Meet our staff

Our Team

Executive Director

Craig Whisnand

My name is Craig Whisnand and I am truly blessed and honored to be stepping into this position along with the support of my wife, Lisa, and the rest of our family. Lisa and I have been married for over 35 years and we have been blessed with four incredible children: our son Blake, his wife Jessica and daughter Hazel; our daughter Rachel, husband Tony, son Nickolas and daughter Avacyn; our son Andrew and his new bride Cami; and then our youngest Stephen and his fiancé, Alexis. We are very proud of them all and hold them dear to our hearts. Raising our 4 children and interacting with many of their friends over the years, and 12 plus years of youth ministry experience has prepared me to fill this new role and provides me with the experience I need to lead a youth ministry organization.

My call for God’s Kingdom is to be a servant and pioneer now and for the future. In serving, I allow the Board and leaders around me to lead, support, and advise me as I move through the many layers of an Executive Director position. I will use my gifts of administration, encouragement, and leadership to serve God and the ministry effectively. I will be using my knowledge of church finances, facilities management, and legal issues as it relates to CMYFC. I will also be drawing on my insights in human resources, budgets and organizational knowledge to ensure we run at a high level of efficiency and growth.

I am a 35-year results-driven professional with a solid career track record for successfully propelling churches, corporations and their leaders. Known for building strong teams in both business and church settings, I am also a strong communicator with valuable negotiation and problem-solving skills. I also understand the importance of solid fundraising and donor retention to ensure the financial strength of a nonprofit to help ensure we are always moving forward. I am excited to meet each of you and to continue this journey of the ministry of CMYFC.

Executive Administrative Assistant

Maggie Cruz

My name is Maggie Cruz. My interest for this position was to facilitate the administration of the ministry to allow our leaders to have more time in the field with the youth they serve. I pray that with the 10+ years of experience in church administration, I can be a resource to this ministry to accomplish what God has called us for such a time as this.

I became a follower of Jesus at age 23 and it was a group of young kids that led me in my walk with the Lord. I became part of a youth ministry at my local church in Puerto Rico that would minister the word through poetry and traveled to the mission field to reach the lost. I love what God does with young people that many despise.
1 Cor 1:26-29 26 NLT 26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

I am a member of FCF Church in Frederick, MD with my husband Pablo Cruz. We serve at our church by providing translation and a Spanish speaking small group to the Hispanic community at the church. I have a son, Steven, and daughter-in-law, Victoria. They have given me a lovely grandson, Tyler (7 years old) and another baby on the way.

Washington County Ministry Lead

Andrea Renner

I grew up in a loving, Christian home just a few miles from Washington County. I trusted Christ when I was very young, and my parents thoughtfully surrounded me with Biblical truths, from church and school to music and movies. After graduating from Heritage Academy in 2000, I studied secondary education at Pensacola Christian College and earned my degree in 2004. I've worked at three Christian schools here in Washington County and I've taught junior high and senior high Sunday school classes over the past fifteen years.

God has burdened my heart for the youth of Washington County. I want every child to experience loving leadership that points to Christ. I want teenagers to find freedom in the Truth of God's Word. I want to watch bad habits fade away as we teach teenagers how to trust Jesus and lead their friends to Him.

As a mom of three, I look forward to enhancing our local Youth For Christ programs. Adding my own special interests like music, drama, and sports would be a blessing to our family. Adding more meeting times and places would reach more teens. And knitting together public, private and homeschool students would leave no one excluded. Please pray that God uses me to connect His local disciples with the young people that need their Christian influence!