May 2020 Connections

Connections Proclaiming the GOSPEL

LOCAL & GLOBAL STORIES, NEWS AND EVENTS of COLLEGE CHURCH

"I finally found the truth I had searched for all my life."

See From Darkness to Life

by Kathy Burke on page 6

MAY 2020

Global Voices

Face to Face

Side By Side

The Same All Over

A Time of Reflection

CHERYL WARNER | 8

PAT CIRRINCIONE | 16

The Making of the Hallelujah Chrous (Video) | 18

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

May Highlights

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From Darkness to Light | KATHY SIMONINI BURKE

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The Same All Over | CHERYL WARNER

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Advancing Church Ministries During the Covid-19 Pandemic

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A Family Affair | JULIE SOHMER

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Our Long Journey to Kwarhi, Adamawa State | LUKA VANDI UTI

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Food Drive Update | DANIEL BAIR

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A Time of Reflection | PAT CIRRINCIONE

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The Making of the Hallelujah Chorus (Video)

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On Our Nightstands

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Book Reviews | MICHELLE KELLEY

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New Members

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Milestones/Looking Ahead

MAY HIGHLIGHTS Sunday Mornings JOIN US ONLINE! Our Sunday morning worship will continue throughout the month on our Facebook and YouTube channels and on our livestream webpage at college-church.org/livestream. Invite friends, neighbors and coworkers to join from their homes, and invite online discussion afterwards.

Additional resources for home worship and study can be found on our webpage college-church.org/ccathome.

You can find information about our online prayer meetings on page nine.

Join the College Church Channel at Right Now Media You can find Christian media content for families, small groups, kids, personal study or marriages in our new webspace at Right Now Media. This is a free resource for everyone at College Church to use (available on IOS, Android, Roku, AppleTV). To sign up for free and start using this online digital library right now, click here. Enjoy!

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Annual Meeting This year’s Annual Meeting will be Sunday, May 17 (the third Sunday in May), at 5 p.m. This will be an online meeting. We will be communicating details about the logistics of holding our annual meeting in the days ahead. Check college-church.org/annualmeeting or watch for emails from College Church for updates. The annual report will also be available on that webpage by Sunday, May 10.

At the meeting, we will: • Receive the Annual Report.

• Vote to elect new members for our boards, committees, and other ministry leaders, and select members for the new Nominating Committee. We will send an email by May 5 so you can vote for the members of the new Nominating Committee. Those with the highest vote totals will be elected at the Annual Meeting.

• Vote on the budget for the new year.

• We will also have an update on the capital campaign.

Two information meetings are scheduled before the Annual Meeting at the following times: 1. Wednesday, May 13, at 5 p.m.

2. Saturday, May 16, at 5 p.m.

To participate in the information meetings and the annual meeting, you will need to download the Zoom app on your viewing device. Click on zoom.us/support/download to download the free app.

If you have more than one member in your household such as you and your spouse, you should each have Zoom downloaded on each device so you can each vote separately at the meeting.

Run for the Stars You can still support Run for the STARS with social distancing! The Run for the STARS 2020 is still on, but it will be done virtually. This means you can register for the run between now and June 13, and run it from now until then.

You have the flexibility to walk or run at a time that is good for you.

Electronic registration Paper registration. Details to come on runforthestars.com

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I BELIEVE

From Darkness to Light Kathy Simonini Burke

Came alive in ‘85 I made up the little rhyming jingle to remember the most significant moment in my life. April 4, 1985, around 10 p.m. to be exact.

I remember it perfectly because I experienced a “road to Damascus” type of conversion. The experience was so profound I find it difficult to put into words. All I know is that one day I didn’t believe God existed and the next day I knew with every fiber of my being that he did. The reality of that knowledge simply blew me away.

I was once asked, along with a room full of other believers, if any of us had ever doubted our salvation. I was genuinely shocked when every hand went up but mine. Dr. Donald S. Whitney, my pastor at the time, was the one who had asked the question. It wasn’t until I read his book How Can I Be Sure I Am a Christian that I discovered he too found it odd that I didn’t raise my hand.

Here’s what Pastor Don wrote.

During an after-church fellowship/theological discussion meeting in our home, a woman admitted, “I just can’t understand how anyone who is born again could ever have doubts about it.”

At first her remark concerned me, but then I understood how she could say this. Presently in her forties, she wasn’t brought to faith in Christ until her late thirties. She had been raised in a ritualistic religious environment, but by the time she finished college she was an atheist. She persisted in denying God’s existence for fifteen years, all the while reading philosophy and psychology in search of answers. When God opened her eyes to the truth of the gospel and brought her to Himself, her mind and life were suddenly turned rightside-up. She was transferred so quickly and clearly from darkness into light, and was so dramatically changed, that she has never had one doubt about her salvation.

Hearing her testimony made me realize that those whose conversion experience is like hers may, like her, have fewer struggles with assurance.

That’s the short version of my story of faith. Here’s the longer one.

I was raised as a Catholic and believed all I was taught. I followed my beliefs arduously, thinking it was the one and only true church Jesus founded. From my perspective, I believed the priests and bishops and the hierarchy had the power to declare absolute truth, with authority, about the things of God. Then I went to college. There, I began to question these absolutes as I saw some serious inconsistencies that had man’s fallible fingerprints all over them. Extremely let down from having been so duped, I walked away from organized religion. However, I did leave an opening in my beliefs for God to exist.

That lasted only a few years. As I continued my studies, what little concept I had left about God were challenged on a regular basis.

Between a zoology course that taught that DNA had been created in a test tube or art history courses that showcased the various gods humans worshipped, my thinking changed dramatically.

I concluded that people either worshipped gods out of ignorance or fear, hoping they could appease the gods and escape judgment or death. From my perspective, I decided that God existed only in the creative imaginations of men. (Unbeknown to me at the time, I had stumbled on the truth that many religions or concepts about God do stem from the mind of man rather from his revealed Word. See Colossians 2:8.)

Refusing to fall into the category of fearful or ignorant, I finished college sincerely believing God was a man-made coping mechanism—and one I didn’t need. With this revelation, I freely joined in the 70s revolution.

I lived the life of a heathen with no moral compass for about the next 15 years. I still feared temporal punishment for breaking man’s laws but was not at all concerned about eternal consequences from breaking God’s laws. I had no fear that I would ever answer to a Holy God. He simply did not exist in my world. I was an extremely comfortable atheist.

