things with his hands, and he believes that vinyl is often the best way to listen to an album. Kendal and his wife Ashley have two daughters, Ruby and Frances, and a son, Hank.
Jason Collins
Jason is one of the founding members of Providence and has a background in small group ministry, counseling, and conflict resolution. His prayer for Providence is that we maintain gospel centrality and continue the great work of applying the gospel to all of life. Jason is an attorney and accountant by training who attended A&M, UT, and Dallas Theological Seminary. Jason and his wife Lisa have five kids, Connor, Keri, Ryan, Kaitlin, and Clare.
Marat Chafigoulline
Marat is a Russian-born transplant from a Muslim background, who became a Christian at the end of the 20th century. He and his wife Ophelia decided to help plant Providence Church in 2010, after moving back to Austin from Moscow. They love Providence because of its gospel focus, the teaching, the people, and the unwavering commitment to love God and people in a community. Marat is a certified nerd who studied Physics and Electrical Engineering at Georgia Tech in Atlanta but then ended up in the software industry. He now works at Indeed as a Director of Software Engineering, where he tries to figure out daily how to apply the good news of the gospel to help the company mission of helping people get jobs. Ophelia and Marat have two boys, Emil and Elias.
Steve Zinnecker
Steve is a Texan by birth and an Austinite since 1970. He was raised in the Presbyterian Church but wandered spiritually in the 70’s and 80’s before the Holy Spirit got his full attention and commitment in 1990. With degrees in psychology and social work from UT, Steve worked in the mental health field in a variety of settings before taking an HR role with LCRA as HR manager and Business Partner.
Steve and his wife Kate (married 41 years) are drawn to Providence’s young adults and families, the centrality of the Gospel and the intimacy of community. They serve as premarital counselors at Providence and lead a GC. They have two grown children living in Austin: Ben and Claire.
Nelson Monteith
Nelson helped launch Providence in 2010 as an original core member. As a longtime Gospel Community leader – and now as a deacon focused on helping GCs flourish – Nelson’s passion is centered around helping shape Christ-centered communities that prioritize faith in Jesus in every area of life. Nelson, alongside his wife, Mary, founded and operate Honest Mary’s, a local restaurant chain, and have one son, Mac.