About
Promised Land Living
Our Story
At the heart of Promised Land Living is a desire to help believers discover it IS possible to live abundantly in Christ—just like in the Promised Land.
What started out in 2004 as a group of 15 women and Founder Cheryl Scanlan gathering together with a white board and notebook paper in hand, has now become a process experienced by women and men across the U.S. and around the world. Currently, we have over 20 trained and certified coaches facilitating small groups of believers hungry for life and soul transformation.
In 2018, Promised Land Living
became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission to be available to the body of Christ to help:
Reinvigorate those who don’t want to settle
Assist those who feel stuck
Support those who feel disillusioned
100%
100% of graduates feel more deeply connected to God after their PLL journey.
20+
Over 20 years of ministry.
461
Alumni and counting.
Our desire
is to help believers understand their story in the context of God’s story so future chapters of their lives can be written from a theme of continual redemption and hope.
This unique group coaching experience successfully helps Christian men and women:
- Draw closer to God
- Live out their faith
- Explore what seems impossible
- Examine their purpose and direction
- Scrutinize thoughts to build alignment with God’s truth
Our Vision
We envision all Christians living the abundant life in Christ.
Our Mission
To help Christians achieve abundant lives, breakthrough personal transformation and visible growth that is sustainable.
Our Values
- Abundant LOVE – always, no matter what
- Powerful ACCEPTANCE – of each person, meeting them right where they are
- Fearless TRUTH – without compromise; with compassion and caring
- Effective ENGAGEMENT – with anyone seeking to walk with the Lord
- Rigorous APPLICATION – to live our lives by Christ’s example
Board of Directors
Jennifer Grote
President
Jennifer Grote
Jennifer Grote is a transformational coach and the founder of Jennifer Grote Coaching. With a passion for helping individuals and groups to Feel Better, Shine Brighter, and Live Bigger she offers expertise in three roles: Certified Health and Wellbeing Coach, Certified Strengths Champion Coach, and Certified Coach Presenter with PLL. Jennifer focuses on guiding her clients to feel better in body, mind, and emotions. She empowers her clients to experience greater clarity, alignment, and empowerment from the inside out.
Whether she is working with individuals, teams, or groups, Jennifer’s coaching approach is grounded in guiding her clients toward truth, freedom, and victory. She creates a nurturing and supportive environment for exploration, development, and transformation. With a deep belief in God’s transforming power and the potential within the person in front of her, Jennifer is committed to helping her clients Feel Better, Shine Brighter, and Live Bigger.
Martin Lombrano
Treasurer
Martin Lombrano
Martin is a fiduciary financial planner with more than 30 years of experience guiding individuals, families, and business owners throughout Southern California as well as other parts of the US to build achieve their wealth, income, and legacy planning goals. With a fiduciary standard of care (AIF®), he approaches planning with curiosity, integrity, humility, and a deep commitment to serving others. Martin’s faith in God, informs his business decisions and family life. Martin serves on the boards of several faith-based nonprofit organizations—believing that true stewardship extends far beyond finances and into how we love, lead, and care for our communities.
LaShanda Hunter
Secretary
LaShanda Hunter
LaShanda’s heart posture is to live in the simplicity of God. As a participant in Promised Land Living, she sought clarity from all the busyness of life. The process revealed fresh kingdom language to her that changed the rhythm of her thinking.
A lifetime of journaling powered her passion to become a better communicator. In the early stages of her discipleship — she wrote out every sermon she ever heard in-person and online.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Living Arts College. She personally loves documentaries about machinery and about everyday people. And she is also a big, big I Love Lucy fan.
She has volunteered with online bible study classes and is now serving as a host to our coach presenters.
Elizabeth McCarty
Board Member at Large
Elizabeth McCarty
Elizabeth desires to help others gain clarity and move forward knowing God’s truth. She was first a Promised Land Living participant, and it changed her more than she ever imagined. This profound personal impact led her to become more involved with the ministry.
Elizabeth brings over a decade of experience serving on several boards. Her substantial experience working with nonprofits and helping navigate their fundraising needs is a huge asset to the Promised Land Living as the ministry continues to grow.
Cathy Lee
Board Member at Large
Cathy Lee
Cathy has enjoyed a diverse career, holding executive leadership positions in a variety of companies, including a multi-million dollar business for a global technology leader serving Fortune 500 companies around the globe. Later, she served on the staff of her church, one of three leaders responsible for 700 adult members, 11 staff and more than 40 volunteer leaders. Cathy has been teaching the Bible to children and adults for much of her life. She has led children’s and women’s ministries in her church and women’s weekend retreats in Arkansas and Texas.
She recently joined PLL as a Coach Presenter and is excited to share this journey with others. She is a Professional Christian Life Coach, earning her Professional Certified Coach credential from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and her Certified Christian Coach credential from the Christian Coaches Network International (CCNI).
