2025-2026 Interns

What’s up great people?! I hope 2026 is showing much promise to you. And just know that if it isn’t, God himself is most certainly still showing promise to you, for He is a promise keeper. In Him is the utmost fulfillment.

This month has been characterized by travel, change, and one-off events. Chaos is a word that keeps coming to mind, although much of it is welcome. To begin the month, along with the year, I went to a worship event called Passion, along with 9 individuals involved with young adult ministries at CedarCreek. What a time!!! I went to Texas for the first time, had Texas BBQ, worshipped alongside 45,000 other Christians ages 18-25 seeking to light a fire across the world for Jesus’ name and renown, and packed out Globe Life Field where the Texas Rangers play in Arlington! Worship of that scale and magnitude is truly a preview to Heaven. Any chance I get to worship and share in pouring my heart out to Jesus with other believers, I am almost always taking it. There was no better way to begin 2026.

After meeting with Lauren and revisiting the consensus of my meetings with other ministry leaders at CedarCreek, we decided that I will be spending some of my time over the next few months with Michael Orlando in the groups and outreach ministry at the Perrysburg campus! There will be a particular focus on reaching young adults, along with ministering to men’s groups and helping with the 2nd Saturday Serve projects. Finance will still be my main focus, and Bryan Dickman will still be my primary supervisor throughout the remainder of my internship.

Many adventures occurred this month. I got to see my good friends the McCormick family more often this month than I have in a long time. I love getting to fill up my joy tank, and share that joy with others, and being with the McCormick’s always helps me to do that. I had some car issues to fix throughout the month as well, which led to many days of me and my brother Reuben going at my car while it was jacked up in our driveway. I got to visit the young adult ministry at Metro City Church in Detroit on a Tuesday night. Snow and cold struck us multiple times throughout the month, leading to some work, rehearsals, and appointments getting cancelled, along with some driveway shoveling. I got to sing at church and am looking forward to doing more of that in the months ahead. We took down our Christmas decorations inside. I practiced some extended periods of intermittent fasting during our churchwide 21 days of prayer, and I got to do a 59.5 hour fast leading into and during our intern spiritual retreat at the Maumee Bay State Park Lodge. Time spent in the presence of the Lord is greater than any other time spent. I watched football with my family many times throughout the month. I went back to NYC, watched my sister perform a solo show for her 29th birthday telling the story of her life through performance, saw my first Broadway show, and flew back home just before the crazy snowstorm that hit us. And those are just the main bullet points.

In the Finance realm at CedarCreek, I continue to be exposed to new rhythms and processes, analyze new trends, and connect with new people. I am looking forward to constantly learning more, being able to apply my knowledge, and preparing for all the great opportunities ahead. I finished a book this month called How to Be Rich by Andy Stanley, and it focused on: awareness of how rich we truly are, wealth management, trusting in Him who richly provides rather than the riches themselves, the false assumption that everything in our hands is for our consumption, generosity guidelines, how generosity is a preventative for the negative side effects of wealth, the affect of appetites on wealth management and heart posture, harnessing the power of contentment, overall awareness, the truth that God owns everything, the power of exercising radical generosity without expecting anything in return, etc. 1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” I really liked how the book presented these principles and focused biblically on effective and lifegiving wealth management.

I pray that whatever your current season of life looks or feels like, whether you have messed up or have been spot on, that you would turn to Jesus, surrender every part of your life to him, and know that in him all things hold together. Per my regularly scheduled broadcast, I will leave you with some scripture to help rest your mind and soul, and light a holy fire within. Have a blessed week!

Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Psalm 62:5-8 “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”

John 14:26-27 “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

What a month! What a year! As anticipated, December has been chaotically busy, so I’ll try to share with you some brief main points.

Christmas, along with preparations for it, was a large portion of the month. This included getting gifts for my family, decorating CedarCreek campuses for Christmas services, attending many run-throughs and rehearsals for singing at Christmas services, and singing 8 services at the West Toledo campus during Christmas. This all went quite well, and I had a lot of fun. The attached photo is our 2025 CedarCreek Christmas West Toledo Arts team. The New Years season has been utilized for much rest and recovery after the sprint of Christmas has concluded.

To begin the month, I had my normal Monday activities at work, but my mentor Rick surprised me with a smoothie which was quite nice, and I scheduled lots of meetings throughout the month that do not occur on a regular basis. Most of these meetings were either with other audit firms to get an idea of how our audit services and pricing compare to other firms and the industry standard, or they were with a leader of another CedarCreek ministry to get an inside look at what it would be like to be involved with other ministries throughout the church.

