Meet our staff
Get to know our team here, and say hey to us on Sundays - we'd love to meet you!
Brad Blakeley
Lead Pastor
Brad Blakeley grew up in Henderson, NV. After receiving his B.S. in Social Science, he began teaching at Lake Mead Christian Academy in 1998. In 2004, he joined the Church at Lake Mead’s launch team and maintained a teaching role in both the school and church. In 2010, Brad earned an M.A. in Christian Apologetics at Biola University. His favorite teaching topic is the resurrection of Jesus. In 2019, Brad transitioned out of the Academy and now serves as the Lead Pastor of the church. In his free time, he enjoys outdoor activities, spending time with his wife and daughters, and studying. He’s currently in a doctoral program at Northern Seminary. Brad’s favorite drink is a vanilla iced coffee from Starbucks.
Jaimee Thomason
Executive Pastor
The Lord has allowed Jaimee to spend a large portion of her life as part of LMCM. The ministry played a huge role in shaping her into the person she is today. After Jaimee graduated from LMCA, she went on to get her Bachelors's degree in both Theology and Elementary Education.
With over 20 years of ministry experience, and over half of those being directly involved with children, Jaimee is passionate about creating opportunities for the next generation to experience Jesus!
Jaimee lives here in Henderson with her amazing husband Matt, and two beautiful daughters, Emma and Mikaila. In her free time, she enjoys working out, being present with her family, and anything related to the beach. Her favorite drink is a decaf americano with almond milk or heavy cream.
Jeremy Bair
Mobilization Pastor
Jeremy and his family are originally from Ogden, Utah. He is married to Stacy and they have three amazing boys, Roman, Luke and Sam. Jeremy was involved in church planting and pastoring in Utah for a number of years before the Lord called them to overseas missions. He served with His family in Eastern Europe for seven years, building the church overseas. Jeremy joined the LMCM family in the fall of 2022 and accepted the invitation to join the church's pastoral team in the fall of 2023.
Jeremy completed his Bachelor's of Theology in Eastern Europe then went on to complete his Master's in Ministry and Leadership. With his 15 years of ministry experience, church planting and ministering cross-culturally, Jeremy is excited to use his experiences to equip the church to make disciples who will make disciples for the purpose of spreading the Kingdom of God in the Henderson area.
Cris Cockrell
Student Pastor
Cris is a Vegas valley native and one of our very own, a graduate of Lake Mead Christian Academy. Cris attended Biola University for his undergrad, receiving a B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies. Cris recently married the love of his life, Alexis!
He leads our LM Students team at the church and is called to spread the gospel through preaching, film, and world missions.
In his free time, Cris loves playing sports, especially basketball, eating sushi, and making movies.
Tyler Graham
Discipleship Pastor
Tyler and his wife Amanda felt God calling them in January of 2021 to come back to Henderson to be a part of His mission here in this area of the city. They spent the previous three years in North Carolina where Tyler worked on his Master of Divinity degree at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Tyler has a B.S. degree in Business Management and also has experience with selling real estate. He is particularly excited about church planting in the near future. However, he and Amanda are committed to simply following Jesus as He leads one step at a time. They are thankful for the friendships they have developed with the young adults at the CALM and are excited for all God will do in and through the group! Say hello to Tyler, Amanda, and their little boys, Kaden and Kohan, when you see them on Sunday mornings. They would love to meet you (especially if you are a young adult)!
Carolina Apodaca
Worship Leader
Carolina grew up singing alongside her parents in the church and in every family gathering she can remember. Having a musical family definitely played an important role in her life. As she grew older, Carolina and her family moved from California to Chihuahua, Mexico, where she began leading worship in their local church at the age of fifteen. The church musicians started to leave town looking for job opportunities, so she and a few friends took matters into their own hands, learning to play themselves in order to lead the church in worship. Carolina found herself learning to play guitar in the secret of her room after asking her dad, grandfather, uncles, and aunt to teach her different chords (no YouTube tutorials back in the day!).
Fast forward 25 years, she has led worship everywhere, from small churches to a church of several thousand members. Carolina is passionate about leading the church to encounter God through worship. She leads the team at Lake Mead every weekend and occasionally leads for chapel in the High School campus where she also teaches Spanish.
In her free time, she enjoys watching a good movie, learning to play a new instrument, and creating music.
