This is Us

We are the church, whether we are gathered or scattered--each one of us, a part of the body of Christ, wherever we go, whatever we do.

So, where can you find us, and what are we doing? 

Tim and Cindy Wiant love cooking for friends and family...and for the homeless. For about 14 years they have led our Dorothy Day Impact ministry. The first Saturday of every other month is our day to make lunch. Just so happens those Saturdays usually fall on Labor Day weekend, Fourth of July Weekend, and New Year's Weekend! And they still manage to field a team and make a great meal. It's fun, and part of the reason it's fun is because of Tim and Cindy's contagious joy. Tim also helped build the GVCM orphanage in Haiti a few years back. It was a multiyear project. He was on a Bobcat when the earthquake hit. He thought kids were rocking the Bobcat until he looked at the wall surrounding the compound and it was moving in waves! 

Kathy Giere and her 7th-grade girls Student Ministries small group did the hair (and beard) painting at the Fall Fun Fest. When I first came to Five Oaks, Kathy led our Children's Ministry for years. When we launched our Hudson campus, Kathy led the Children's Ministry there for many more years. 

So many students helped with the Fun Fest! Here Anika Burquest paints Justin Talk's beard. She painted mine blue. Students serving at Five Oaks goes way beyond the Fun Fest. Every weekend, for example, our students help make our Kids Ministry impactful in the lives of so many kids and families. They are growing in discipleship each time they serve. 

If you saw the beautiful hand-crafted wood train in the Silent Auction this year, Tim Kiel built it (pictured above with his wife Marie). He ended up donating two. The detail is incredible. One of the cars carries slats of wood from about 9 different kinds of wood (the zebra wood was so interesting). Whoever won the bid on one of those trains is super lucky! (Wink)