Hank Kistler was raised in North Carolina by his mother, Catherine, a Christian school teacher and his father, James Kistler, an Air Force veteran.

He felt the call of God on his life as a teenager to preach the word of God and show others the love of Jesus.

He met Allison his wife in high school and together went off to Bible college to pursue ministry together. They have served together in ministry for over 15 years.

Just over two years ago they desired to start their own church. They wanted a place where the Word was preached, a love for all people was felt, and a heart for the community was lived. From that, Connect Church was born in July of 2020. Connect is in the center of Long Island in Centereach.

Pastor Hank has been very influential in the Middle Country community showing that Connect Church is FOR them! His motto for Connect is... "For much too long the church has been know for what it is against, we want to show people what the church is FOR!"

Hank has a heart to reach Long Island with the life-transforming message of the gospel and connect people to Jesus like never before.

He and his wife, Allison have been married for 18 years and have 3 girls together, Emma, Kayla, and Ava.