2025-2026 Interns

Christmas time is here! The intern class kicked off the season as Lauren, our internship director, gathered all of us together for a fun Christmas party on December 9th. Our supervisors joined us if they could make it, and I was so glad that Marna was able to be there! We ate some yummy food (so many Christmas desserts!) and made wintery scented candles together. Lauren even got each of the interns aprons in our favorite colors to protect our Christmas outfits from stray candle wax (thanks, Lauren!)

My favorite activity of the Christmas party was the random gift exchange. Our shopping prompt leading up to it was to get something that was life-changing for us. I drew a gift from Luke, the Perrysburg campus pastor. It was a phone holder for the car that actually works, no pesky suction cups needed! I always enjoy practical gifts, so thank you, Luke! As the gift exchanged continued, it was great to hear from every person why they chose what they did and gain more insight into their personalities and lives.

After the party, we all had important work to do preparing for Christmas week! CedarCreek kicked off Christmas services on Sunday the 21st, running full Christmas programming for two services that evening. Adding in two of the same services on the 23rd and four more on Christmas Eve made for eight total Christmas services that I got to help with!

My intern role had me serving alongside the Production team at the Findlay campus, where I usually attend. Since I’m an intern placed in the central support team, I don’t have a specific campus that I’m assigned to. For my internship responsibilities, I was expected to join whatever volunteer team I usually serve with for the Christmas services. It was amazing to spend so much time with the Findlay Music and Production teams and celebrate Jesus’ birth with them! I've included a photo of all of us taken after one of the services.

I typically serve with the Findlay team about once a month by running sound, but for Christmas they encouraged me to take on something new. I was assigned as Backstage, but in practice I was there to help anywhere in the Production team where specific needs came up. As we ran final rehearsals the week before Christmas, we decided that I would sit in the sound booth with the lighting and sound techs and do a bit of what a producer would do. I’d ensure the techs were best equipped to run their cues and provide a second set of ears to help the service sound great.

In addition to coaching, I had a specific job to do that would help the service proceed. As I sat in the booth, I had a tablet with me where I could control a computer program that triggers elements in the service like videos and songs. With the push of a button, I could play the background video for a song and simultaneously start the audio coaching (a timekeeping click and verbal cues) playing in the worship team’s in-ear monitors. Specifically, it was up to me to start the service, trigger a few elements in the middle, and begin the closing song. It was my first time in that kind of role, so I was very nervous, but it was also encouraging to see how the team trusted me with it. After scribbling a whole page with notes, arrows, and highlights, I got the hang of things during Sunday’s rehearsal and was confident in my role during services.

One of the most meaningful experiences for me during Christmas services was seeing the creativity and writing I contributed finally come to fruition. I remember sitting down with some of the Service Programming and Visual Media teams months ago, and we brainstormed how the video elements of the service would blend with narration and live music tell a story for our guests to experience. We wrote words and phrases that matched the emotional beats of the story, and we imagined what the scenes might look like.

From there, I wrote most of the script for the voiceover narration in the videos, tweaking a few things here and there as the other parts of the service developed. Finally, a voice actor recorded the voiceover lines, and I got to see the full story in the last central previews before Christmas. It was such a surreal feeling to hear my writing come alive in those videos, and I was so excited that my work was serving such an important purpose. After all, Christmas is about the hope found in Jesus, and pointing people to that hope was the mission behind every detail of our Christmas services!

Christmas at CedarCreek was a time of celebration, hope, and transformation as the gospel was shared. We saw hundreds of people get introduced to Jesus and accept his gift of salvation. I’m so humbled and honored that God invited me to be a part of it. When I really think about it—that even in my small way, God used me to help people begin their walk with Jesus—my eyes fill with tears of gratitude. If even one person had come to know Jesus this Christmas, it would have been wonderful, but knowing that so many people did fills me with incredible joy! All the praise, glory, and credit goes to him! It’s all his work, I’m just invited by my Savior to join him in it!

