Meet Our Staff

Learn about our pastors and staff guiding NWCOV with care.

Meet the Leaders Who Guide Our Community

new

Smiling woman with long blonde hair in a kitchen setting.

Sarah Winter

Pastor of Family Ministries

Sarah grew up in Buffalo Grove, Illinois before going to Purdue University to study Civil Engineering. After working as a Project Manager for 10 years, she left engineering and followed her heart and call into ministry. She graduated from NorthPark Seminary with a MACF in May, 2022 and is pursing her Spiritual Direction Certification. She has served as Children and Family Pastor at DeerGrove Covenant Church in Palatine and Forest City Church in Elgin and lives in Hoffman Estates with her husband Tim and her kids Kaleigh, Kyle and Quinn.

Sarah has a passion for sharing our Christian Story with believers of all ages. Living out Ephesians 2:10, she believes that we are all God’s masterpieces, created to do incredible things through Christ and she is very grateful to be able to share in the faith journeys of our Northwest Covenant Church community.

Smiling man with glasses and curly hair against a gray backdrop.

Jake Jacott

Director of Student Ministries

Jake is originally from Minnesota and grew up in the northwest suburbs of the Twin Cities. He later attended North Park University in Chicago, graduating with history and biblical and theological studies degrees. He was also a member of the men's golf team. Jake also served as summer staff and an intern at Covenant Point Bible Camp in Iron River, Michigan, and spent a year as a youth intern at Northwest Covenant in 2022. Jake returned to Northwest Covenant in August of 2024, where he began serving as the Director of Student Ministries.

A smiling elderly woman in a blue cardigan and patterned scarf.

Daun Geissler

Director of Administration and Communication

Daun was born and raised in Mt. Prospect. She attended North Park University and worked for a major oil company for 20 years before coming back to Northwest as the Director of Children and Family Ministries in 1995. Daun became the Director of Administration and Communication in 2018.

New

Portrait of a bearded man with a calm expression, wearing a dark shirt.

Joshua Smith

Director of Worship

Joshua joined the team at Northwest Covenant in 2022. Joshua has served at Winnetka Covenant Church prior to joining Northwest Covenant.