She’s an avid reader and lifelong learner. She loves to travel and play with landscape photography. In addition to living in Europe for several years, she has traveled to more than 20 countries on five continents, including Antarctica. She and her best friend John have been married since 1981.
Marc Ottestad
Board Member at Large
Marc Ottestad
As a PLL Alumnus and Certified Coach Presenter, Marc coaches leaders of family businesses through how to exit well. He helps leaders move toward clarity, business growth, positive transitions and exit. He is passionate about seeing people grow in wholeness.
Marc’s function within PLL is to support the ministry in development and building a strong enrollment pipeline, having served with both Convene and CBMC, helping both grow substantially over the past 10 years.
Married over 40 years to his love, Kasey, he is the father of three children. Marc is an encourager, very open and can hold competing ideas easily. He asks good questions and wants the best for others.
Mark Johnson
Board Member at Large
Mark Johnson
I have balanced business and ministry throughout my entire career and continually sought to integrate the two, eventually realizing that everything I do is a form of ministry. I have previously started multiple companies and worked with small business owners and entrepreneurs through the University of Georgia and Kennesaw State University. During that same time, I attended Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Richmont Graduate University, where I learned to apply modern psychological theories and spiritual practices to the leadership training of pastors and entrepreneurs. I am continuing my studies in leadership training at Regent University, where I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Counseling and Psychological Studies with a concentration in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. By applying my passion for Christian psychology in a business setting, I am also training at an ICF-approved school to become a Certified Professional Leadership Coach and a Professional Certified Coach.
Currently, I serve as a leadership coach through Intaba Coaching, a company I launched to support redemptive leaders and non-profits. Convene fuels Intaba, encompassing the work I do as Director of the C-Suite and Key Leader Program, as well as Chair of multiple virtual Convene teams. I regularly work with assessments such as DiSC Work of Leaders, DiSC 363, DiSC Agile EQ, DiSC Productive Conflict, and the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team. I am also certified with the WiLD Toolkit and as a Discipleship Coach through Promised Land Living.
Board of Advisors
Allison Ashley
Allison Ashley
Allison is a Software Development Engineer at a local software company and has degrees in Math and Statistics. Prior to working as a Software Development Engineer, she worked as a Research Assistant evaluating various transform methods for DNA sequence analysis of the Human Genome.
As a wife and mom, life is full, purposeful, and adventurous. Her family attends Crossroads Fellowship.
Andrew Joslin
Andrew Joslin
For the past seven years, he has helped run an orphanage in Kenya. His passion for efficiency helps PLL navigate the myriad cloud platforms available and assess what is most necessary for the ministry to thrive.
Andrew loves the outdoors and travel and has a quest for continual adventure that will challenge both mind and body.
Steve Mattingly
Steve Mattingly
Steve’s ministry experience ranges from small group leadership/facilitation to finance chairman and Chairman of the Deacon Board. His most prized ministry experiences are building the strategic plan and co-founding the North Haven Child Development Center and faithfully supporting the mission for Promised Land Living.
Steve resides in Cary, North Carolina, with his wife Jenny. They are blessed with four children with wonderful spouses and four grandchildren. Steve loves to hike, mountain bike, scuba dive, grill, dine, travel and most recently play pickleball.
Nicki Rogers
Nicki Rogers
Nicki first went through Promised Land Living in 2016, and she started working for PLL in 2018. She has a passion for true discipleship—the life-on-life, sometimes costly, process of walking with people that just can’t be mass produced. She loves working with the PLL team and being part of helping people step into the freedom that God has given them.
Nicki lives in North Carolina with her husband and dog Lilly. They enjoy escape rooms, board games, and spending time with friends.
Our Team
Jen Day
Jen Day
Jen Day is a longtime PLL ministry member. She went through PLL in 2008 and has been involved with the ministry ever since. She is a natural encourager and has found joy in helping others find freedom in Christ.
You’ll find Jen to be very open and honest – but she loves to laugh and be silly too! Her two boys keep her and her hubby of 21 years VERY busy! She is excited for the opportunity to engage with the alumni community and see what God is up to.
Kara McLendon
Kara McLendon
Kara got her first peek into the Promised Land Living ministry through Cheryl speaking at a MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers). She later went through PLL in 2019-2020. This began a journey for her of more actively learning to use God-given tools to battle her anxiety and move into freedom. She began working with the ministry a few months later and currently serves as an administrative assistant working mostly on course launches and communications.
Kara has lived in the Raleigh, N.C., area since fourth grade, continuing to stay for college at Meredith and raise a family. She is married to Christopher and is the mother of a son and two daughters. She is also an elementary school educator with experience as a second grade teacher, math coach, and math intervention teacher. Currently she is serving as a part-time math specialist for upper elementary grades in addition to volunteering at her childrens’ school.
Pam Mertz
Pam Mertz
Pamela Mertz lives to share what God is up to in her life. She has operated her own sales company in high-tech electronics for 35 years. She has co-lead women’s ministry for over 15 years, is an ICF ACC certified life coach, Strengths Champion, and Quality Improvement Coach through Dartmouth Microsystems Academy.
