RPC Staff Update

RPC Staff Update

RPC Membership Coordinator Lori Dante, who has been on the RPC staff since 2012, will retire from her role at the end of December.

Lori and Jim Dante, along with their children, Jimmy and Julianna, first came to Redeemer in 2003. The Dantes briefly relocated to Charlottesville, Virginia, from 2007 to 2009, and Lori worked on the staff of a church there, discovering a great love for the behind-the-scenes ministry of church administration. After the Dantes returned to San Antonio, Lori joined the Redeemer staff full-time in 2012 as Administrative Assistant. In that role, she managed Redeemer’s front desk, weekly bulletin, church communications, welcomed visitors to Newcomers Desserts and Introduction to Redeemer classes, and maintained name tags for members and visitors. In 2014, as Redeemer moved into its permanent downtown home and entered a phase of significant growth, Lori became Redeemer’s first dedicated Membership Coordinator, shifting into a part-time role.

While much of Lori’s work is unseen, her gracious and welcoming presence has been an integral part of Redeemer’s growth. Before new members stand in front of the congregation to join the church, Lori oversees each step of their membership process, following up with them after their first visit, helping them sign up for a newcomers’ dessert and membership class, and scheduling a membership interview with Redeemer’s elders. Lori also takes photos of baptisms and professions of faith, helping members document important milestones.

One of Lori’s most enduring contributions to the administrative structure of Redeemer is her tireless work to build and maintain the Church Community Builder (CCB) database. Lori began building Redeemer’s CCB database in 2013, giving the church a centralized system to track visitors, maintain member contact information, and manage the many details of a large and growing congregation. Lori puts great care into documenting in CCB the births of new children, baptisms, professions of faith, marriages, deaths, relocations, and membership transfers, tracking all the seasons of life at Redeemer.

And Lori has had a profound impact on evangelism at Redeemer in recent years, as the Lord has seen fit to repeatedly answer her prayer request, offered at a staff retreat several years ago, to see fifty adults newly come to faith in Christ through our shared and scattered witness as a congregation. Thanks be to God!

RPC Lead Pastor Paul Hahn thanks Lori for the love and commitment she has brought to her role at Redeemer. “Lori has devoted herself to serving Redeemer’s people and mission with excellence. Her prayers to see fifty adults come to Christ through our collective and personal ministries have been answered in beautiful ways. Her love and care for others is palpable. She has made a lasting impact on all of us, and we wish her the very best. We look forward to Jim and Lori’s continued presence and ministry among us at Redeemer.”

Georgianna Hildebrand will assume the role of Membership Coordinator, in addition to her current responsibilities as Nursery Coordinator, starting in January. Georgianna is married to Bernard, and they have three children, Trey, Julie, and Mariam. The Hildebrand family has been at Redeemer since 2006, and Georgianna has been on staff as Nursery Coordinator since 2016. Georgianna describes her desire to carry forward Lori’s fruitful work as she steps into this new role: “I have always been thankful for the way Lori welcomes people to Redeemer as Membership Coordinator, and I am so excited to continue that legacy of hospitality! In my role as Nursery Coordinator, I have seen how important it is for everyone to feel welcomed from the moment they come through our doors, and I am honored to be even more involved in that work now.”

Co-Lead Pastor Matt Beham, who works closely with the Membership Coordinator, says, "We’re so excited for Georgianna to take up the role of Membership Coordinator. Her eye for detail and love for the people of Redeemer make her a perfect fit.”

Lori’s last day on the staff will be December 31st. Please join us in encouraging Georgianna in her new role and thanking Lori for her service at Redeemer!