Our Staff

Welcome Pastor Greg! Greg and his wife Carol come to us from McGrawsville UMC. Keep watching this space for more info as soon as Lisa writes up something brilliant. I could write what I remember about Greg in this space, but it wouldn't sound half as nice as what Lisa will write. (No pressure, Lisa.)

As Pastor of Congregational Care, Pastor Sherri Long spends much of her time visiting those in the hospital, in nursing homes, or those simply unable to attend worship because of their health. She also preaches on some Sundays and is involved in premarital, baptismal, and end-of-life counseling and soul care. Pastor Sherri, who has a nursing degree from Purdue University, also heads up HUMC’s Parish Nurse Program. From the moment she walked into HUMC in November of ’95 (at the invitation of her brother), Sherri knew she had at last found what had been missing in her life. She joined in 1996.

“God used a miracle to get my attention,” she says of her decision to pursue the ministry. (She is currently working on obtaining full ministry credentialing at the University of Indianapolis.) One night while working in the emergency room, Sherri found herself the primary RN in the trauma room. A 13-year-old boy was brought in with a gunshot wound to the head so serious that, for all practical purposes, he was brain dead. His survival was very unlikely. As Sherri tells it, “As I worked on him, his dad came into the room and stood quietly in the corner watching. As I prepared to take him to x-ray to scan his brain to assess the damage and look for the bullet, his dad asked if his mom could come back and see him first. She stepped into the room and took her son's hand and told him, ‘Ternet, you know Jesus. Don't be afraid. Just put your hand in His and go wherever He takes you. It is okay.’ There was no crying, no pleading with God, just solid faith that He would take care of it and no matter what the outcome, it was okay. [This was] my first encounter with real faith and real trust in God in a seemingly hopeless situation.” The boy survived, went on to graduate from college, and now sings for the Lord. His name was Ternet Jordan, Jr.

Married for 22 years, Sherri and her husband Ed have two daughters, one granddaughter, and one grandson. When not busy with the grandchildren, Sherri loves working in her yard, reading, and fishing. She is also a self-proclaimed huge pro-football fanatic.

About HUMC, Sherri says, “This has been the place that God intended for me to be. The worship, the fellowship, the ministries, the mentors...all have helped to make me who I am today.”

Since August of 2004, Jon has been our Director of Student Ministries (or more commonly known as our Youth Pastor) and brings with him several years’ experience, serving in three other United Methodist churches—Kenton, Ohio; Lawrenceburg, Indiana; and Carrollton, Ohio.

Jon, his wife Heather, and their four children (ages 9 through 2) now call Huntertown their home. A graduate of Bluffton College in Bluffton, Ohio, with a B.S. in religion, Jon’s future plans are to return to school to pursue a master’s degree in ministry and make youth ministry his career, something he embraces as a “calling from God.”

Not that many years ago, he felt a different “calling,” traveling most of the United States and Canada as part of a band, wanting to be a rock star. But God worked a different kind of passion into his life, teaching Jon during those two years of travel what a relationship with Christ, rather than the world, was all about. As Jon says, “I went in wanting to be a rock star, but I came out bigger and brighter than any rock star could ever get.”

 

As our new Servants’ Coordinator, Sherry is looking forward to getting to know everyone in our church family. She hopes to do that by scheduling over 60 faithful servants each Sunday!

Recently married to Rick, Sherry has been blessed with a wonderful family—a grown son and two step-children. Sherry grew up in Auburn then moved to Fort Wayne to attend Ivy Tech. She & Rick came to HUMC about three years ago seeking the “comfort & warmth of a ‘home’...at a time when we really needed it.”

Sherry looks forward to helping people find their spiritual gifts in a church that is filled with the peace of God and with music that can bring her to tears and fill her with joy all at the same time!

 

Anyone new to the church has already met Karma Muter, our Newcomer Coordinator. Karma has welcomed new folks on Sunday mornings and helped them get involved in and to feel like a part of the life of the church. “I always thought the spiritual gift of hospitality was a wimpy gift, “ says Karma. “I thought everyone felt the desire to meet new people and help them find their way around.” Then she realized that not everyone felt that way at all and that maybe God had given her a very real and important gift. “That’s when I finally listened to God,” says Karma and came on board as Newcomer Coordinator. You’ll find her in the lobby on Sunday mornings. If you don’t find her, don’t worry. She’ll find you! Karma and her husband Mike are kept very busy with four school-aged boys.

With 25 years of secretarial experience, Karen is a great help in the church office and says she loves interacting with people and seeing “their faithfulness to God” in how they so willingly volunteer.

Married for 34 years, she & Bert have 3 grown children & 6 grandchildren! Karen enjoys traveling, camping, reading, gardening, and spending time with family & friends.

One of the greatest blessings in her life was her mission trip to Zambia, Africa—something she’d like to do again. Karen is excited to be a part of a church that “reaches out to not only each other but to others in the community...HUMC is the best place for me to feel connected first to God and then to family & church family.”

The youngest of 10 children, Deb is still referred to as the"baby" by all of them! We, however, will refer to her as our office coordinator!

Divorced and with no children, Deb lives with her mom (so they can take care of each other), her two Shelties, and her mom's two Chihuahuas. She has been a certified EMT for 19 years and was a former part-time employee of DeKalb EMS. She really enjoys fishing and roller skating but finds that her summers are busy with gardening, taking care of her fruit trees, and all the canning that goes along with both hobbies.