Everything began to unravel when my youngest brother, Joey, died in a car accident on January 12, 1983, at the age of 18. As an atheist, I’d had no problems with the “dust to dust” part of his death. My problems came when I tried to resolve what had happened to intangible things about him—his sense of humor or his ability to love—things that were immaterial and not part of his physical body. Where were these aspects of my brother? Did they still exist? Were they floating somewhere? If so, where did they float to?

Could I connect to them? To Joey again? I had so many questions in my head, and no frame of reference to sort through them.

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Created by Kathy Burke

I did not believe in anything spiritual, metaphysical or supernatural. I was a “show-me-concrete-evidence” skeptic but now I was wondering about such things. I made up my mind to read and ask questions with the goal of finding out what really happens after a person dies. My former pastor Don Whitney had said I read a lot of philosophy and psychology books, which I did, but I also looked at books about ghosts, ESP, psychic phenomena and other unexplainable things as well. I truly was searching high and low for answers to the great mysteries man has questioned since the beginning of time—the search for the meaning of life.

Now comes the cool part. I asked my sister Ellen about God, who was also seeking answers to life’s tough questions. I still didn’t believe God existed but decided to revisit him since I was beginning to suspect that there was a spiritual realm that I couldn’t see.

Ellen’s simple suggestion: “If you want to know if God really exists, why don’t you just ask him? If he really exists, he will answer.”

Hmmm, quite a thought-provoking concept. Here I go, I thought, and said to the air, “God, if you truly exist, I would really like to know.” That was it. That was “the prayer” I prayed.

“Ask and I will answer, seek and you shall find.” The minute I asked for the truth from the depths of my soul, God began revealing himself and his Son, Jesus, to me.

Within a year or so as I watched the movie A.D. (about how the Apostles willingly died for Jesus), a light bulb exploded in my head.

I got it. I could see the truth about who Jesus was. I knew he was really God. I knew he really came to earth to rescue us from our sins, even though we rejected him.

I had finally found the truth I searched for all my life. God himself revealed it to me with power and conviction. And like the people in 1 Kings 18:39, I saw and worshipped the one true God, “When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The LORD—He is God! The LORD—He is God!” Since that moment I believed, I have never once doubted who he is or what he did on that cross for me.

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GLOBAL VOICES

The Same All Over Cheryl Warner Irpin, Ukraine April 2020 Quarantine: It's the same word in English, Ukrainian and Russian. And government restrictions to safeguard public health in Ukraine during the COVID-19 pandemic are similar to those in Illinois. I talked with Igor Bandura, first vice president of the Baptist Union of Ukraine, to find out what this means for Baptist churches here. "At this point, we are under quarantine," he said, "with everything closed, including churches. Only essential grocery stores and pharmacies remain open."

With public gatherings of more than ten people prohibited in Ukraine, most evangelical churches are livestreaming Sunday morning services and making recordings of those services available online. "That's how we celebrated Easter," said Pastor Bandura.

"Churches that are not able to have online broadcasts are joining churches that have livestreaming." Easter was celebrated on April 19 in Ukraine this year, according to the Orthodox calendar.

More than just church members are tuning in. "Many unbelievers are watching these broadcasts," he said, "so this is an important means of evangelism. Friends, neighbors and many unchurched people are watching.

Churches are also broadcasting Christian films and children's programs." Panel discussions address relevant questions people are asking, providing biblical answers and offering the hope of the gospel.

While people are largely sheltering at home, small groups and home groups are using Zoom and other means to meet online. Church members are active on social media and are sharing

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Scripture, prayer requests, articles and reflections more than ever. "God is faithful in quarantine" is a headline on the webpage of Irpin Bible Church, where we are members. An article by one of the pastors is titled "Eight Quarantines of the Bible that Show God's Faithfulness," reflecting on the stories of Noah, Miriam, King David and others, and asking how God might change us during this period of isolation.

In addition to using virtual means to share the gospel, "churches are looking after those in need, particularly the elderly," Pastor Bandura said. "They are buying groceries and medicine and distributing masks, disinfectant and New Testaments to people. Those who are able to transport people to doctors and hospitals are helping."

In the early days of the quarantine, few people had been tested for COVID-19.

With more testing available in recent weeks, the number of confirmed cases has risen to 9,866 as of April 29, according to the Ukrainian Health Ministry. Nearly 2,000 of those are medical workers.

Schools have been closed since March 12, and restrictions have become increasingly severe with each passing week. The airspace is closed, the subway is closed, train and bus service to other countries has stopped, and transport between cities has all but halted. Only ten passengers are allowed on buses to transport employees for essential work. It is now mandated that people wear masks in public places. No one under age 16 is allowed outside without an adult, and no more than two people may walk together. Parks, squares, forests and beaches were recently closed. The message is "stay

home." The quarantine is in place until at least May 11, and a five-stage plan to gradually lift restrictions has been announced.

Ukrainian missions students doing internships around the world have been stranded and are unable to return home in May as planned. Flights into Ukraine may not resume until September, it is estimated, although it is impossible to know for sure. Apart from COVID-19, students in Uganda have had recurring bouts with malaria, and a married couple in Papua New Guinea are recovering from typhoid. Others are also stuck in Central Asia and Nepal indefinitely. Most that we have communicated with are continuing their ministries, primarily with children in orphanages, churches and health care settings. Some are under quarantine and can't leave their homes.

Here in Ukraine, an older friend in our neighborhood—has been visibly distressed and very fearful during this time. After listening to her concerns and acknowledging the hardships she faces, I told her (from a distance of two meters) that we are also being careful to follow protocols to guard our health, while at the same time being sure to guard our hearts and minds with Scripture and prayer. I told her how encouraged we were to

watch the livestreaming of our Ukrainian church service the day before and asked if she would be interested in viewing the recording. She said yes, please text her the link. The sermon was on the fear of death that many people are experiencing now and why those who belong to Christ need not fear. I've long been praying for an opportunity for a deeper conversation with this friend, and the coronavirus opened that door.

The Ukrainian service is just the first virtual meeting we attend on Sundays. We also have a group call with our local Ukrainian small group, connect with our Joint Heirs adult community on Zoom, worship live with College Church and end the day with a family call, talking with all four of our daughters in Illinois to process life and discuss the sermons we each heard that day (a fine idea that came from one of them).