Prayer Requests:

• For all who were introduced to Jesus over the Christmas season to grow in their faith
  
• That the staff and volunteers who poured into Christmas services would have a restful time with loved ones over New Years
  
• For 2026 to be a year where I say “yes” to the steps of trust God has in mind for me
  
• That I would intentionally grow in community and connect meaningfully with those around me
  

As always, thank you so much for reading and for showing me love and support throughout this internship journey! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I’m on the tail end of a visit with family for Thanksgiving festivities, and in the spirit of the season, I wanted to say how thankful I am for you and the support you show me by reading my updates. I’m so encouraged knowing that you’re rooting for me and praying for me!

At CedarCreek, we’ve been serving up popcorn and dimming the lights for our At the Movies series. We’re celebrating record attendance for the series this year and are praising God for the lives he’s touched through it. I had a blast helping to review the recorded movie messages right down to the final cut, and it’s been great to see and hear how those who attend respond to the movies.

Unfortunately, I had to miss out on most of the At the Movies services because I became very sick in early November and took over two weeks to recover from the infection. The mystery illness was very rough and concerning, but after lots of prayers, a doctor’s visit, and some TLC from Daniel’s parents, Chris and Beth, I slowly became well. I finally made it back to CedarCreek for a week and was so touched by the warm welcome I received from Marna and the team. Since I was away from work during my illness, I don’t have a lot of updates for this month. But I still have a few fun things to share with you!

On the first weekend of November, I was invited by Jess, an intern in my class, to join the Production team at the Perrysburg campus for a fun “behind the scenes” visit. I got to hang out with the Production volunteers and staff for the 11:30 service (part of Week 1 of At the Movies) and see the service from the lighting booth. That gave me a bird’s eye view of the entire Perrysburg auditorium. It was amazing to see the whole congregation worshipping together and to watch the lighting from a new perspective. To make the experience even better, it was also baptism weekend. Perrysburg had over ten people baptized at that service, and there were even two people who chose to get baptized right at that service! It was a truly wonderful opportunity to see God working in people’s lives. I’ve attached a photo of me, Jess, and the Perrysburg Production team from that weekend, some of whom I’m blessed to work with every week!

Just before I got sick, Marna and I began my transition away from the Communications team and more into the Service Programming and Visual Media teams. This marks the next phase of my internship as Marna helps me challenge myself and continue to get more involved in the creative elements of the mission of CedarCreek. Though I’ll still help Lori and the LivingItOut team a bit, I’m now primarily working alongside Sara Shortridge, the Project Manger for Service Programming. We had to pause my transition when I was sick, but when I came back, Sara showed me the ropes and gladly invited me into all the fun creativity happening with the Visual Media and Graphics teams. I’m so excited to continue to dive into more projects alongside this talented and imaginative group of people!

Throughout the past few months, I’ve also been working with all of these teams on Christmas preparations. I helped finalize the scripting for CedarCreek’s Christmas service video elements, and I even got to see one of the first previews of the Christmas service, which was so much fun! I was also invited to write some first draft content for the handout that will be part of the Christmas services and a script for a quick Christmas invite video. I’m usually someone who adheres to the “no Christmas till after Thanksgiving” law, but I was so excited by all of the Christmas planning that I was almost ready to break out the peppermint cocoa and celebrate early! But the promise of turkey and the autumn colors on the trees brought me back into the fall mood, and I had a great Thanksgiving with loved ones. I hope you also had a good Thanksgiving and that the upcoming Christmas season brings you joy and hope!

Prayer Requests:

• Continued recovery and a return to normal energy after my illness
  
• For all of those who might be brand new to church this Christmas season, that their hearts would be open to Jesus
  
• That the final Christmas preparations at CedarCreek would be smooth, and that God would equip us well to point people to him
  

Thanks so much for reading and praying! I’m so grateful for you!