Clarissa Baldi
LM Kids Director
Clarissa was born and raised in San Diego, CA. She graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelors in Hospitality Management with an emphasis in Meeting and Event planning. Her family now lives here in Henderson, her husband Kevin's hometown, and have two amazing children Annabelle and Kevin, plus an energetic dog named Jade.
After 7 years of staying home to raise babies, Clarissa dove back into the workforce to take on the role of LM Kids Coordinator where she meets the needs of our children's ministry for Sunday services and ensures LM Kids church service is safe, fun and exciting for the kiddos and families! She feels blessed beyond measure to pour directly into her own children's relationship with Jesus as well as countless other wonderful kids across the city, by using her God given gifts of creativity and coordination. In her free time, Clarissa enjoys reading, organizing gatherings for her book club, exercise, playing soccer, pool days or board game nights with the family and baking or crafting with her kids.
Krystle Zerbe
Executive Associate
Krystle and her family relocated from Tampa, FL, to Henderson, NV, in 2012. Married for 18 years, she and her husband are proud parents to their daughter, Liv, who has been attending LMCA since kindergarten. Krystle began her journey with the ministry in 2014, joining the Academy in the Elementary Department. Over the years, she has served as a Library Teacher, Classroom Teacher, and eventually as the Elementary Director from 2018 to 2023. After a fulfilling career in education, Krystle transitioned to the church team, where she is deeply passionate about her involvement in ministry.
As the Executive Associate, Krystle brings her administrative experience to support the pastoral team and manage the day-to-day operations of the church office.
In her free time, Krystle enjoys spending quality time with her family, reading, and hiking with her two dogs, Talula Rose and Benson. Her favorite beverages are sugar-free, fat-free vanilla lattes and non-fat chai tea lattes.
Lauryn Burt
Executive Coordinator
Originally a Bakersfield, California native, Lauryn, moved to Las Vegas in 2018 to attend UNLV. There, she earned a bachelor's degree in Counseling Education as a student-athlete, graduating in 2022. During her time in Las Vegas, Lauryn played a key role in expanding the Fellowship of Christian Athletes community across the UNLV campus.
Following her undergraduate studies, Lauryn pursued a Master’s degree in Leadership at Dallas Baptist University, graduating in 2023. Throughout her journey, Lauryn has felt a deep calling and connection to Henderson, driven by her family, friends, and community. Following the Lord's calling led her to join Lake Mead Christian Ministries in a more dedicated role.
Today, Lauryn serves as the Executive Coordinator for our church team, bringing her passion and expertise to our community.
Iris Ramirez
LM Kids Assistant
Iris Ramirez has lived her whole life in Henderson NV and has been coming to the Church since she was 10 years old. Growing up surrounded by animals and gardens has planted a love of nature, creation, and growing all sorts of plants.
She’s been working in the LM Kids ministry for 3 years and has loved every minute of it.
Using over 10 years of experience helping with kids in all sorts of ways, God has paved the way for her to work in LM Kids, which involves deep and meaningful conversations with little ones as well as funny dances and lots of “Simon Says” games.
Living with her mom Sarah, dad Israel, two sisters Lilly and Ivy and two dogs, bunny, and over 20 chickens she loves having quality time with those close to her as well as hanging out with furry friends. She enjoys reading, coloring books, cute clothes and quality worship and prayer with her savior Jesus Christ.
Michelle Blakeley
Wellness Center Director
Michelle is passionate about living out her life’s mission - “to teach, counsel, and lead people to navigate life, follow Jesus, and find the best version of themselves.”
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Michelle has lived in the Las Vegas Valley for the past thirty years. She currently serves as the Director of Counseling at Lake Mead Christian Academy and the Clinical Director of the Lake Mead Wellness Center where she sees clients on a regular basis. In her position as Director of Counseling, Michelle has the unique opportunity to not only guide people academically at the Academy, but spiritually, emotionally, and socially as well.
Michelle received her Bachelor of Arts in Post-Secondary Workforce Education from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and spent many years in the classroom before finding passion in full-time counseling. She then received her Master's degree in Human Services from Liberty University, Clinical Professional Counseling from Grand Canyon University, and Marriage and Family Therapy from Lincoln Christian University.
Michelle and Brad are busy raising their beautiful family of 3 girls. There isn’t a day that goes by that you won’t see her with a sugar-free iced coffee with cream. Whenever there is a spare moment in life, she is reading a nonfiction book and booking her next travel venture for the family!