A typical greeting during the Easter season in this country, even outside the church, is “Khristos voskres! [Christ is risen!]” with the reply, “Vo istinu voskres! [He is risen indeed!]” This year, we pray that this truth will go beyond a cultural greeting and penetrate the hearts of those who are looking for the hope and life to be found only in Christ.

Prayer Gatherings Now Online Call the church office or email info@college-church.org for details on how to join one or more of these prayer meetings.

Sunday Morning Prayer

Friday Lunch Prayer

8-8:40 a.m. Led by Pastor Eric Channing

12-1 p.m, led by Glenn and Ann Deckert and Wil and Lorraine Triggs

Monday Morning Prayer 6:15-7:15 a.m. Led by Elder Rob Wolgemuth

Wednesday Night Prayer 7-8 p.m. Led by Pastor Curt Miller

Note: Missions Prayer Fellowships are not meeting at this time. Watch this space and our weekly prayer emails for news of their return.

Our weekly prayer pulse email goes out every Monday. You can get weekly prayer updates via that email. Sign up by clicking "Enews

Thursday Lunch Prayer 12-12:20 p.m. Led by Pastor Ben Panner

signup" on our website. Or, if you already receive other emails from College Church, click "manage my preferences" at the bottom of any of our emails and select prayer pulse to add yourself to the prayer email.

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Advancing Church Ministries During the Covid-19 Pandemic In the weeks of the pandemic, church ministries have been going strong, but in different ways than normal.

Here are just a few ways that College Church has adapted existing areas to keep their ministries moving forward even when we cannot gather.

All Church Response • Creation of the COVID-19 Assistance Fund • Food Drive to help Englewood Family Outreach, • Two Blood Drives • Mobilizing teams to help others in need, • Mobilizing church leaders to reach out by phone and email to members and attenders.

• Sunday worship and Annual Meeting go online, with online versions of connect panels and ballots for the congregation.

Music • Weekly music for worship • Devotionals • New songs, videos and sheet music for at-home worship Men’s Ministries: • Virtual Men’s Bible Study Women’s Ministries: • Virtual Women’s Bible Study • Mom2Mom online newsletter • Monthly Gathering newsletter Small Groups and Adult Communities • Transitioned to virtual meetings.

Prayer Meetings online • Sunday morning at 8 a.m.

• Monday morning at 6:15 a.m.

• Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.

• Thursday lunch at 12 noon • Friday: prayer for the persecuted church at 12 noon

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Children • Weekly age-appropriate curriculum • Read-aloud stories • Puppet shows • Crafts • Music Disabilities • Weekly Sunday school class online for families to use at home, • Run for the STARS goes virtual this year.

Junior High • KMs Live happens on YouTube every Wednesday • Sunday-morning devotions online.

• Weekly Video Challenge for students (make a video of themselves completing the weekly challenge) • Online small groups each week led by our adult leaders Senior High • Weekly Bible Study gathering online, • Sunday-evening small group chats on Jitsi, • Weekly podcast Bible Study College • Online discipleship groups, • Equip course with the Simeon Trust 20s Ministry • Spring retreat online • Monthly Zoom lunch together • Small groups online

SIDE BY SIDE

A Family Affair Julie Sohmer

The normally busy and noisy hallways throughout Kids’ Harbor have been quiet these days. The classrooms have been disinfected and set up, in anticipation of the happy return of volunteers, parents and children.

Julie was scheduled to give this eye-opener on Called to Serve Sunday in April, but COVID-19 changed all that. What hasn’t changed is the joy and call to serve the church.

I have been attending College Church as long as I can remember. Yes, I was a toddler in the nursery here, where I apparently had a biting problem. Thankfully, I got over that and grew up to enjoy many of the children’s ministries the church still offers today. I played the role of King Nebuchadnezzar in the children’s choir musical. I spent my Wednesday nights at Pioneer Girls working on awards and learning songs full of Scripture that I still remember today. I also recall making candy Christmas ornaments at the home of my mentor (or pal as Pioneer Girls called them), Anne Kroger, more than 40 years ago. I spent every Sunday morning at Bible school learning about Jesus from faithful teachers like Jean Dusek and Faith Haddock, who recently taught some of my children in Kids Korner. These women are some of my spiritual mothers and sisters. They invested in me because they wanted to disciple the next generation of believers.

After graduating from Wheaton College, I married my husband, Dave, and we moved out of state for seven years. When we came back to the area 21 years ago, it was a natural decision to become members of this local church body. We love kids, and at the time, had four little ones of our own— we figured that since we were contributing to the population of Kids’ Harbor, it was a good place to jump in and serve. For the past two decades, we have worked with children of almost every age—nursery through KMs. We have had the privilege of teaching and looking at the Bible from a child’s perspective, which can sometimes be the most profound. We have gotten to know our own children’s peers and connected not only with the kids but also with dozens of brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we have worked alongside.

College Church is big, and when I look around, I see some people I know very well. I see some faces I have known since I was young and others I have never seen before. The spiritual reality is that, in Christ, we are family. The only way to build relationships is by investing time in one another. Besides our

involvement in small groups over the years, nothing has helped us plug into this church and connect with other believers more than serving in Kids’ Harbor. I can promise you there is never a dull moment in Kids' Harbor and bonds are formed as you serve with others.

For three years now, our family has served in Wonders of Worship (WOW). We have a team of awesome individuals that we would not have gotten to know if we weren’t serving together.

First is Bill. We served with Bill for two years. He is incredibly kind and humble. Little did the children in WOW know that the man teaching them the Ten Commandments song on Sunday mornings was assistant conductor for the Lyric Opera the rest of the week. His willingness to serve, even sometimes out of his comfort zone, showed me the heart of a foot washer.

John plays the banjo. He is the balloon guy that makes the kids happy. If you are ever at a church event and see kids hitting each other with giant balloons, you know John is nearby. John also reveres God’s Word and always has the kids stand before it is read—that sharpens me. Pete and Ben are a dynamic fatherson duo who show up every week ready to talk with each of the children in their group and to find out how they are doing. Ben and Pete demonstrate to them and to me that Jesus has time for kids and wants to hear about their lives.