I have many wonderful things to share from this month, and I’m praising God for all of them! I passed my Master of Fine Arts thesis defense on October 2nd, which was a lot of work but also fulfilling. For the last step in finishing my grad program, I submitted my thesis for library publication on October 4th, the same day that kicked off CedarCreek’s 30 year anniversary celebration! Daniel, my fiancé, was there with me when I submitted my thesis, and then we drove to the Perrysburg campus for the Saturday evening 30 year service. It was such a wonderful time of celebration and worship as we praised God for all he’s done in and through CedarCreek and for how he got me through grad school. My degree was officially conferred on October 14th, and I’m so thankful for God’s timing and provision in the process.

On October 17th, Daniel and I took a road trip out to Missouri for a very special celebration weekend with my family. My twin sister, Lindsey, had her white coat ceremony at Mizzou’s veterinary school. During the white coat ceremony, vet students celebrate the conclusion of their classes and the start of their clinical rotation years. They receive white coats to represent their transition from the classroom to the field, and Lindsey asked me to be the one on stage to present her coat to her. I’m so proud of her and was honored to put her coat around her shoulders! I’ve included a photo of me and Daniel with Lindsey, her husband Joey, and my parents Bland and Michelle. Our visits all together are few because of the distance, but this one was extra special as we celebrated Lindsey!

Back at CedarCreek, October began a fun-filled season that’s had me busy and excited. This week, we hosted Halloweekend, a special weekend service with a spooky theme and family fun. We get really excited about Halloweekend around here, not only because it’s fun but also because it's a huge outreach opportunity. Our vision is that the service presents a chance for people to invite their friends and family who may love Halloween but might not be as excited about church. By meeting those individuals where they are and offering a service that connects with them in a unique way, we’re practicing our mission of introducing people to Jesus.

Now, I like Halloween as a concept and aesthetic. I like pumpkins, cute little ghosties, and round fuzzy spiders with googly eyes. I also appreciate gothic vibes with drafty hallways and spluttering candles: Northanger Abbey or Wuthering Heights type of stuff. But I hate being scared, especially jump scares. That’s important for what I’m going to share next.

During Halloweekend preparations, I sat in on a rehearsal of the service in mid-October. The service features a spooky, interactive choose-your-own-adventure video story that guests participate in before the message and worship. And, well... there’s one part (a minor jump scare, to tell the truth!) that had me curled up in my seat at rehearsal saying “NOPE, NOPE!” And if I heard right, I’m pretty sure my supervisor, Marna, was giggling at me! No harm done, Marna, I was laughing at myself too! But that’s exactly our aim for Halloweekend: that everyone at the services can laugh, have some fun, and hopefully let their guard down in the process so they can encounter Jesus.

As fun as Halloweekend was, I’m even more excited about our next series for the month of November. It’s called At the Movies! During these services, our lead pastor Ben teaches with a video message that walks through a movie, highlighting themes like identity, purpose, and healing. We intend At the Movies as another invite opportunity for the movie lovers in people’s lives. These services use films to help people hear truth about God and learn what a relationship with him looks like. It’s an intentional effort to form connections with people who don’t know Jesus yet or who are searching for a church.

At the Movies preparations have been a blast for me because I’ve been involved in some “super-secret” behind the scenes tasks. Part of the fun of At the Movies is that most people (even the majority of CedarCreek staff) don’t know what the featured movies are until the services! I’m one of the few who do know because I was asked to help review first and second cuts of the video messages. No spoilers, but I think the lineup is a wonderful blend of films that genuinely invite people to think about their journey with God as something that heals and transforms. Some of the messages have convicted me about the work God needs to do in my life, and I pray that those who experience At the Movies would be receptive to his work in their lives, too.

