Tell us about yourself (where are you from and how did you land in KC?)
I grew up in rural, northwest Missouri and claim Chillicothe as my hometown. I attended Southwest Baptist University for my undergraduate degree and then spent a few years overseas after graduation. By the time I came back to the US, most of my family had landed in the Kansas City area. I worked for a few years at SBU but eventually wanted to attend seminary, with a goal to pursue work overseas long-term. Kansas City was an obvious choice for me: exciting things were happening at Midwestern Seminary, and my family lived here. So, I moved up to Kansas City in August of 2014!
What drew you to LBC, and what do you like most about it?
I was initially drawn to LBC because of the LBC members I knew. They were stellar examples of disciple-making disciples, who loved the Jesus of the gospel and wanted to become more like Him. They made an impression on me! One of those members also compared Nathan’s preaching to Michael Jordan’s high school basketball skills… already impressive, steadily maturing, and bound to be the stuff of legends someday. Who wouldn’t want to visit a church with devoted people and faithful sermons and pastoral leadership? I visited for a few weeks and quickly knew I wanted to be part of LBC.
It’s difficult to say what I like most about this church, simply because I love so many aspects of it. Perhaps the most important thing I like about LBC is that we consistently rehearse the gospel together. We, as a body, proclaim the gospel corporately in song, prayer, and confession. We hear the gospel preached from the pulpit and from one another every week, and we experience the benefits of the gospel in fellowship and reconciliation with our brothers and sisters. It’s a gospel-drenched church, which seeks to make much of Jesus, and I love that.
What will you be doing in your new role as the DEA? Why are you excited to serve in this way?
In my role as the Director of Equipping and Assimilation, I will work with equipping groups, assimilation of members, the LBC Blog and church website, and women’s discipleship, among other things.
In the realm of equipping groups, I will assist with finding teachers and curriculum, and I plan to provide some opportunities for teacher training. In the realm of assimilation, I will help our people serve within the church. I hope to help connect people with ways to serve that utilize the unique giftedness each member contributes. Our church is gifted by God by means of the people that He Himself has gifted to our body, so I’ll work with both new and existing members to find avenues for service that fit personal giftedness and interest as well as current needs within the church.
In the realm of LBC Blog and website, I will help manage content on the blog and website, working with our communication team and anyone who wants to write for the blog to provide helpful and timely content for our people. In the realm of women’s discipleship, I will work with the pastors and our women’s ministry team to ensure the women of LBC are being discipled and are discipling one another.
While I’m excited to serve as the DEA for many reasons, I am most excited because each of these areas of focus are areas the Lord has given me a passion (and hopefully skill!) to grow and develop. LBC already does a great job of equipping, discipling, communicating, and serving, and it will be a joy to see each of these strengthened, Lord willing, by having someone specifically tasked to put weight behind them. I’m excited to come alongside the pastors, staff, and volunteers to bolster the work they are already doing, to take some of the load off them as is appropriate, and to allow our pastors more time to pastor our growing church body.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I tend to be a collector of hobbies, so I’ll just list some things I’ve enjoyed in my spare time over the last several years (items with an asterisk have stood the test of time): reading*, writing*, hiking, playing piano*, drinking tea or coffee, canoeing, crafting, baking*, archery, washing dishes*, playing racquetball, watching movies*, traveling, and hanging out with family and friends*. So far, gardening and snorkeling are the only two hobbies I have found I do not enjoy very much, though I am making another attempt at gardening. Stay tuned, and please let me know if you have gardening tips!