Jon, Tiffany and Abby serve as a family and arrive at WOW with smiles on their faces because they love spending time with the kids of this church, and they want the children to know that Jesus delights in them. Amy is even-keeled. She is thoughtful and insightful in her teaching. One time when Amy taught a lesson on prayer, she said, “After we pray, the world is different.” I guess I always knew that God uses our prayers to change us and release his power but hearing her say that so succinctly made me want to pray more and I’ve thought of it many times since.

Serving in Kids’ Harbor has been a huge blessing in our lives.

We get to help make disciples right here in our own church and build relationships with other believers who encourage our faith and sharpen us. As each of you pray about how you can serve this church family, consider joining children’s ministries, and when you do, be prepared to connect and grow.

Fall Kids' Harbor Serving—Sign up to make disciples and build community.

The Kids’ Harbor hallways and STARS classrooms won’t stay quiet forever. Consider how you can connect in serving after the church reopens. Questions about serving?

Email Cheryce Berg for Kids’ Harbor at cberg@college-church.org or Julie Clemens for STARS jclemens@college-church.org 11

GLOBAL VOICES

Our Long Journey to Kwarhi, Adamawa State EYN (Church of the Brethren Nigeria) Pastors Conference 2020 in Mubi in Northeast Nigeria (10—15 February 2020) Luka Vandi Uti is the managing director and CEO of Africa Christian Textbooks (ACTS).

Because he works and travels throughout Nigeria, he faces life-threatening dangers often. He has been to training workshops and conferences of Media Associates International. The Board of Missions gave a special gift to ACTS for the publishing efforts and outreach described in this article.

After praying and trusting God for safety, my team and I decided as planned to travel to the Northeast, a fearful part of Nigeria where every minute of safety is appreciated because anything can happen.

By 6 a.m. we departed to Jos Plateau, trusting God for the 10- to 12-hour journey ahead of us, a longer route to Mubi (Kwarhi precisely) in Adamawa State where the headquarters of EYN (Church of the Brethren Nigeria) is situated. This used to be a seven-hour journey through the Biu-Mubi road, a shorter route we no longer take because of the insurgence in that area.

This Biu-Mubi road is “Kururuwanka banza,” which literally translates into English a “Your shouting amounts to nothing.” This route has a link to Sambisa Forest where several famous people, including the Emir of Gwoza, were killed. Gwoza is in Borno State, which was headquarters of Boko Haram before the Nigerian military pushed them back into the Sambisa Forest.

With the help of God, we arrived at the headquarters of EYN before 6 p.m., overjoyed and grateful to Him for such a smooth and safe journey. Throughout the years, ACTS has lost more than ten bus, car and truck engines on this road, and so we found this to be a big success and blessing to have reached our destination without issues.

The bus and we passengers arrived first, while the truck took two days to reach the conference in Kwarhi, Adamawa State. We were very happy

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to see that everything went as planned.

The bus and truck were packed with books, tracts, Bibles and flyers for the usual work of distribution among the population. We were able to distribute our targeted books and tracts to ministers and sold some books to them.

The second success was the turnout of clergy. More than 900 ordained clergy attended the conference. We had anticipated 1,300, but some people couldn’t travel because of security changes in their areas. We cannot say the exact number but were told that some roads were closed down because of recent attacks by the Yaran Malam (the preferred, so-called dignified name of Boko Haram, since it dangerous to call them “Boko Haram” directly to their faces).

We did a brief meeting with the leadership to strategize on how to reach every minister, including those unable to attend.

We started with a successful meeting with the leadership who gave us assurance of their support, to bring about a coordinated and symbiotic relationship between ACTS and the pastors. The secretary of the minister’s council, Rev. Bukar Lallai, accepted the role of distributing the relevant items to the ministers. The conference started with worship on 11 February 2020. The President of EYN Church, Rev. Joel Billi, welcomed all members and an encouraging sermon was preached from the visiting speaker Brother Dondo Lorlamen, from Calvary Ministries (CAPRO) in

Jos. Throughout the conference, the speaker encouraged the ministers to “fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness” (his Scripture from Joshua 24:14), despite the threats and the destruction of lives and properties. The leadership also encouraged conference participants to stand firm. The meeting’s atmosphere grew tense when people heard how the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Chairman, Rev. Lawan Andimi, was murdered by Boko Haram. As ministers were trying to bear the full story of how their fellow minister was killed, another ten ministers came forward with sad stories of how they narrowly escaped. Each had a heart-breaking story to tell.

The first one told how his church was set ablaze, seven members murdered and over twelve women and children taken away; another described his being alive as a miracle of God because his area was attacked and several people were killed, and houses and churches were burned down. The stories continued until the last pastor stood and described how his house was burnt down with his four children in it.

The whole conference became a place of mourning and prayers. This drove the conference to give all it could to assist the 10 ministers, just to get their lives started again. It was an anxious and heart-melting session.

Another disturbing moment came when the conference learned that more than 30 persons were burnt alive at the gate of Maiduguri City by Boko Haram after the military closed the gate on them. Since EYN (Church of Brethren) is the leading church in Borno State, it became necessary to pray as we headed back to the station with mixed feelings.

Despite the fear and sad moments at the conference, there were many things to celebrate: 1. We witnessed a successful conference to the glory of God.

6. Praise for answered prayer for the safe journeys for all the ministers - though one of the Maiduguri-bound cars had an accident, the minister came out of it safely without injury. The Maiduguri Road has more than five major entrances into Borno, but with only one or two accessible through the help of the military.

7. ACTS (i.e. all staff that attended the conference) received many calls from ministers expressing their gratitude for the literature given to them at the conference.

8. The confidence and boldness seen in the eyes of the ministers is worth thanking God for and the worthy stories of many Muslims turning to Christ as Saviour without fear.

PRAYERS NEEDED 1. Pray for the church EYN and other churches in the northeast.

2. Pray for the church facing daily death and destruction.

2. ACTS reached more than nine hundred ministers with literature and evangelism tools. We were able to give each pastor “Christianity and Islam” and other tools for the ministerial work. This sparked jubilation among ministers. They appreciated this gesture greatly.

3. Pray for the ministers to stand firm and encourage members not to give up. The conference for both members and ministers is in the spring. We expect close to 2,000 people to be in attendance. We want to reach this population, God helping us.)

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4. Pray for supporters and helpers to make things easier for ACTS to achieve her dreams of publishing and reaching the needy.

The leadership celebrated the efforts of ACTS over the years of providing relevant literature, which made a huge difference among ministers and members in depressed situations, for they saw ACTS as a beacon of hope to them (EYN) and beyond.