I’ve had another fun task as we prepare for At the Movies. Every weekend of At the Movies features movie-themed trivia slides in the auditorium before services start. I was asked to brainstorm and write unique trivia for each weekend, and that task was so much fun! I don’t consider myself a movie expert by any means, but after reading some articles, I was able to create lots of fun questions that any casual movie watcher would enjoy answering. Here are a couple of the questions I wrote for Week 1 of At the Movies, which are going live this upcoming weekend:

What was Stitch’s alien experiment number in Lilo and Stitch?

a.      Experiment 262

b.     Experiment 535

c.      Experiment 808

d.     Experiment 626

In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, how many characters are in the Fellowship?

a.      7

b.     8

c.      9

d.     10

I wrote over 25 questions for At the Movies, which was just one way I’ve applied my creativity and writing to the mission here at CedarCreek. If you’re local and haven’t checked out At the Movies yet, I’d love to see you there! First services are this weekend, November 1st-2nd!

Prayer Requests:

• Praise that God carried me through the end of my thesis and Master of Fine Arts degree!

• For this exciting invite season with At the Movies at CedarCreek, that God would use the services to bring people to Jesus and transform lives.

• That me and the rest of my intern class would keep leaning in and growing in the ways God has for each of us.

• For diligence and encouragement among the Service Programming team as we are full steam ahead in this outreach service season.

As always, thank you for reading my update and for praying over me! You’re a blessing to me, and I appreciate you!

I’m writing this update sitting in a van with my five fellow interns and CedarCreek staff members. We’re on our way back from a weekend in Chicago on the annual intern trip, and it’s been a whole lot of fun! I’m devoting this month’s update to sharing all the amazing things we did together.

We left the Perrysburg campus on Saturday, September 27th at 8:30am under a beautiful sunny sky. The entire drive out west was filled with lively conversation. At one point, one of the interns brought up Cedar Point, a roller coaster park in Ohio, and so began an important mission. The interns decided that we’d coordinate all six of our crazy schedules to figure out a day to visit Cedar Point together. It took about a half hour, but when we finally found a day, we all celebrated with cheers! It was a great bonding moment for us as interns and really set the tone for the rest of the trip.

Our first stop in Chicago was my favorite of the entire trip: Wrigley Field! Anyone who knows me knows I love baseball, and I was “geeking out” over being in such a historic ballpark. To make it even better, we got to watch one of the most iconic baseball rivalries as the Cubs hosted the St. Louis Cardinals. And yes, you’ll see in the picture that I’m wearing a Cardinals jersey. My fiancé, Daniel, is a Cards fan, so of course I wanted to cheer for them! It was a beautiful day and a great ball game! After leaving Wrigley to the sound of “Go Cubs Go” (the Cardinals lost, but I still had a blast!), we headed downtown to explore, sightsee, and try some Chicago pizza before settling in at our hotel for the night.

On Sunday, we visited Willow Creek Community Church, a church that means a lot to the story of CedarCreek. This church was where the founding pastor of CedarCreek got inspired to plant a church in Ohio that would be on mission to reach the unchurched and spiritually restless and introduce them to Jesus. Willow was the largest church I’ve ever seen! The building had multiple wings and was the size of a shopping mall! It had two auditoriums, with one fully dedicated to a Spanish-speaking church service. We got to watch the Spanish-speaking worship team rehearse, which was amazing! My favorite part about Willow Creek was the wing fully dedicated to serving those in need in and around Chicago. It had a grocery store section where families could get the groceries they needed (all free of charge), a clothing boutique with garments all less than $10, and even a space dedicated to fixing up cars for single mothers. I was really touched by Willow’s heart for serving their community for the sake of the kingdom of God.