Pam is very involved in bringing the Coach Approach to her work in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She has served on both for-profit and nonprofit Boards and held leadership positions both locally and nationally.
She loves to share the reason for hope within her speaking engagements as God leads. Pamela is married to Lou Mertz, and is the mother of three adult sons. They live in St. Michael, MN.
Cheryl Scanlan
Cheryl Scanlan
Cheryl Scanlan is the founder of Promised Land Living and has been practicing her passion for coaching for almost 20 years. She is a certified MCCand CMCC coach and is one of only a handful of coaches in the country who possess this combination of coaching designations.
As a natural teacher, Cheryl developed an ICF-approved coach training program that has deeply impacted its students. She served as Provost of Professional Christian Coaching Institute (PCCI), the largest virtual Christian coach training school in the world for ten years. Cheryl is a Precept trained Bible Study teacher and has studied the Bible inductively for over 20 years.
Cheryl has trained over 3,000 coaches with experience that exceeds 15,000 hours of coaching. Her combination of business acumen and passion for coaching has facilitated the development of confident ambassadors for Christ. Promised Land Living is the confluence of those two qualities as the ministry equips people to live abundantly, as God intends.
Rebecca Camplejohn
Rebecca Camplejohn
Rebecca has participated and volunteered with Promised Land Living for 10 years. She currently serves as a web host and the host trainer. Rebecca grew up in Papua New Guinea where her parents were missionaries. After high school she attended Bible school in Europe and then earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in Southern California. She served in the United States Air Force as a maternity nurse where she met and married her husband, Chris, of 26 years. Rebecca homeschooled her three now almost grown children.
She fills her days volunteering in a local refugee community as the medical coordinator and walking in her PLL heartland of “connection leading to service” and “authentic salvation.”
Ann Harrell
Ann Harrell
Ann is a certified PLL Discipleship Coach and currently leads PLL’s marketing and operational initiatives. She excels in integrating systems, people, and mission to ensure alignment and impact.
A proud wife to Tim, mother of four adult sons, and Nana of three, Ann is a first-generation American with Jamaican roots residing in the Washington, DC metro area. She draws strength from her family’s legacy of faith and resilience and is passionate about creating spaces where others can experience healing, wholeness, and the abundant life God has promised.
Keisa Capers
Keisa Capers
Co-Director, PLL Global
Raised in and recently replanted in the Carolinas, Keisa Capers co-founded Capture the Nations in 2022 after more than 22 years serving in international cross-cultural ministry across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. She is passionate about wholeheartedly investing in people—especially women who desire to grow and develop in their God-given calling.
Keisa brings a PCC Credential from the International Coaching Federation and a B.S. in Organizational Leadership & Management, along with over 18 years of experience training leaders through adult learning principles—creating ripple effects that continue multiplying in the nations. Known for her ability to listen deeply and create safe spaces for growth, Keisa’s heart goes beyond personal development to equipping others to transform their families, ministries, and communities.
When not empowering others, she enjoys cooking international dishes, sitting by the ocean, and savoring a good cup of coffee.
Kathy Maurer
Kathy Maurer
Co-Director, PLL Global
Originally from Ohio (Go Bucks!), Kathy Maurer co-founded Capture the Nations in 2022. She has always carried a heart to develop others wherever God places her. Her early years of ministry began locally, serving 12 years in College & Career ministry and 6 years in high school ministry. In 2000, her calling expanded globally, leading her to serve in cross-cultural missions in more than 30 countries.
Kathy holds a Professional Coach Certificate and a B.A. in Counseling, she thrives in helping people connect with God’s purposes and fulfill their calling. She is gifted at drawing people together for greater Kingdom impact and is passionate about walking alongside others in their personal and spiritual growth.
Kathy is a true connoisseur of coffee and has never met a stranger—only friends she hasn’t gotten to know yet. She enjoys traveling internationally, experiencing new cultures, riding her bike, and flying kites on the beach.
Christina Rivera
Christina Rivera
Finance Manager
Christina Rivera serves as Finance Manager at Promised Land Living, where she supports the ministry through financial stewardship, administration, and operational support in service of PLL’s mission. She brings extensive experience in finance and nonprofit operations, with a strong background in budgeting, compliance, and building systems that help organizations run smoothly with clarity and excellence.
Christina helps strengthen PLL through sound financial practices, thoughtful organization, and steady behind-the-scenes support that allows ministry leaders and programs to flourish. She is known for her integrity, dependability, and ability to bring calm and order to complex situations.
A devoted mother of two sons, Christina values faith, family, and opportunities to encourage others. Originally from the South Bronx and now living in Michigan, she carries a deep appreciation for resilience, community, and service. She is passionate about using her gifts to support meaningful work that helps others grow, heal, and thrive.