4. ACTS received lots of feedback on the distribution last April of tracts and Bibles among ministers and members. They were given the ESV Global Study Bible, Every Christian a Witness and revival movement materials.

5. We thank God for the successful sales and outreach to seminaries existing in the Northeast by our marketing team after the conference.

5. Pray for courage and safety for our staff as they travel about, despite danger.

6. Pray for the vehicles to function as any breakdown can be very costly (and dangerous) on these roads.

7. Pray for effective use of literature that has been distributed.

8. Pray for peace in Nigeria.

9. Pray for the leadership of Nigeria.

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LOCALLY SOURCED

Food Drive Update Daniel Bair, Englewood Family Outreach Thanks to all who contributed to the Food Drive for Englewood Family Services. We were blown away by the generosity of so many people. Besides those who drove up and donated throughout the day, many helped us pack, unpack, organize and start to deliver care packages as well. When the day began, I thought I would be able to fit all the donated food into my car. Wow, was I underestimating the generous response. So special thank you to Wisdom Moving for donating the use of their truck and driving all the donations we received! Thank you!!

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FACE TO FACE

A Time of Reflection Pat Cirrincione It was April 10, 2011. The call came in around nine in the evening. “Mom and Dad, Lindsay’s just gone into labor. Can you meet us at the hospital?” And just like that it began: hours of labor, future parents (my son and daughter-in-law) and grandparents (my husband and I) waiting for their first child and our first grandchild to be born.

What an evening as first we sat, then we paced, then we got to go and visit our son and his wife for a few minutes. Then more hours of sitting, drinking hospital coffee, dozing off and then our son was standing there telling us that we had a ten-pound granddaughter.

We sat in shocked amazement. A granddaughter? Don’t you mean a grandson? Didn’t all the crazy tests you had been doing for nine months indicate that a boy was to be born?

Are you sure it’s a girl?

“Yep! It’s a girl” our son told us, and then I was racing into the delivery room to see her.

What a sight! Red faced, and howling, “How dare you take me from the warmth of the womb into this cold world!” She was not happy. Our son looked at his wife, then at his daughter screaming in his arms and then he did one of the most amazing things—he came over to me and placed this beautiful, red-faced, screaming little bundle of life into my arms, and I fell totally in love.

I remember taking her to a quiet corner of the room and speaking softly to her, telling her who I was and that I would love her all of my life; that I would be her Nana, and she would be my special number one granddaughter; and that I would be there for her always. What a moment of pure love and joy. What a wonderful gift from God. And so it began, and it was now April 11, 2011.

How do you thank God for the gift of new life, a new beginning, a new face in the Creator’s world. It’s a pretty strong feeling, and if you thought your prayers were going up during the pregnancy, that all would turn out healthy and well, it is nothing like your prayers every day for this new human being. You pray for their health, their welfare, that they won’t be bullied once they begin school, that they won’t be the bully, that they will come to know the Lord and rely on him, that he will make them strong and courageous as life comes at them with all of its challenges.

Since that day, nine years ago, we have been blessed with three more granddaughters.

As we look at them, laugh with them, go to their christenings, birthday parties and school functions, we wonder what they will do with their lives. Will they become doctors, lawyers, teachers, race car drivers, Olympic champions in soccer or baseball, missionaries who carry out the Lord’s commission and spread the word of the gospel to some far corner of the world? Will they be courteous and well mannered? Will they place God front and center in their lives? So many questions, and no answers at these early stages. We do see kindness in their hearts already and love for their family and delight at family gatherings as they play with their cousins, laugh and joke around with each other.

Again, we are still in the early stages of their lives and wonder what God will decide for them.

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Several years ago, a friend began the Nana Prayer Group. This is what we do for our grandchildren, children and family members. Every other week we get together and put our prayer requests before the Lord. Some of the things we pray for are as simple as my oldest granddaughter wanting her bad dreams to go away. We pray for their health, their daily lives in their school environments, their injuries from playing sports, their growth formation of body and mind, their capacity to love one another, the bullying they might encounter in school, people who are mean to them, their dreams for their lives and how God will help them to handle their disappointments through the help of the Holy Spirit, their willingness to accept the Lord as their Savior. The list goes on and on and on, for their spiritual welfare, for their ability to get along with their siblings, for their safety once they take off for college, and we nanas pray for each other to retain our hair color through it all.

We have always lived in an uncertain world, but no one could have anticipated what we are presently experiencing, and even in the worst of times, it always amazes me that life goes on, and children are born each day. In February we welcomed our fourth granddaughter into the world. She was actually due on March 24, hence, I call her our miracle baby. She arrived a month early, before the COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home orders went into effect. God was kind to us as he allowed us to be at her birth and enjoy the warmth of holding her in our arms before our doors were closed to visiting each other.

Technology allows us to FaceTime with our children and grandchildren, but nothing can replace a hug or real human touch. Yet there is still joy when we can drive by and wave to them all through our car windows, when I place plastic Easter eggs on their front lawns, scurry back to our car and enjoy their glee as they find the eggs I scattered in trees, grass and bushes. When we put Happy Birthday signs on our car windows and beep the car horn to the birthday song. God is good. He knew how life for His creation was going to be before this happened. No one could have anticipated this, and maybe God is giving us this time to see the extremes in our own nature, both good and bad.

Pat and Sal's granddaughters

I quote Dr. David Jeremiah, in his book The Book of Signs, page 320: “Churches and godly homes are battle stations from which prayers emanate in a vast communication network that connects both fronts. As prayer warriors, we often turn the tide of human events. Someone has said, ‘It’s not the players that make the world go ‘round, it’s the pray-ers.’”

The book of James speaks of trials and tribulations—all people will have them in this broken world. God promises to hold onto us until all the hard times are done.

We know we are blessed. We know that the Lord has been kind to us. We know that the Lord has honored, loved and blessed us with the people in our lives. So, let’s stay strong and courageous. Our children and grandchildren need us to pray for them to let them know that real security can be found only in God. Let us continue to love one another and keep praying.

We have the opportunity, right now, to witness to the world in our circumstances as we get down on our knees and beg our Almighty God for deliverance from the bad times we are all going through at this moment and all the other moments when we forget that he is in charge, not us.

