07/12/10

Staff Directory

 Jon Walker -- Senior Minister

Jon Walker is not a country music fan, but he has many friends who are.  Growing up in a minister’s family, he was always in the middle of congregational life -- which explains why he is not so hot on potluck suppers (again though, surrounded by people who are!).  He did seminary training in Cincinnati (explaining his love of Skyline Chili!) and began his ministry with a small group of believers who met in a "Little House on the Prairie" church building in Victor (over on Andrews Street) in 1982.  He has been married to Linda over 25 years, and they have two children, Karis and Jesse, both of whom bring them huge joy!  Preaching and teaching is what he think he’s been made to do, and he feels ultimately significant in life when able to help people see how much Jesus loves them and how unbelievably good the offer of grace really is.  On the side, he loves to drive fast, he thinks Waimoku Falls is the most amazing landscapery God ever thought up, he is a Mets' fan (just wait until 1986!), and he appreciates getting sent good jokes via email (jonwalker@frontiernet.net, if you have any).

 Bob Brown – Pastoral Care Minister

 Bob Brown is the husband of Marilyn, the father of Kristin Sumarsono (ask him sometime about the beginning of his daughter’s wedding ceremony!), the grandfather of Kyle, Ryan, Elyse, and Timmy, and he’s still got way too much energy!  Having grown up in Philly, he’s an Easterner by birth, but having spent a large portion of his adult life in California, he likes mountains and beaches, and roads that don’t have 8 lanes each way!  Bob was managing projects for ARCO for a long time, but his commitment to Jesus eventually led him to managing Kingdom projects and helping people who were hurting, and he decided to study for the ministry at Hope College.  He worked with a couple of congregations on the West Coast before moving to Victor to be close to his grandchildren, and that’s when our church found him - retired, passionate, and ready to go – so we asked Bob to come on staff and lead our church’s efforts to provide good care.  He agreed, and now we are!  (If you’d like to be part of the team of people that Bob leads providing that care, please contact him at rcblyn@aol.com.)

 Eric Frey – Youth Minister  

 Known to most as "Frump", Eric grew up in our church - he was even the star of one of our Christmas musicals a long time ago.  His mom taught him to love his sister, baseball, and the Bible.  On his own, he has developed a love for golf, Uno's, and preaching.  After studying at Cincinnati Christian Seminary, Mr. Frey spent time as a youth minister in Ohio before moving back to our part of the world (he now manages optical inventory for a living).  He's been a big part of what our church has been doing lately -- serving with our Worship team, leading at Mountainview, pitching for our softball team, working with our youth as an adult sponsor -- and when we were looking for someone to lead, and we thought, "Wow!  Eric could do this with greatness if he would!"  And he said he would.  Frump is a good dad, he's a good teacher, he's a good card player, and he's a good youth minister.  And we’re lucky to have him here!

Jane Montgomery -- Office Administrator

Jane Montgomery has served for the past seven years as our Office Administrator.  She has worked in the past as a wedding coordinator for Sonnenberg Gardens, and has been a paralegal for several local Attorneys. She is wildly crafty (she loves all things having to do with crafts), she owns more Christmas decorations than FOA Schwartz, and she was made by God to organize.  If you call our office (585-924-5550), the first voice you’ll hear is hers, and she will (almost always) be able to help you with whatever you need – whether that’s a phone number, a building reservation, a Scripture verse, or getting an announcement in next week’s bulletin! She’s great!

Who’s In Charge?

Jesus.  What He says, we try to do.  What He wants, we try to make happen.  What He likes, we promote. 

What He hates, we try to end.  Who He gifts, we try to empower.  This is clearly His show.

And He has arranged it so that the leaders in any church are the people who think like Him most and act like Him best (which is seen in their ability to care for other people).  So, like in the New Testament, this congregation is served by a group of guys who look a lot like Jesus because they serve so well.  In the Bible, guys who did this work were called pastors, shepherds, overseers, bishops, presbyters, and elders.  Our church choose the term elder to describe them and we presently have chosen these guys to lead us:  Dave Dicks, Jim Thomas, Scott Sprague, and Jon Walker.  They are the guys who are ultimately responsible for helping this group stay on track.

If you like Willowbrook, thank the elders (past and present).  If you like the worldview that is preached each Sunday, that’s the elders’ worldview.  If you like the style of worship that Willowbrook offers, that’s the style the elders have chosen to offer.  If you enjoy the youth stuff that happens each week, that’s the elders’ plan for serving our community in a way that will help make the world better.  Our church’s staff (ministerial and administrative) function as implementers of the elders’ vision of what this group can be.  Every group of people is led by somebody – Willowbrook is led by elders who are trying to do what they understand would please Jesus most.

And, Scripture also shows that each person in a congregation is given special abilities to help the whole group.  So, while elders lead by serving, Willowbrook thrives only when each person does what God made him or her to do.  So, we have Directors – people who lead large areas of service – and their job is to engage talented, passionate people in the work they’ve been assigned.  We have Directors, or sub-directors, in the following areas of doing life together:  Assimilation, Benevolence, Business Administration, Celebration Arts, Children’s Ministry, Cleaning, Facilities, Kitchen, Missions, Nursery/Toddler, Stewardship, Student Ministries, and Youth Funding.  If you’d like to be part of the good Willowbrook is doing, check in with the director of the area of service you’re most passionate about and volunteer.  We’ll all be better for it!

What We Believe

About God.

