“Dad’s always been crazy...”
the community where God has placed them. In addition to running the church with Kristi, Wayne continues to accept speaking engagements promoting church planting all across the nation. Kristi is an associate pastor at the church and holds down a full-time job in the insurance industry. She also is a successful singer, songwriter, and worship leader who has produced four albums and is working on a fifth. Wayne and Kristi are proud parents of two children, Libby and Lincoln. The Northups are the personification of bi-vocational ministers: the focus is the church, and the second job is a practical means to support their family and stay in touch with the community.
“Ring by spring!” is a common expression laughingly uttered by countless North Central University students and alumni over the years, but the truth is, many great marriages and great ministries blossomed in the halls of NCU. That being said, it’s rare that one family produces such a high volume of dynamic ministry duos as that of Mike and MonaRe Shields. Not only are they partners in ministry and life, but they also are best friends and each other’s numero uno fan. Youngest daughter Elizabeth describes how Mike and MonaRe fell in love: They met on an Alliance International Ministries team in Nicaragua in 1969. The first thing my dad ever said to my mom was, ‘I’m Mike Shields from Goose Lake, Louisiana, Entertainment Capital of the World!’ He’s always been crazy. She was his Spanish teacher at NCU and he knew he would marry her from that point. She was engaged to another guy at the time, but he was pursuing a degree in aerospace engineering and she wanted to be in ministry—it obviously didn’t work out! My dad and mom’s brother Rocky Grams ended up being roommates at NCU, so she couldn’t get away from him. Mom and Dad volunteered together at Christ Church (Gospel Tabernacle). Dad played guitar and did puppets for the kids, and Mom thought he’d make a good dad. Throughout 46 years of marriage, Mike and MonaRe have ministered around the globe visiting countless countries on multiple continents. All the while, they modeled for their two daughters, Kristi and Elizabeth, how marriage and ministry can work beautifully in tandem. As a result, both daughters married NCU grads and have forged ahead into their own lives of dynamic ministry as couples. In addition, all six of these amazing alumni are ordained ministers with the Assemblies of God. Today, Mike and MonaRe continue to travel extensively throughout Latin America as ministry specialists in evangelism and leadership training. Their travels have taken them throughout Central and South America organizing, promoting, and managing 80 international outreach events, and traveling with more than 3,000 students. The Shields also serve as the international directors for the Latin American Advanced School of Theology (LAAST) in the 22 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, which boasts more than 6,000 active students and 2,000 graduates from the program. MonaRe’s duties as director and visiting professor for LAAST take her to many countries each year. Both she and Mike work together to coordinate 18 one-month training seminars attended by 700 pastors throughout Central and South America annually. And they don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. 16 | NCU Magazine
“We fell in love studying Romans...” In 2001, Elizabeth Shields married Tory Farina, the only son of evangelist Sam and Vicki Farina. Although they met as children at Lake Geneva Bible Camp in Alexandria, Minnesota, it wasn’t until they were college students that they fell in love… Front: Wayne Northup, Mike Shields, Tory Farina Back: Kristi Northup, MonaRe Shields, Elizabeth Farina
“You should marry Wayne Northup...” Kristi Shields Northup, the Shields’ eldest daughter, recalls her first impression of husband Wayne. Wayne and I met the very first day I moved into the dorms at NCU. He was my Discovery Group leader. I had only been back in the U.S. for a few weeks and hadn’t met very many guys. I remember thinking he said “dude” and “Jesus” a lot! I wondered if all American guys were that way. I quickly figured out he was unique! We actually think we would not have met if we hadn’t been in that group together. He was in sports, I was a music major. We had been good friends for three years when we had our only class together, Homiletics II with Dr. Gill. Without a doubt, Wayne was the best preacher in the class! That will make a girl take notice. We reunited the next year in Urbana, Illinois, while I was an intern and he was staff evangelist at Stone Creek Church with Gary Grogan. The last night of my internship we went for a walk. He asked me if he had ever crossed my mind. I said, “When 50 people have told me ‘ You should marry Wayne Northup,’ yeah, it’s crossed my mind!” We got married the next year. After 15 years of marriage, Wayne and Kristi have led more than 4,000 students in ministry through the streets of New Orleans during its most celebrated, yet spiritually turbulent, days of Mardis Gras. In 2011, they launched Saint’s Community Church in New Orleans. Being a mobile church plant, they spent five long years setting up and tearing down their church every week. Finally, in 2015 they purchased their own building, enabling them to lay down roots and continue to grow and bless
I met Tory when I was six years old. My dad was the district youth director for the Minnesota Assemblies of God and ran the teen camps during the summer. Tory’s dad, Sam Farina, was an evangelist who traveled the country and spoke for youth events. In 1986 Sam spoke for the Minnesota teen camps and brought his young son along. My sister and I were the only little kids at the camp and were thrilled to have a playmate for a few weeks. At the end of the camps we said goodbye and only saw each other two more times in all the years we were growing up. Our parents remained friends, and Tory grew up with our prayer card on his refrigerator (which meant he saw all my awkward stages!). I never forgot the little boy from summer camp. We were reunited as freshmen at NCU. We fell in love studying for our Romans class with Dr. Geddes, were married between our junior and senior year at NCU and graduated as husband and wife. After graduation in 2002, Tory and Elizabeth were called to minister at a church in North Carolina for a year. After moving back to the Twin Cities, they both took secular jobs in preparation for church planting. By day, Tory worked in customer service for Marshall Fields and Elizabeth managed a Williams-Sonoma store. By night they researched and planned what would eventually become their first church plant: High Point Church in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. On January 25, 2005, the Farinas launched High Point serving as co-lead pastors for eight-and-a-half fruitful years. On October 4, 2015, they launched their second plant, Liberty Church in Woodbury, Minnesota, where they once again serve as co-lead pastors. Tory and Elizabeth are a tremendous balance for one another. Tory is relational, a networker, and primary
Wayne and Kristi Northup inspire students at a recent NCU Chapel.
Tory and Elizabeth Farina with Olivia, Lewis, and beagle Daisy. communicator, while Elizabeth excels at systems and structural organization. They were both credentialed with the Assemblies of God in 2002 and were ordained in 2007 in the very same ordination service as Wayne and Kristi Northup. Like the Shields and Northups, the Farinas are an indefatigable ministry couple, working passionately to introduce the world to Christ. All of their respective ministries are made possible by the generosity of others and by making Kingdom projects accessible to the people in the pews. The three families have raised millions of dollars, all of which has been recycled back into Kingdom work, changing lives one penny and one person at a time. Fall 2015 | 17