WYLDLIFE DIRECTOR

Chanteé Wilson is the WyldLife Director for Southwest Fort Wayne Indiana. She lives in Fort Wayne with her husband Sherman and her son Nicholas. Chanteé was is from Mansfield Ohio. Chanteé loves WyldLife because it gives her the opportunity to reach kids where they are and help lead them to Jesus.

LEADER

Jeff Esslinger and his wife, Brenda, have two girls; Madelynn and Charis, and a granddaughter named Sutton. Jeff works as a manufacturing engineer at DePuy Synthes.

Jeff encountered many struggles during his middle school years and into adulthood, until his life was forever changed by the Gospel in his late twenties. Today, Jeff has passion to share the love of Jesus with middle schoolers, with the hope of encouraging and leading them to understand the truth of whose they are in Jesus Christ! ​ Jeff’s love of sports and goofy nature are a couple of the ways that he best connects with the middle schoolers at Wyldlife. 1 Peter 2:9

LEADER

Missy Link is a Pre-K teacher at the Chapel Christian Preschool. She is originally from Ohio but has lived in Fort Wayne for 14 years. She and her husband Rick have 2 daughters and one son-in-law. Missy loves baking cakes and crafting in her free time. She loves volunteering with WyldLife to develop relationships with middle schoolers and to be apart of their faith journey.

LEADER

Reese Hoffer is a senior at Homestead High School. Reese plans to go to college next year undecided in major and school. Reese lives in Southwest Fort Wayne with her two younger siblings, parents, and dogs. Reese joined YoungLife with a passion of learning more about Jesus and joining a community of Christ followers. A fun fact about Reese is that she does gymnastics and unified sports!

LEADER

Branson Birkey is a high school student at Homestead High school. He lives in Fort Wayne with his mom, dad, and two brothers. He enjoys bringing people to Christ and sharing God's Word. Branson enjoys running and participates in track and cross country.

LEADER

Khara Ringen is a kindergarten teacher at Whispering Meadows Elementary School. She is from Royal Center, IN, but has lived in Fort Wayne for the past 24 years. She is married to Jesse and they have 2 daughters, Kennedy and Madison. She loves to watch her girls participate in cheerleading, softball, and track. She enjoys being a WyldLife leader to share the love that Jesus has for each and every middle school student!

LEADER

LEADER

Lola Graf is a senior at Homestead High School. She is attending Grand Canyon University in the fall to study Marketing and Advertising. She is from Fort Wayne and lives with her parents and brother. Lola is also a student-athlete. Lola loves YoungLife and the opportunity to connect with students to share her love for Jesus.

LEADER

Kennedy is a junior at Homestead High School. She is a cheerleader for football and basketball. She also runs unifed track in the spring. Kennedy loves growing relationships with the students at Wyldlife and watching the students grow their own relationships with God.

LEADER

Landon Murdock is a senior at Homestead High School. He plans on attending Trine University next for Mechanical Engineering. He lives in Fort Wayne with his mom, dad, brother, and two dogs. Landon was drawn to volunteer for WyldLife by his desire to see kids grow in their relationship with God from an early age in their life. He also enjoys running the hurdles in track and playing the violin for the Homestead Orchestra.

LEADER

Phil Laughlin lives in Fort Wayne with his wife Joni and their 2 sons Nicholas and Noah. Phil and Joni have been married since 1998. Phil works for the railroad. He enjoys hunting, fishing, cooking/baking, and really likes to BBQ. Phil is involved with Young Life because he wants to make sure Gen Z and Gen Alpha know they matter and are known.

LEADER

Sophia Wulliman is a college student at Huntington University studying Occupational Therapy. She is passionate about the mission of Young Life and loves being around kids. She also loves to go where they are and seeing them participate in their after school activities.

LEADER

LEADER

LEADER

Brenda Esslinger is a devoted wife, mother, and affectionately known as “Sugar” to her only granddaughter. Fort Wayne native, she finds joy in spreading laughter and brightening people’s day. As a volunteer, she supports the WyldLife ministry at Canterbury Middle School through Donuts and Devos before school on Tuesday mornings.