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SIDE BY SIDE

The Making of the Hallelujah Chorus (Video) Connections went behind the scenes with Robin Wiper and Adam Billingham to find how the viral (more than 400k views) Hallelujah Chorus was produced.

How did the idea for the video come about?

Robin: The Hallelujah Chorus is such a big part of the College Church tradition on Easter Sunday, and the worship team was trying to figure out a way to bring it into the at-home worship service.

The wheels began to turn as Robin recalled a video she watched several years ago.

Robin: It was from a town in Alaska called Quinhagak. It is still on YouTube, so you can see that it wasn’t an original idea. Because that video is so much fun to watch, I began to think . . . a lot of families I know were home anyway, perhaps I could drive around town and shoot video of people in their yards or in their windows, holding up signs with the lyrics on them. Pastor Erik and Ruth Gregornik gave me the go ahead. Actually, I didn’t have the idea until the week before Easter, so there was a bit of a time crunch.

Adam: Once Robin had the vision, she called me and started asking how we could accomplish something like this. To be honest, I was skeptical at first that we would be able to pull it off, but Robin had the drive, and she made it happen.

Adam has done some impressive video work for the church in the past, so Robin asked him to teach her how to dub the music onto the videos and put it together.

Robin: Thankfully, Adam pulled me out of the hole I was digging for myself and offered to edit footage.

Then he gave me excellent guidance about how to shoot and organize the project. Then he created this wonderfully fun and uplifting journey through the Hallelujah Chorus, right down to the timing of the 4x4 screen on the last Hallelujah!

Adam: It was Robin who made all the signs with all the lyrics split into lines, and then she assigned different families a couple lines each. She sent out a mass email and texts with instructions of what she was looking for.

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A lot of the fun was seeing members of our church family on Easter morning. (We were impressed with all their Easter finery, by the way.) How did you choose the families and pull that off?

Robin: It had to come together so quickly that I literally started texting families I know pretty well and had been speaking with recently, knowing or hoping for their availability.

Adam: A lot of families with kids participated, and that was actually helpful because for some parts there were a lot of signs to hold up! But it was great to see the diversity of young and old participating together, too.

How long did production take, and what was involved?

Robin: Production took four days, because that’s all we had. I divided up the lyrics (there aren’t that many) between the families. Most of the families shot their own footage—that’s where all the creative and fun presentations came from; all I provided was a piece of paper with the lyrics in large letters on them. We all sent the footage to Adam. To avoid copyright issues, AV manager, Joseph Abdelmelek pulled up a recording of Easter 2012 and the College Church choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus. The final 4x4 screen is made up of shots I mostly took driving from house to house the morning of Good Friday.

Adam: What Robin said. Shout out to Tim Hollinger for helping us navigate copyright issues and Joseph Abdelmelek for finding the College Church "Hallelujah" recording to use. I received footage from Robin and the families, bit by bit, so it was a process of getting the footage and finding its place in the music as clips came in. It was like fitting together the pieces of a puzzle.

What surprised you about the production?

Robin: The amazing weather that the Lord granted us that week. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, though, and thanks to the shelter-in-place order, we were able to have mostly entire families.

Adam: I was surprised at how creative and funny people got with the lyrics. I found myself laughing at my computer when a new clip came from someone.

What were some challenges that you had to overcome?

Robin: Time and organization, but the families did most of the work.

Adam: I had some technical challenges with the footage, because everybody shot with different cameras. Without getting too technical, I ended up having to transcode all of the clips into another format so I could edit smoothly with them. We also had to find a way to make the ending feel more gran-

diose, because the music is so climactic. I tried a 3x3 grid that Robin liked but we had even more footage that we wanted to fit in. So, we ended up doing a 4x4 grid of a bunch of videos at the end and had just enough footage!

Emails have come to church from Maine to California. Did either of you anticipate it going viral?

Robin: Not at all. It was meant to bring our congregation joy and sense of community. I am thrilled that it is reaching so many people!

Adam: Nope. I have gotten more emails and feedback about this video than anything I've worked on before. Glad people enjoyed it and were encouraged by it. This is my first "interview" about a video I've worked on, so after it runs in Connections, I'm hoping it'll show up in Variety or The Hollywood Reporter.

FACE TO FACE

On Our Nightstands Wil Triggs: This is a busier than usual time for many of us, but I have two books on my nightstand that I’ve started and am hoping to finish. They are The Possibility of Prayer by John Starke and On the Road with Saint Augustine by James K.A. Smith. I asked other pastors and directors what books are on their nightstands, and here is what they shared.

Cheryce Berg

Dan Hiben

Psalms (ESV) Bible

Praying with Paul by D. A. Carson

Valley of Vision

What's Best Next by Matt Perman

The Steward Leader by R. Scott Rodin The first two books of the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson:

Diane Jordan

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia by John Dunlop

North! Or Be Eaten

The Pastor and Counseling by Jeremy Pierre & Deepak Reju

Eric Channing Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road by Tim Keller The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky

When I am Afraid by Edward T. Welch

Running Scared – Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest by Ed Welch Grief: Finding Hope Again by Paul David Tripp Life After Retirement by Steve Brown Just read first three, now onto next three.

Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas Prayer by John Bunyan Curt Miller Suffering by Paul David Tripp

Jacob Warren Center Church by Tim Keller Ministries of Mercy by Tim Keller Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer Consequence of Ideas by R.C. Sproul

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Erick Solomon

Mindy Rynbrandt

Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road by Timothy Keller

Just read:

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It

by Chris Voss

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Christian Smith and Michael Emerson

D-Day Girls by Sarah Rose

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover Erik Dewar Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for our Common Life by Makoto Fujimura You Are What You Love

by James K. A. Smith

The Tech-wise Family by Andy Crouch Reason for God by Tim Keller Reading now: Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini White Awake by Daniel Hill Glory in the Ordinary by Courtney Reissig Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis Nancy Singer

Josh Stringer Confronting Christianity

by Rebecca McLaughlin A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

by Eugene Peterson The Cost of These Dreams

by Wright Thompson Up Next: Dream With Me

by John M. Perkins The Common Rule

by Justin Whitmel Easley Chaos by Tom O’Neil Michael Walker Gilead by Marilynne Robinson The Care of Souls by Harold Senkbeil Mike Solis Gilead by Marilynne Robinson The Complete Stories by H.P. Lovecraft The Cambridge Seven by John Pollock

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Mornings with Jesus 2020 Tim Hollinger Analog Church: Why We Need Real People, Places, and Things in the Digital Age

by Jay Y. Kim. Zach Fallon I've been making my way through two books recently. One is The Care of Souls

by Harold L. Senkbeil, which has been challenging and encouraging in thinking about caring for others spiritually. I've also been working through Biblical Theology by the late Geerhardus Vos, which explores the unfolding mind of God in history by looking at the successive agents of special revelation.

