2017 has definitely been a time of great challenge for all of us here in Orange County. The sudden loss of our dear brother, Kevin Mains, reminded all of us of how brief our life is here on this earth and that eternal life with God is why we do what we do in God’s family. We are so grateful that Kevin was such a great example of faith and love to the very end – what a great legacy he has left us all!
When Daniel desperately needed God’s guidance and direction, we read:
“So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting…” – Daniel 9:3
After much fasting and prayer, and in consultation with so many of the members of the OC Church; the elders, evangelists, and ministry staff would like to provide this update on how we will be organized moving forward…
3 Geographical Ministries
The Orange County Church will be organized into 3 Geographical Ministries called North OC, Mid-County OC, and South OC. The Coastline ministry will be fully planted in mid-2018.
Our vision is that each of these geographic ministries will have a Family and Teen Ministry, a Singles Ministry, and a Campus Ministry. The North and Mid-County Ministries will begin immediately with all of these ministries while the South Ministry will not immediately have a Campus Ministry, but with a vision to start one at Saddleback College.
OC Ministry Full-Time Staff
The Orange County Church of Christ is led by a team of elders and evangelists, along with their wives, the rest of the OC full-time staff and an amazing group of volunteer leaders. Among this team of elders and evangelists, we have designated two senior roles to help guide the overall vision and direction of the OC Church.
Senior Roles
Jaeho and Misook Park will serve in a senior role as full-time Elder and Women’s Ministry Leader and will provide shepherding, administrative training and leadership for the church, in addition to leading the International Ministry. Jaeho and Misook have led growing ministries in Los Angeles and Orange County as well as in Korea.
Bruce and Robin Williams will serve as Senior Evangelist and Women’s Ministry Leader and their primary responsibility will be to train the full-time staff in ministry and evangelism. They come with 45 years of full-time ministry experience, having successfully led churches in South Florida, San Diego, Chicago, Orange County, and Los Angeles and raised up many couples into the full-time ministry.
Eldership
We are very blessed to have Dave Eskew and Jaeho Park serve as Elders as they shepherd the flock here in Orange County. Along with their wives, Deb and Misook, they have served in these roles since 2011.
Full-Time Staff Leadership for the Geographic Ministries
South OC
The South OC ministry will be shepherded by Dave and Deb Eskew and led by Dan and Candice Roditi. Dave and Deb have done a wonderful job leading the Youth & Family Ministry, helping many families be strengthened spiritually. Dan and Candice have faithfully led in the campus, teen, singles, marrieds and Latin ministries of OC. The Roditi’s and Eskew’s will work together in leading the South Family Ministry. Mary Mains will lead and oversee the women in the South Single’s Ministry, serve as Regional Coordinator for our Kingdom Kids Ministry, and be the Administrator for the Shining Stars Preschool. The Teen Ministry will be led by an amazing volunteer couple, Scott & Kelly McIntosh, who will work closely with the Eskew’s. The South OC worship service will be at the Irvine building at 9am on Sundays.
Mid-County OC
The Mid-County OC ministry will be shepherded by Jaeho and Misook Park and led by Steve and Charley Stevenson. Jaeho and Misook have done a fantastic job leading the International Ministries over the last few years. Steve and Charley have led ministries in Houston, Long Beach, New Jersey, and Virginia and we are thankful to have them just recently join us here in Orange County. Also in the Mid-County OC ministry, we are blessed to have Ryan and Virginia Weekley who have led both the teen and campus ministries here in OC over the last few years. They will now be leading the South OC Campus ministry (UCI & IVC) and the Mid-County Teen Ministry. There will be 2 part-time campus interns assisting them in the campus work. The International Ministry will continue to be led by Jaeho and Misook. The Mid-County OC worship service will be at the Irvine building at 11am on Sundays.
North OC
The North OC ministry will continue to be overseen by Bruce and Robin Williams. Marcel and Karina Hall will be in training to lead the North Family Ministry. Marcel and Karina have led campus and teen ministries in LA and the teen ministry here in OC. The Campus Ministry (CS Fullerton & Fullerton College) will be led by two gifted volunteer couples – Sam & Kari Anderson and Gabe & Nirvana Stroebel. They will have 2 part-time campus interns assisting them. The Latin Ministry will have a sermon preached in Spanish on Sundays in the Fellowship Hall. The Latino Family Ministry will be led by a great volunteer couple – Hector & Jasmine Perez. The Singles will be led by awesome volunteers in Steven Morales and Shannon Wollenburg, who will be guided and assisted by Chris & Gina Galassi. The North OC worship service will continue to be in Anaheim at 4pm on Sundays.
Specialized Ministry Regional Coordinators
We will have Singles, Campus and Teen Ministry coordinators for the whole OC Church. Steve & Charley Stevenson will serve as Singles Coordinators, Ryan and Virginia Weekley will serve as Campus Coordinators, and Marcel & Karina will serve as Teen Ministry Coordinators. In addition, the Kids Kingdom Coordinator will be Mary Mains. These coordinators will facilitate any regional activities for each of these ministries.
We realize that because of this new staff configuration and areas of responsibility, we will be more reliant on self-supported (volunteer) “staff” than ever before. We are very grateful that we have been blessed over the years with a tremendous volunteer staff in administration and shepherding and we are faithful that God will work powerfully through our new volunteer staff to lead many of our other numerous ministries as well.