Derrick grew up near Chicago in Gary, Indiana, spending chapters of his youth between the two neighboring cities.  As a high school student, Derrick was introduced to Christ through a relationship with a young woman, Kaley, who would later become his wife.  They matriculated at Indiana University and quickly became involved with Campus Crusade Ministries while they earned their degrees. Blessed with a natural ability to lead others, the couple eventually became leaders within Campus Crusade.  Both Derrick and Kaley were burdened by the division they saw on campus along racial lines.  So Derrick created a new ministry for Crusade within the Impact Movement that reached out to African-American students on campus. The creativity of this new ministry would soon be reduplicated on every college campus where both Campus Crusade and the Impact Movement were present.

After college, Derrick and Kaley moved to Indianapolis, IN to work on staff with Campus Crusade and helped develop a ministry in the inner city of Indianapolis where Churches, College students, and high school students worked together.  This ministry brought about needed community in the city while giving churches a natural way into the colleges and high schools in Indianapolis.  This work in Indianapolis is where Derrick and Kaley’s heart became burdened for the local church.

After a few years in Indianapolis, the couple moved to Memphis, TN, where Derrick earned an MDiv at MidAmerica Baptist Theological Seminary while serving in the Residency Program and  as a Campus Pastor at Fellowship Memphis Church.  It is at this multiethnic church where Derrick deepened his passion for seeing the Gospel’s power to reconcile people of all walks of life.  

Providentially, Derrick and Aaron Brockett, the pastor of Traders Point Christian Church in Indianapolis, became great friends.  This relationship led to Derrick partnering with Orchard Group, a church planting ministry, and the rest, as they say, is history.  Derrick and Kaley relocated to Chicago in the Fall of 2013 to plant Renewal Chicago.  They have four beautiful girls and one little man: Ramiyah, Elyana, Isabelle, Nalah and Derrick III.

Derrick Puckett

Ramon Rivera

ASSOCIATE pastor

Ramon was raised in the Humboldt Park / Hermosa neighborhood of Chicago in a home with a single mother and two older brothers. We were not a religious family. It was a simple invite to a youth group that led to me hearing the Gospel and putting my trust in Jesus as a young teenager. I meet my wife though this youth groups and as they say it was all history after that. My wife Diamond has made me not only a husband but a father of two wonderful children, Scarlett and Levi. Passionate about the Gospel I found myself as early as my highschool years desiring to be a pastor. Previously, I have been privileged to serve in many capacities including a small group leader, a youth pastor and even be a part of a preaching team at a church. In March of 2019 my family and I became members at Renewal and became part of the pastoral residency program. It is through this residency and schooling that I look to be trained for the work of ministry with hope of in the near future pastoring a church.

Liz was born in a Christian home in Chicago, but was raised primarily in Indianapolis, Indiana. She developed a passion for helping children and gave her life to Christ at a young age. In high school, Liz met her husband Jordan where they both served as leaders for Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She attended college at Butler University in Indianapolis, earning a degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Tony was born and raised in the inner city of St. Louis, MO. He went to college and became a Christian during his freshmen year through Campus Outreach College Ministry. When graduation time came around, Tony was offered the opportunity to come on staff with Campus Outreach at the University of Memphis. He has served with the ministry in Memphis for over 8 years. Currently, he is the Director of Diversity and Regional Strategic Development. He is also pursuing a Masters of Theology from the Reformed Theological Seminar. He is very passionate about evangelism and discipleship. He lives in Chicago, IL with his wife, Jennifer.

Chris was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was introduced to God at a very young age but it wasn't until college that a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, became a very real and personal reality for him. During his time at Indiana University (Bloomington), with the guidance of two young men at the time, Steve Gaskin and Derrick Puckett, Chris was led to a better understanding of the Gospel message and how it applied to his life personally, therefore, causing him to put off the old and step into the Christ-Centered life that God had originally intended for him.

During the rest of his time at Indiana University, after serving/volunteering under Derrick's leadership with a campus ministry called The Impact Movement, Chris eventually became a leader on campus growing deeper in his relationship with God and leading other students to Christ. He eventually graduated with a degree in Tourism Management and moved on to become a full time staff member with The Impact Movement on a national level.

After serving as a music missionary for 4+ years with The Impact Movement, Chris then made his way up to Chicago where he now serves part time as our Production and Creative Arts Coordinator overseeing our Sunday worship services as well as continuing to manage Renewal's visual presence through graphics, photography, videography, web design, social media, and more! We are happy to have Chris on our team!

Demond was born in Chicago, IL, but moved to a small town in southern Illinois called Decatur,IL with his parents. There, he & his family attended a small Baptist church where he soon discovered his love for music & singing. He grew up in a home that was devoted to church, but even though he knew about God, he didn’t know him in a personal way. That changed at about age 17 when he learned that knowing about God was different than loving Him personally, so he gave his heart to Christ & began his journey with Him. He returned to Chicago to pursue further education at Columbia college, where he received his Bachelors in Music Business and Marketing. Singing had become a big part of his life, so he began singing all over the city and eventually started traveling all over the world with various artists, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lauren Harbison

Renewal Kids Director

Lauren was born in a Waukesha, WI but moved around the Midwest every 4-5 years throughout her childhood. Raised in a Christian home, Lauren gave her life to Jesus early on and helped lead Fellowship of Christian Athletes in high school when her family moved to Naperville, IL during her junior year.

After high school, Lauren attended Purdue University, where she met her husband, Robby, and graduated with a Degree in Health and Fitness. Lauren and Robby started attending Renewal in fall of 2014, quickly becoming members and calling Renewal home. They were married by Pastor Derrick in 2016 and now have 2 little boys, Trey and Deacon.

Throughout her entire life, Lauren has had a love and passion for children, volunteering in church Sunday schools and babysitting. After taking several courses in Early Childhood Development during her 4 years at Purdue and graduating in 2009, Lauren worked as a Nanny and House Manager until having their second son this past April. Lauren was a volunteer with Renewal’s Kids Ministry for the past 5 years and now is excited to step in as the Kids Ministry Director and see the amazing plans God has for Renewal.

Jay Lavinier

Elder