Bill Novak
Lead Pastor
Pastor Bill Novak is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and the lead pastor at Morton UMC. A Montana native, Pastor Bill comes to Morton most recently from First United Methodist Church in Cheyenne Wyoming. He is married to Abby, a registered nurse at OSF, and they have four daughters, Wynne, Beatrice, Mabel, and Clementine. Pastor Bill enjoys the preaching, teaching, and caring aspects of ministry and is always ready to talk about basketball any time of year. He looks forward to a life of discipleship together.

Adam Penn
Associate Pastor
Pastor Adam has been an Ordained Elder in the UMC since graduating from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in 2015. He and his wife Jessica were both born and raised in the Peoria area, and have two sons: Levi and Judah. Pastor Adam has a heart for helping people of all ages connect the Bible to their life stories, and equipping people to live into Jesus’ call to be salt and light to a broken world. Pastor Adam co-hosts a podcast called Midnight Theology, and he and Jessica were in a band called Harbor at Sea, whose "Better Things" EP is available on iTunes and Spotify.

Megan Benckendorf
Ministry Office Manager
Megan grew up in Tuscaloosa, AL with her two siblings and parents. She originally worked in many different roles in healthcare before moving her skills to the church. She moved to Morton in 2020 with her husband Noah. She enjoys knitting and hanging out with her two dogs and two cats.

Kerry Brenkman
Cross Connections Worship Leader
Kerry has been leading worship for our Cross Connections service for almost 20 years. A native Texan, Kerry graduated from Sam Houston State University with a music degree before moving to Morton 23 years ago. When she’s not planning or participating in worship, you can find her spending time with her husband Steve and their children Darby and Kyle. Other than creating music, Kerry enjoys sewing, reading, pickleball, and walking with her fur babies Birdie & SíSí.

Jane Chapman
Organist
Jane grew up in Osceola, WI. Her first career choice was nursing, however the University she attended discontinued the nursing program the year she began. Music Therapy was her next plan. In 1980 she became the "temporary" Church Organist - and still plays for the church today! She feels, with joy, that she is applying a ministry of "Music Therapy" as God planned.