We believe that God is, and that His name is Jehovah. We believe that He is a real person, and therefore has certain characteristics in His personality. We believe that He is a giving person. We believe that He is an eternal person. We believe that He is a person Who transcends physical existence. We believe that He exists in a way that is more complex than we can fathom. We believe that He is a communicative person.

About God’s Creative Side.

We believe that one of God’s personality traits is creativity. We believe that God created everything else. And that when He created it all, it was masterfully engineered. And, since He created it all, it all rightfully belongs to Him. Including people. We believe that men and women are creations of God, the pinnacle of His creativity, made to live in partnership with Him.

About Men and Women.

We believe that we are created by God, and thus are not, nor ever will be God. We believe that each person created resembles God, and thus each person has incredible potential. We believe that God so respects us that He has willingly surrendered to us some control of how things go in the universe.

About What’s Gone Wrong.

We believe that God has created men and women to be in a terrific relationship with Him and each other. We believe that that’s the result as we choose to think and act like He does – based on the good of others. We believe that acting selfishly (doing what’s best for one’s self, to the disregard of how that will affect others) is the opposite of how God created this universe to work, and brings devastation. We believe that we live in a very self-centered and devastated world.

About The Solution.

We believe that our selfish choices had fatally separated us from God’s desire and design. We believe that God longs for our good, both individually and as a species, and that because of His love for us, He voluntarily took on a physical body, came and lived with us on this planet, and then on the cross, used His life to fix what had been broken. We believe that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead proves that life is again available – and that anyone can get back to God’s intention for life by connecting with Jesus.

About How Life Should Be Lived.

We believe that life is meant to be lived “coram deo” (in the presence of God). We believe that He knows best, and wants what is best for us, and has communicated best to us through His “Emmanuel” (God with us) time on earth. We believe that the Bible is a trust-worthy document which reveals God’s heart and mind to every generation after Jesus’. We believe that God’s Spirit lives in us and helps us do the things that He created us to do, both individually and as the “church” (the group of people who have asked God to make them whole through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection). We believe that life with God is hard and good.  We believe that there’s hope for us and hope for the world. We believe that doing life together as restored men and women will lead to a time where we will live in a perfectly renewed world in partnership with God. And we believe that that will be great!

The Main Thing!

People have walked into our building for a number of reasons.

• Some people check us out because a friend invited them to. (Most of the people who are now part of our group first came in with a friend.)

• Some parents want their kids to learn the Bible stories that they learned growing up – like Noah’s ark, Egypt’s dark, Jonah’s shark, Jesus’ picnic in the park (for 5000)!

• Some people have been dealing with an addiction and they want to see if there’s really something to this “Higher Power”.

• Some people have just been driving by and stopped in, wanting to see who would build a church building with a green roof!

• Some have had marriages falling apart and they were willing to try anything – even church – if it might help.

• Some people didn’t like the fact that the church they were hanging out with doesn’t seem to think the Bible should be taken seriously anymore.

• Some people have had children participating in our youth events and they came in to see what kind of church it would be that could make kids want to be part.

Willowbrook Christian Church is made up of a bunch of people who all walked in looking for something. A family. Love. Acceptance. A friend. Truth. A support group. Guidance. Forgiveness. Maybe just a reason to go on. Each person here is welcome and valued.

But we’re most proud of one particular person who hangs out here. When you meet him, you can’t help but like him.  If you listen to what he says, it’ll change the way you think. You’ve never met a guy who is so healthy.  And I’ll bet that once you’re around him for a while, you’ll find yourself living differently. He is the guy who makes our church go!

Lots of people have walked in looking for stuff. And many have found what they’ve come looking for. But the coolest thing we offer here is a chance to spend some time with this guy. And when you do, all that other stuff seems to work out. Check Him out. (He goes by his first name.) Jesus.

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History!

Over our shoulder, a backward glance. In 1959, some Christians in this part of the world talked about the possibility of following Jesus in a way that was not predetermined by any denominational headquarters somewhere else. They just wanted to do what they saw in the Bible.  So they began meeting for worship in each other's homes.  Thus began a church of Christ, meeting in East Rochester.

In a very short time, they could no longer gather comfortably in living rooms so the group began to rent the Grange Hall in Egypt, New York.  For the next few years, this congregation continued to study the Bible and live by what they found there.  They were a church of Christ, meeting in Egypt.

In 1965, the year this congregation was recognized by New York State as an official church, they outgrew their meeting space. So they began to search for a new one and they found a little country church building in the village of Victor.  Some of the families in the congregation put their own houses up as collateral and thus our growing group was able to relocate again. The Andrews Street building became their central meeting place for the next three decades. They were a church of Christ, meeting in Victor.

And, as is our wont, we overflowed. We did what we could to maximize that building (renovations, purchasing surrounding land, adding second and third assemblies), but it eventually became clear that if we were to continue to help more people, we needed more room. So we decided to build a brand new building in a much more visible location. And, so, due to the kindness of God, the genius of the Sear Brown Building Design Group, and the financial sacrifice of a bunch of ordinary people who think that they're extraordinarily lucky to know Jesus, there's now a white building with the green roof on High Street, directly opposite Willowbrook Lane. And on Halloween of 1999 (October 31), we moved in.

It all began with a small group who thought that people who follow Jesus could probably live together. So they tried, dedicated to simply studying the Bible and doing what it says.  That was the original purpose of this group and even though we've grown considerably in size, and moved through a bunch of buildings, that continues to be at the heart of what is known as the Willowbrook Christian Church.

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