After we attended the 11am service at Willow, we visited the home of a ministry friend of CedarCreek, Jackie, to learn about the concepts of Working Genius. Working Genius focuses on the desire to love the work we do and truly feel fulfilled and joyful in how we work. Before going to Chicago, each intern took an online assessment that would tell us our two areas of Working Genius. These Geniuses represent both how I work most productively as well as what kind of work feels fulfilling to me. My two Geniuses are Tenacity and Wonder. Tenacity is all about accomplishing tasks and seeing their impact. It’s the final, ground-level phase of work, actually bringing projects to completion. Having Tenacity means I love ending the day with my tasks checked off my to-do list, and I feel satisfied with my work as a result. My second Genius is Wonder, which drives observation and inquiry-based approaches to work. Wonder is the very first phase of work and the biggest-picture approach. Wonder prompts me to ask the “why” questions behind the work I do. I can notice what might need to change or improve, literally asking myself “I wonder if...” as my creativity takes hold of something I notice and imagines different or better ways.

When I found out that Tenacity and Wonder were my Geniuses, I was a bit confused. I thought it was odd that my best work happened both at the ground-level and sky-high phases of work. But Jackie helped me understand that these two Geniuses aren’t in conflict but work beautifully in tandem. Because I dig deeper in Wonder and really ponder the “why” behind the projects I’m working on, I can commit my Tenacity to complete my projects thoroughly in a way that brings me joy and fulfillment. I don’t just get my work done, but I take my time to slow down and really understand the mission and impact of my work and find motivation from doing so. I’ve operated this way for a long time, from my schooling to my internship work, but Jackie and Working Genius finally gave me the words and framework to grasp the way I’m wired. It even made me realize a lot of the negative stories I’ve been telling myself about my inquisitiveness. I sometimes convince myself that my questions don’t matter or that asking them only is an obstacle to progress. Now that I know that that tendency is actually a gift in my ability to work, I am finding a lot of freedom from that negative self-talk I’ve been carrying. I am so thankful that God used this opportunity to show me how He’s uniquely equipped me to join where He is already working in ministry.

Another wonderful result of our Working Genius session was the discovery that all six of the interns had Tenacity as one of our Geniuses. The pairings of Geniuses differed somewhat, but Tenacity was always one of the two for each of us! Since the interns were all gathered on one couch together, Jackie humorously referred to us as “the Tenacity couch,” which is a name we’ve now rolled with and affectionately started to call ourselves! We’ve even designed a custom LEGO build of a green couch in the shape of a T to remind us of the ways that God has brought all of us together through our shared gifting!

Our Chicago trip wrapped up with dinner and a quest for ice cream before we went to bed. I also finished up my thesis manuscript over the weekend, and I found such encouragement from our group as they congratulated me and were genuinely excited for me. We returned to Ohio on Monday, September 29th with a stronger sense of community and a greater appreciation for one another as team members. I’m so grateful for our time together and can’t wait to see how the “Tenacity Couch” continues to pursue God’s calling for our lives!

Prayer Requests:

• For open-handedness with the concluding weeks of my masters degree

• That God would help me surrender stress and uncertainty to Him as I navigate a busy schedule

• For the fall season at CedarCreek, that God would bring those who don’t know Jesus through our doors and that we would introduce them to Him

• That God would inspire and drive my Tenacity and Wonder for His glory and His work

I really appreciate you praying for me! I am so greatly encouraged just knowing that you’re reading my updates. Your care and support are making an impact, so thank you!

What a thrilling whirlwind this month has been! I've finished my fourth week as a Content Development intern at CedarCreek Church. I'm placed in Central Support at the church’s main campus in Perrysburg (a 45-minute drive from my apartment in Findlay). So many great people have welcomed and encouraged me! Their generous welcome has eased my nerves during this new (and intimidating) transition, and I’m very grateful.

So what specific projects does a Content Development intern work on? I was curious about the same thing as I entered my first week excited to begin work. Thankfully, I’m blessed to have a wonderful supervisor, Marna Ward, CedarCreek’s Executive Director of Service Programming. Service Programming is an umbrella term that includes all the elements that combine to create a church service: worship, lighting, videos, spoken transitions, and so many more! A lot of what I’m doing in Content Development involves the creative process behind those specific elements.