BOOK REVIEWS

Shadow of the Almighty, The Life & Testament of Jim Elliot, compiled by Elisabeth Elliott We Died Before We Came Here by Emily Foreman Reviewed by Michelle Kelley, ministry associate for missions events and communications.

I have long known the story of Jim Elliot and the other four men with him as they met the Auca people of Ecuador. After preparing for months for a potentially dangerous interaction with an unreached people group, they were killed. But, until a couple weeks ago, I didn’t know much about Jim Elliot or what led him to that encounter.

I highly recommend Shadow of the Almighty, The Life & Testament of Jim Elliot, compiled by Elisabeth Elliot. This classic book drips with saintly wisdom through the remnants of Jim’s letters and journal entries. Over the course of eleven years of entries, he touches on practically every topic imaginable–college, work, finances, dating, gardening, discerning God’s leading, prayer. It is not a book that a reader should expect to fly through, but to sit in. Multiple times I re-read a paragraph and then took time to stop, process and pray.

I would apply Jim’s quote to his own book, “I see the value of Christian biography tonight, as I have been reading [David] Brainerd’s Diary much today. It stirs me up much to pray and wonder at my nonchalance... O Lord, let me be granted grace to ‘imitate their faith’”.

From early on, Jim knew that the Lord might give him a short life, but he prayed that his life might be like fuel which, though it burns only a short time, burns brightly. This prayer reminded me of another man, called by God, whose life followed a similar pattern. Though Jim Elliot’s story is perhaps the most wellknown, Christian martyrdom is not unique to him.

In We Died Before We Came Here, Emily Foreman begins with her husband’s death by Muslim extremists. Emily, Stephen and their children followed God’s call to be missionaries in North Africa. The Lord had clearly, and individually, laid on their hearts to love Muslims and share with them the good news of Jesus. Similar to Jim Elliot, Stephen had the idea years beforehand that the Lord might be calling him to die for the sake of bringing the gospel to unreached people.

Emily writes very humbly about the Lord’s guidance and provision throughout her and Stephen’s journey to becoming missionaries. Their vision trip to their potential country was ripe with challenges–cultural, emotional, familial. The move to the desert was not easy, and their ministry took a while to get off the ground. She struggled with wanting to do more ministry while feeling like she was failing other’s standards by not being

a full-time homeschool mom. They missed their families. They were served odd food. And yet, there is so much joy and peace weaved throughout the pages of this book. God had clearly called them, and they knew, firmly, they were exactly where they were meant to be, even on the day Stephen was killed.

As Emily writes after Stephen’s death, “God was not done yet.” In a culture with strong principles of vengeance and justice, the Christian witness of forgiving enemies was met with much surprise. Emily writes, “Stephen’s death had a profound impact on these people–and our family’s display of forgiveness is still talked about to this day,” which also reminds me of the grace and forgiveness displayed by Elisabeth Elliot, who later lived among the Aucas and shared the gospel with them.

It is inspiring to read stories of incredible faith-filled people.

And it is encouraging to realize they are just people, like me and like you. Jim Elliot had weeks where he was busy and didn’t read his Bible. Stephen Foreman struggled to know what was right. But, if God used them, in their failings and struggles, then he could also use me, and you, here in Wheaton or around the world, to make his name and his glory known. Elisabeth, Jim, Emily and Stephen leave strong legacies that were a challenge and encouragement to me, and I think might be one to you, too.

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NEW MEMBERS

Stephen Chen

Jake Fernandes

Abby Knudson

PLACES I’VE LIVED: Shanghai, China, now in Winfield, Illinois, with host parents Rick and Helen Westerfield, while attending Wheaton Academy

PLACES I’VE LIVED: West Chicago

PLACES I’VE LIVED: Grew up on the mission field in Bolivia

9 TO 5: High school student at Wheaton Academy PASTTIMES: Playing badminton and ultimate frisbee, reading, involved with music

9 TO 5: Works as an internal wholesaler with First Trust Portfolios PASTTIMES: Enjoys all sports, reading theology and history, youth ministry and following the Chicago Blackhawks CHURCH INVOLVEMENT: Serves in HYACKs

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT: Attends Veritas Adult Community

FAMILY: Her parents, Paul and Christy Knudson, also new members, are missionaries in Bolivia.

Her siblings are Caleb and Caitlyn.

9 TO 5: Freshman at Wheaton College and a Spanish tutor.

PASTTIMES: Enjoys reading and is part of a book cub. Enjoys time with friends, family, traveling and movies.

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT: College Group and small group, STARS, inclusion buddy in Kindergarten Bible school

Paul & Christy Knudson PLACES I’VE LIVED: Wales in the UK (Christy), Oak Park, Bolivia as missionaries with SIM FAMILY: They married in 1995; their three children are Abby, Caleb and Caitlyn.

9 TO 5: Paul was an elementary school teacher before returning to seminary. Christy is a homemaker, missionary, student working on a master’s in special education and a teacher in Bolivia. Paul taught Bible and missions at a small Bible school and served as SIM Bolivia director for eight years.

PASTTIMES: Paul has recently been reading American Revolutionary history and historical fiction. Christy enjoys crafts and being outside and working in the yard. As a family they like to visit U.S. national parks.

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT: Kids’ Harbor, small group, Women’s Bible Study, Perspectives class, missions training program

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Caleb Knudson

Don & Gail Merry

Willie Martinez

PLACES I’VE LIVED: Grew up on the mission field in Bolivia

FAMILY: Married in 1979 and have five children and ten grandchildren

PLACES I’VE LIVED: Currently lives in Wheaton

FAMILY: His parents are new members, Paul and Christy, and are missionaries in Bolivia. His sisters are Abby and Caitlyn.

9 TO 5: Gail is currently a homemaker and runs an online children’s book shop.

9 TO 5: Junior at Wheaton North High School PASTTIMES: Enjoys reading and sports.

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT: Serves as a tutor at the Outreach Community Center, assistant coach for an Upwards basketball team, HYACKs

PASTTIMES: Gail enjoys creating book studies and craft days with her grandchildren and enjoys cooking. She volunteers at local libraries in her area.

