Men's Small Group: Love And Respect
Panera - Yorkville
Junior High Leadership
Meet the Staff for the Junior High Ministry at Village Bible Church!
Each one of these staff members are committed to serving your teens on Wednesday nights, Sunday Mornings and at any other opportunity they can. The joy that God has wrought in their lives through an individual relationship with Him, made possible by the work of Christ on the cross, is a joy that they want to share!
Mario and Beth Arindaeng - Mario and Beth have been married for 11 years and have three children; Jack who is almost 5 years old, Evelyn who is 3, and a 4 month old, Gwendolyn. Mario has been a student ministry pastor for over 15 years, and has been the student ministry pastor at Village since 2002. Beth loves gardening, reading and hanging out with her kids. Mario enjoys hanging out with his family and students, sports (especially tennis) and fantasy football.
Russell Avery – Russ loves baseball, movies, eating a lot and not gaining weight and music (guitar and drums). Russ has been happily married to Ellen for over 2 years. He served in Africa as a missions advisor and a group leader. He is currently a junior at Moody Bible Institute and he is majoring in youth ministry. He has been at Village since 2007 and he leads the Refuge worship team, and is a Wednesday night teacher.
Dan Englert - Dan has been serving Junior High ministry since 2006. He works as a commercial lender in a local bank. Dan is a Wednesday night teacher, a small group leader and a game specialist. His spiritual gifts are generosity and teaching. One interesting fact about Dan is that he raised sheep as a kid. He enjoys golf, reading and hanging out with friends.
Josue Valdez – Josue is a second semester junior at Moody Bible Institute, majoring in pastoral studies. He has played a key leadership role in the junior high ministry at Village over the past five years. Josue is a gifted communicator of God’s Word and has a heart to see junior high students become fully devoted disciples of Jesus. He enjoys reading and writing, tennis, traveling, socializing, history, political science and journalism. He spent the summer serving the Lord with the church he grew up in Mexico.
Nathan Bonifas – Nathan loves sports and fishing. An interesting fact about Nathan is that he can wiggle his right ear. He has been at Village for over a year and his parents are on the mission field. Nathan is a certified lifeguard and currently he is a student at Waubonsee and is pursuing a potential career in firefighting. He has been serving as a Sunday school teacher and a Wednesday night leader and teacher this past year.
Audra Carlson – Audra had been married to Dave for over 17 years, and they have two girls, Ainsley who is in 2nd grade this year and Lindsey who is a Sophomore in high school. Audra has been serving in the junior high ministry for 2 years. Audra is gifted in the area of helping and serving behind the scenes with the student ministry. Audra has done a great job of planning, organizing and running many of our junior high activities. She enjoys running, hiking and scrapbooking.
Evan Uhl – Evan is a senior at Moody Bible Institute and is from Akron, OH. He is majoring in children’s ministry. He enjoys sports, music and games. A little known fact about Evan is that when he was in the eighth grade, he won a piano competition. Evan is gifted at teaching, listening and encouraging others. Evan was recently engaged this past spring. He will be serving as a small group leader and teacher this year in the Aliens student ministry in the fall.
Alison Wood – Alison is using her music degree from Moody Bible Institute to teach piano to students. She has been serving in the junior high ministry for over 5 years. Alison is a small group leader on Wednesday nights and she also helps out with snacks, clean up, etc. Alison’s spiritual gifts are hospitality and encouragement. An interesting fact about Alison is that she has been the star of 4 short films.
Topaz Williams – Topaz has a passion for computer graphics and art and is pursuing a career in that field! She works as a freelance graphic designer and contract website manager. She loves her family and loves spending time with them. An interesting fact about Topaz is that she first became an aunt when she was 5 yrs. old. Topaz has been attending Village since April 2009.
Robert Baldwin – Robert loves to play any kind of sport and hang out with friends. An interesting fact about Robert is that he can burp on command. He has been at Village for 2 years, and is a recent high school graduate. Robert loves kids!
Jenn Kuryliw - Jenn loves creative writing, DDR, guitar hero, rock band, playing Sims and taking pictures and video of everything. Her claim to fame is that she recently talked to Hawk Nelson in person for 5 minutes including petting and feeding his dog. She has been attending Village her whole life and currently she is a student at Waubonsee.
Ernie Baldwin – Ernie loves playing guitar and playing sports. He can do a back flip on command. He has been at Village for 2 years, and is a recent graduate from high school. Ernie is pursuing the possibility of serving the Lord full-time as a student ministry pastor.