Marna created a great plan for my internship, so she was able to answer my questions and help me see her vision for where I’ll be getting involved. My internship has a unique but exciting path as I spend blocks of time (about three months each) with different ministry teams. I’ll participate in specific projects while also gaining comprehensive experience in church ministry, from initial brainstorm sessions all the way to executing services on the campus level.

For August through October, I am working closely with the Communications team. My first steps are helping develop and produce the CedarCreek app’s LivingItOut devotional. I’m working with Lori Tuckerman, the Director of Content, who is an amazing teacher eager to help me learn by doing. Lori is showing me how to manage the volunteer team of writers, editors, and proofers who help write some of the devotions. I’m also getting progressively involved with writing and editing/proofing the devotion content each week! In addition to working on the app devotionals, I also got to participate in a special brainstorming project: creative scriptwriting for video elements of this year’s Christmas services! (Yes, we plan that far ahead!)

Since I'll shift to join the Service Programming team in late October, I am currently shadowing in Service Programming to get to know people and familiarize myself with what they do. Every Tuesday morning, I observe service Walk Through, which is the “working draft” of a weekend service done two weeks in advance. In Walk Through, the Service Programming team gets to see all the elements of the service rehearsed, except for the sermon message. The process is more than just a quality control rehearsal. We also ask ourselves about the “why” behind what happens: does every element of the service point people to Jesus and invite them to take their next steps in the journey with Him? If some elements don’t quite do that yet, we revisit the plan and give feedback on what to change to ensure that they do.

Every Tuesday evening, I join alongside many ministry teams for weekend service Run Through. Run Through is a rehearsal of the current week’s service from start to finish, including the message. It is a final look at what is happening in the service and a chance to make last adjustments to programming so the entire experience is at its best. During Run Through, Lori and I take detailed notes on the message content. Afterwards, we develop and send out prompts for the volunteers who will write the LivingItOut devotionals before the end of the week. It was an odd adjustment for me to “spoil” the Sunday sermon for myself, but I’ve been grateful for a new chance to learn from the message and the Bible passages twice. I take away something a little different each time! After all, that’s the beauty of Scripture, there’s always more to learn!

On the topic of always having more to learn, I got to experience a special event during my second week as an intern. The church livestreamed an annual conference called the Global Leadership Summit, which has a mission to help leaders in both churches and businesses grow in various facets of leadership. As someone who doesn’t consider myself a natural leader, I was surprised to find myself encouraged by the Summit speakers as they emphasized that people can lead wherever they are, no matter their role. My favorite speakers from the Summit livestream were Nick Saban and Walker Hayes. Nick Saban showed me that leadership is more about connecting with people than being the best, and Walker Hayes shared his testimony about someone who pointed him to God by loving him like Jesus loves us. Together, they taught me that I can be a good leader simply by demonstrating the love of Jesus as I walk alongside others.

I spent most of the Summit with Marna and Lori, which was so much fun! We watched a lot of speakers together and talked about our takeaways. I’ve included a picture of the three of us from the first day—Marna’s on the left, and Lori’s on the right. They have been to a lot of Summits, so they were excited for me as I experienced “baby’s first Summit!” I am so thankful to have Marna and Lori as mentors who pour into me and encourage me as I grow as a leader and a follower of Jesus. My biggest lesson from the Global Leadership Summit is that I can’t lead with integrity unless I allow Jesus to lead me and have control over my life in every area: schoolwork, the internship, spiritual disciplines, my relationships, and everything in between.

Thank you very much for reading my internship blog, and I am so excited to continue sharing how I get to participate in the work God is doing!

My prayer requests so far:

• For practicing what I've learned from the Global Leadership Summit: surrendering to Jesus' leadership in all areas of my life
• That God would grow my confidence, not in myself, but in how He has equipped me for a purpose
• For wisdom in navigating the delicate balance between the internship, my Masters thesis work, and care for my spiritual, physical, and mental well-being
• Safety in my commute every week