Chris ‘97 and Laurie (Gledhill ‘97) Finchum planted Citywalk Church in Yuba City, California, in 2019 where Chris is the Lead Pastor and Laurie is the Women’s Ministry Director. They have three children: Austin (22), Juleah (19), and Kate (10). Chris also serves as a police chaplain. Rebekah “Becky” (Spedden ‘98 ‘99) Wilson is married to Lawrence, and they live in Pennsylvania. They have a son: Joshua (18). Becky has been a homeschooling mom until their son graduated this year. Meegan Pratt ‘99 ‘00 lives in Maine, where she manages a group home for elderly disabled adults. At church, she serves in the youth group, small group discipleship, and as a deacon. 2000s Robert ‘00 and Carol ‘00 DeWitt were married off-campus students when they attended the Bible Institute. They live in Michigan, where Robert is a retired pastor and is still involved in teaching. Andrew ‘00 and Kellie (Herendeen ‘00) Nesbitt live in Indiana and have two children: Olivia (14) and Camden (12). They own a construction company, Nuway Construction, in Goshen, Indiana. Andy has worked there since 2003, and then they bought it in 2018. Their whole family is involved at church: Andy is the Head Elder and works tech; Kellie is the church administrative assistant, preschool lead, and event planner; Olivia is a preschool helper; and Camden is a sign interpreter for worship. Matt ‘01 and Betsy (Navarro ‘01) Hickok live in Michigan and have two children: Matthew Jr. (20), who is finishing his associate's degree in Michigan, and Liberty (18), who is serving in Camp Crew at Word of Life Florida as kitchen staff this summer and will attend the BI there in the fall. Matt and Betsy are wrapping up their season as a lead pastoral family at Community Evangelical Free Church and are becoming missionaries with IMI/SOS International, who will travel the U.S. to give pastors sabbaticals from their church.
teachers that were brought in for us were legends. It was only after I got into pastoral ministry that I began to realize how blessed I was to have teachers like Charles Ryrie, Renald Showers, Ken Ham, and others.” – Matt Hickok ‘01 Mark ‘02 and Cindy (Hall ‘02) Harvey live in Virginia and have five children: Abigail, Bella, Paisley, Wyatt, and Charlotte. Mark is the Senior Pastor at Barnhardt Baptist Church, and Cindy is very involved in the children’s ministries. Beth (Sharp ‘02) Cerminara and her husband, Patrick, live in the Buffalo, New York area. They have two children: Jack (13) and Renee (10). Beth is active in the Buffalo area, providing resources and alternatives for women seeking abortions. Amy (Hepler ‘05) Twigg is married to Curtis, and they live in Pennsylvania. They have three children: Amiyah, Titus, and Libby. Amy is the administrative assistant at Grace Baptist Church where Curtis is the associate/youth pastor. She serves alongside her husband in youth ministry and is also involved in the worship ministry, children’s ministry, and women’s ministry. Steven Martin ‘08 is married to Bethany, and they live in Alabama. They have two boys: Emmett (3) and Bradley (2). Steven works as a firefighter, and Bethany is a high school math teacher. At church, they serve in the nursery and VBS. 2010s Mary (Anthony ‘12 ‘13) Lippert is married to Allen, and they live in Michigan. Mary is the Assistant Barn Manager at Albion College. Jessica (Klaus ‘12 ‘13) Tzou and her husband, Sam, live in Ohio. She is a stay-at- home mom to their three children: Madison (5), Sydney (3), and Elijah (1). For ministry, she is involved in Bible Study Fellowship, volunteer nursery work, Young Life Action Team, and using her sourdough hobby to support a missionary friend. Jillian (Query ‘14) Dixon and her husband, Matthew, live in Ohio. They opened a cleaning business and are cleaning commercial properties, while Matt also works for UPS in the mornings.
“I loved it all, but being a camp counselor during Snowcamp and being a
camp counselor on The Island during the summer was my all-time favorite memory.” – Jillian Dixon ‘14 Noelle (Ferris ‘15) Badilla is married to Alejandro. Noelle is a nurse, and they are full-time missionaries in Costa Rica with Mission Quest. They are working with youth and with the church. Noelle also serves alongside an organization that takes care of women and their medical needs during pregnancy. Victoria “Tory” Tanner ‘17 ‘18 is living in Florida, where she is in the process of raising support and preparing to serve with MissioSERVE in Togo, West Africa. Her goal is to be there by the fall of 2025. She will be in French language school in France in August 2024. Prior to this, she served with Word of Life as a recruiter for the Bible Institute for two years. Aubreanna (Anderson ‘18) Schafer is married to Dakota, and they live in Michigan. She is the Sponsored Ministries Manager at Grace Adventures and is involved in camp ministry full time. 2020s Brian Gaucher ‘20 lives in Ontario, Canada, where he is a Signals Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces. He is currently studying computer engineering at the Royal Military College of Canada. Brian attended Word of Life Bible Institute in Owen Sound. For ministry, he works with YA ministries as their lead to the RMC campus, providing or organizing rides to local churches and local Christian events for the cadets/students, organizing Christian events on campus, and ensuring cadets are connected to the Christian community on campus. Mildred Najjemba ‘20 is a graduate of Word of Life Africa Bible Institute in Uganda. She is currently on staff with Word of Life in Uganda, serving in Marketing and Camps.
“The memory that always flashes back in my mind every time I think of my year
“I had no idea at the time how incredible an education I was receiving. The
at WOLBI is the internship period. Everything was moving smoothly and
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