meet the team
We invite you to get to know our staff and elders. Reach out to us at any point if you have questions or need information.
Kris Hassanpour
Lead Pastor of Anchor Church
Kris is our Lead Pastor overseeing organizational direction, teaching, communication, administration, and leadership development for our church.
Melanie Rivera
Administrative Director
Melanie is our Administrative Director and helps to organize all of Anchor Church’s meetings, events, gatherings, and ministry teams.
Sheldon White
Worship Director
Sheldon is our Worship Leader and oversees the music and production elements for our Sunday gatherings.
Olivia Camp
Communications Director
Olivia is our Communications Director and is responsible for planning and facilitating digital media, as well as church communication through written and digital platforms.
Meet the Elders
Our elders are responsible for the care and protection of our church family. They’re also responsible for the culture and health of our church. Each of these men meet the qualifications of an elder in 1 Timothy 3 and demonstrate a desire and ability to make disciples. This is important to us at Anchor Church, because we understand the role of an elder to be primarily a shepherding role. In other words, we spend more time focusing on disciple-making than decision-making. However, because of the length of training and relational investment in these men, we consider them to be trustworthy and capable of making major decisions on behalf of the church, taking every chance and making every opportunity to receive input from our church family and partners as we consider how God might be leading Anchor Church to take steps of faith in following him.
Kris Hassanpour
As the Lead Pastor, Kris sees it as his top priority (and the top priority of every church planter) to raise up other elders (plurality) who are equal in responsibility and authority (parity). Joanne and Kris have 3 children and have been married for 12+ years. They have given themselves fully to love and care for Anchor Church as long as God will allow! They value things like transparency and hospitality and are excited to be a part of a church family where these things are also valued.
Greg Lee
Greg and Sarah have three children and have been married for 12+ years. They've been a part of Anchor since its beginning and have served on the worship and production teams in various roles. They currently lead and host a Community Group in the Thoroughgood section of Virginia Beach. They've appreciated the growth and learning that elder training has provided and they are looking forward to serving the church family as a part of the elder team.
Heath Oderman
Heath and Melissa have three boys - West, Erik, and Josiah. They both grew up in Virginia Beach and have been a part of Anchor Church since the beginning. They love the welcoming character of the church and its leadership. The Odermans are most excited to serve Anchor because of the personal growth in Christ that will always be required and the opportunity to be a part of seeing Jesus impact lives.