FAMILY: A son in Glen Ellyn and a daughter in San Diego 9 TO 5: Retired from chiropractic practice and worked for the Department of Homeland Security.

PASTTIMES: Enjoys playing guitar and writing gospel songs

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT: Logos Adult Community

David & Judy Hulseberg PLACES I’VE LIVED: David is from Massachusetts.

FAMILY: Married Judy in 2013; their blended family includes sons Jordan, Dylan, Oliver and Ben. 9 TO 5: David is a retired as a village manager in 2014 and now serves as CEO/president of a local not-forprofit operating in the economic development arena for disenfranchised communities. Judy is a full-time homemaker and part-time attorney practicing in the area of trusts and estates.

PASTTIMES: David serves in the Billy Graham chaplaincy and welcomes international graduate students and their families to Wheaton. He enjoys the outdoors, serves on the board of directors of the Conservation Foundation, is an avid Boston sports fan, enjoys hunting, fishing, golf and chess. Judy enjoys reading, writing and travel. She volunteers with Re:New and at her sons’ school. She enjoys theatre and musical performances. They both enjoy time with friends and family.

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT: Small group, Men’s Bible Study, prayer groups, mission trips

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NEW MEMBERS (continued)

Tony Visconti

Eric Wales

Michael Walker

FAMILY: Tony is married to Kristin (née Knosp) and they have one son, Pearson.

PLACES I’VE LIVED: Grew up in Michigan

FAMILY: Michael grew up in Michigan and went to seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

9 TO 5: Digital Ministry Manager at College Church PASTTIMES: Learning new things—currently taking care of their new home and reading up on French cooking.

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT: Kids’ Harbor, small group

FAMILY: The youngest of five siblings; his parents are preparing to retire from pastoral ministry.

9 TO 5: Graduate of Wheaton College with degree in International Relations and Spanish.

Currently working as a climbing arborist for a tree care company.

9 TO 5: Working as a College Church pastoral resident with Pastor Zach Fallon in HYACKs. PASTTIMES: Enjoys sports, reading, being outdoors and time with friends

PASTTIMES: Reading favorite authors such as MacDonald, Tolkien, Lewis and Longfellow. Enjoys and appreciates music, especially hymns and ragtime. Enjoys running and other sports.

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT: Sanctity of Human Life Task Force, Joint Heirs Adult Community

Bill & Ruth Anne Offutt PLACES I’VE LIVED: Recently moved from the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area FAMILY: Bill and Ruth Anne have two adult children and four grandchildren.

9 TO 5: Retired from pastoral ministry. Ruth Anne taught math in middle school before family came along.

PASTTIMES: Bill enjoys creating origami architecture cards, or pop-up greeting cards for family. He is also involved in gospel chalk programs for churches, camps and retirement homes, as well as gospel magic and balloon animals.

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT: Veritas Adult Community and Keenagers

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MILESTONES/LOOKING AHEAD Births and Marriages

Condolences

• Katherine Lynn Kosirog was born to Justin and Rachel Kosirog on April 15. Katherine’s big sisters are Clara and Annie, and her paternal grandparents are Glenn and Debbie Kosirog.

• Eleanor Jane O’Brien was born to Shawn and Emily O’Brien on April 9. Eleanor’s maternal grandparents are Scott and Cathy Evangelist.

• Hans Oliver Reiman was born to Jeremy and Meredith Reiman on March 17 in Olympia, WA. Hans’ maternal grandparents are George and Annette Brichacek.

• Pray for Carole ( Jeff) Seume, former missions pastor Jim (Lisa) Johnston and family as they grieve the loss of their mother and long-time College Church member Muriel Johnston, who passed away on April 22 in Phoenix, AZ. • Pray for Val (Gary) Chase and family as they grieve the loss of Val’s sister, Vanessa McInturf, who passed away suddenly on April 20 in Sandwich, IL. • Pray for family and friends of Charles Haley, who passed away on April 15. Services were private due to the ongoing health crisis.

• Pray for Dave ( Jill) Tweeten and family as they grieve the loss of Dave’s mother, Arlene, who passed away on April 2.

An Answer to Prayer Wheaton Bible Church (WBC) has called our Pastoral Resident, Erick Solomon, to be their campus pastor at their Tri-Village Church, the Streamwood campus of WBC. Erick will finish his residency with us this month and will officially join the pastoral team of Wheaton Bible Church on June 1. Let’s give thanks for Erick’s time of ministry here with us and pray for him and his family during this time of transition. Pray that God will use Erick in the days ahead to change lives and bring many into a lasting walk with Christ.

Take advantage of events—some one-time, some ongoing—that are taking place around town this month.

Also, keep Connections in mind to promote a community event to the College Church family.

Send event information by the following dates to connections@college-church.org.

For the June issue: May 7 | For the July issue: June 7 | For the August issue: July 7

Connections is a monthly newsletter published for and about the people of College Church.

Send news items and suggestions to: connections@college-church.org.

332 E. Seminary, Wheaton, IL 60187 • Phone: (630) 668-0878 • www.college-church.org

Our Pastors, Directors and Residents: Eric Channing, pastor of congregational care and family ministries | Cheryce Berg, director of children’s ministries | Julie Clemens, director of disability ministries | Erik Dewar, pastor of worship and music | Zach Fallon, senior high pastor | Dan Hiben, junior high pastor | Tim Hollinger, technology director | Diane Jordan, director of visitation and care | Howard Kern, facilities director | Curt Miller, missions pastor | Josh Moody, senior pastor | Ben Panner, college pastor | Mindy Rynbrandt, director of women’s ministries | John Seward, executive pastor | Nancy Singer, director of administration and finance | Mike Solis, pastoral resident | Erick Solomon, pastoral resident | Josh Stringer, pastor of discipleship | Wil Triggs, director of communications | Michael Walker, pastoral resident | Jacob Warren, pastoral resident Our Council of Elders: Bruce Aulie | David Dix, vice chair | Dave Gieser | Steve Ivester | Randy Jahns | Heinrich Johnsen | Dan Lindquist | Josh Moody, senior pastor | Phil Nussbaum | Tom Nussbaum | Mark Taylor, chair | Tad Williams | Rob Wolgemuth, secretary