Deb faithfully attends 2nd service and the 10:45 Bible Study class, as well as serves as the United Methodist Women's secretary and as a member of the Parish Nurse Team.

Knowing that “God has a plan and purpose for each and every one of us, no matter what” is what guides Sue Wright and the decisions in her life. Sue came on board HUMC’s staff as an assistant office secretary (with 28 years’ experience in secretarial work). But probably more important, she and her husband joined HUMC’s small group ministry as Divorce Support Group facilitators, something they had begun at their previous church and wanted to continue at HUMC. “Every single time I felt sure I couldn’t oversee one more meeting,” says Sue, “someone attending would speak up and say we had surely helped him or her in their life and in their recovery. God did this purposely to assure us that we were doing the right thing and needed to be there for just those people.”

Sue and her husband Russ have four married children and seven grandchildren all living in the Fort Wayne area, for which they are thankful, since one of her greatest joys is family gatherings. Following a dream to live in the country, Russ and Sue moved from Fort Wayne out to seven acres in the Huntertown area and began looking for a church that was closer. When they tried HUMC, they “couldn’t get over how quickly we found this church to be our new church home. The pastor messages were our discussion topics the rest of the week, and we couldn’t wait to return the following Sunday. The people were warm and friendly; the music was always uplifting.”

As Ministry Director for the last 14 years at HUMC, Gabrielle Ginder has helped run and organize numerous special church events as well as overseeing the many different ministries in the church. With a B.A. and M.A. in speech communication from Boston College and Penn State University, respectively, Gabrielle is responsible for the leadership of these ministries and spends much of her time equipping people to start up new groups and encouraging people to get plugged in somewhere. “We’re always excited to have new folks visit our church and get involved. We hope to provide ministries that both help people grow deeper in their faith walk and that meet people's needs,” she says.

Gabrielle grew up in the Catholic Church, but it was in college that she began a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through Campus Crusade. “Having Him as my rock and my center is the reason I live,” she says. Her other passions, of course, are her husband Park and her four children that are in elementary, middle, and high school. When not “living” at the church, Gabrielle lives in her van, running her kids to all their activities! When she finds time for herself, she loves to read, both novels and church growth/leadership books.

Gabrielle considers HUMC a “blessed place to work. It’s been exciting to see God change this place over the years. We have grown, not only in numbers but in our faith. We are dedicated to serving Christ and to growing as disciples.”

Vick has served for many years as our Preschool Director and is now also starting a new role as the church's Early Childhood Coordinator. With a B.S. in elementary education from Taylor University and a masters in education from I.U., Vicki says of her position as Preschool Director: “It is most important to me that we always consider the awesome responsibility which is ours in caring for the children attending our preschool. I desire that HUMC Preschool be the very best it can be and work toward helping the preschool board and teachers to always keep that thought uppermost in mind as we make decisions concerning the preschool.”

The Early Childhood Ministry is a new area of ministry for both HUMC and Vicki. This will involve all ministries to infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their families. Vicki believes strongly in how important this position is: "The first five years of life are so important to an individual's entire life, that we can't neglect how we influence infants, toddlers and preschoolers for God's kingdom. Parents raising these children need the support of our church as they bring them up to know and love God."

Vicki and her husband Jarrie have three grown children. With no extended family nearby, she considers HUMC her “family” also, for they are the ones who have helped her family in times of need and who she’s grown to trust and count on.

 

Heather comes to us with a strong music background, having attended Bluffton College on a vocal music scholarship and graduating with honors earning the “Vocal Music Student Award.” Music has played a huge role in her life—many of her faith steps have been intimately related to some musical experience.

Married for 11 years, she & our youth pastor Jon have 4 young children. When not chasing them around, she enjoys all kinds of music, reading, exercising, sewing, knitting, baking/freezing, & watching reality TV! Says Heather, “I love all the opportunities there are here for people to grow in their faith. I also am especially thankful for the ‘let’s try it’ spirit from the staff & congregation.”

 

Jill has been a part of our church family since 1999. Jill helps run Mothers' Group, is a high school small group leader, sings in the praise band, leads a women's Bible study, and helps with KIDS' Church.

Jill is married to Nick and has the cutest two children in the world* -- Preston (age 3) and Maura (19 months).

With a B.A. in elementary education, Jill is looking forward to working with the HUMC staff and developing kids' programs and activities at the new site.

*NOTE: The cuteness of Jill's kids is strictly based upon the opinion of this writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of the HUMC community as a whole.

 

Lisa Biehl
Newsletter Editor

newsletter@huntertownchurch.org

It’s not easy pulling together and communicating information about all the things happening in a church our size, but Lisa Biehl manages it quite nicely. Lisa is in charge of distributing the weekly church bulletin (Sunday mornings) and the monthly newsletter called the Connection. She and her husband have four children.

Someone has to count all those pennies, nickels, and dimes that precious little hands place so carefully in the offering plate each Sunday morning….and, for some time now that person has been Maxine Potter, HUMC’s financial secretary. Maxine, along with her faithful helpers, spends each Monday morning taking care of what our church family offers to God. She has three grown children and spends her free time reading, playing cards, and working crossword puzzles. Says Maxine, “HUMC is a great church, and it’s where I want to belong!”