I had a few moments where I felt the Lord forcing me to take a step back and really appreciate his goodness. One day I was working at Chipotle, where early in the shift my pants ripped, and I spilled an open bag of queso all over my shirt. It was so chaotic that I couldn’t help but laugh at how unlucky that morning began. I had to work the rest of the shift like that, but it just made me look up, appreciate God, and recognize how grateful I am that God has given me challenges in life. My challenging seasons have always led to the most growth. A couple days later, I got to sing at the Perrysburg campus for the first time during our Savannah Bananas weekend! That was fun. On that same day, I wrote in my journal to the Lord about being excited and knowing that everything will work out despite some areas being challenging and confusing. I wrote specifically pertaining to finances and relationships. The very next day, I received a financial gift from my late grandma. I did not know when I was receiving this, and I did not know how much it would be, but God again made me take a step back and smile. To honestly write my praises and challenges, to faithfully trust God’s provision, plan, and timing, and to the very next day receive a tangible answer to prayer, it was otherworldly. My Grandma Pat was one of the most faithful prayer warriors I have ever met. I know those prayers are being answered.

These moments early on this month led me to a theme I have been resting on during this season; expect, in faith, that the Lord will move, and he will. Ask him to move, expect him to move, and know that he is good, always. I had a few days where I wrote “I will remain expectant” to God. He has proven to me that he responds to bold faith. I can trust him.

I finished an 8-week devotional book this month that I did alongside my supervisor Bryan. It had a focus on being still before God regularly, daily. Although this was challenging, I recognize its importance. God truly is found in the quiet and the stillness, so the more we can intentionally spend time being still before the Lord, I believe the more we can truly hear from him and encounter him. Pg.142 of the book says, “Stillness is the precondition of presence.”

I got to catch up with our family friends the McCormick’s in the middle of the month. I had not seen most of them in a while, so that was quite refreshing. We played some late-night basketball, which was great too. Around that same time, I picked up my processed deer meat from the deer I got last month, and I wrapped all my Christmas gifts and put them under the tree. This was 13 days before we celebrated Christmas, probably the earliest I have ever done this. Later, I was invited by my high school swim coach Rod to attend a Proclaim FM donor event where we got to see Stephen Bargatze perform. That was awesome. I also at various times had a Christmas party with my Thursday night group, watched It’s A Wonderful Life at the Valentine Theatre, got a haircut, got Christmas gifts from many people in the ministry services team at CedarCreek, and had a white elephant gift exchange during Christmas services at the West Toledo campus with the Arts team. To cap off the month, I had a great conversation with my Uncle Buck on Christmas day, and I got to see my sister Hailie and her boyfriend Chance in town for a few days during Christmas.

There were many miscellaneous tasks I did in the Finance realm this month, like: looking at trends, getting clarity on language/phrasing, brainstorming future giver communication strategies, acquiring a 6-seater golf cart for the Perrysburg Campus, having those audit and ministry conversations I mentioned setting up earlier, and running through strategies to implement during theoretically challenging financial scenarios.

I am thankful to the Lord for all the people I have gotten the joy of encountering in my life who have modeled what it looks like to deal with challenges in life and yet choose to remain positive and have a growth mindset during those challenges. I am also thankful for the joy upcoming, particularly when I go to Passion in Arlington, Texas for January 1st-3rd.

For me and my family, I’ve felt a call to declare a theme for the year. 2025’s theme was “restoration.” 2026’s theme is “multiplied blessing.” I’ve seen these clearly play out in our lives, and I believe they will continue to do so.

Thanks for reading this long update, and I pray that God will provide blessings to you and your families in 2026! I’ll leave you with some scripture to rest your heart on, as has been my theme for the last few months (thanks, Ashley, for the encouragement!).

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4, NIV). [Note: The ESV/NIV/NLT translations use the words Steadfastness/Perseverance/Endurance here.]

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:5-7, NIV).

“’But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.’ The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:7-9, NIV).

Referring to Jesus, or as John calls him, the Word: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5, NIV).

Hello to you all! Another month has gone by quickly!

This month had some new learning opportunities, not unlike the months before it. I began the month by serving in the parking lot, where it unexpectedly snowed. Then, the interns began working on our 90-day reviews. During these, we looked back on how our internship experiences have been going and reviewed them with Lauren, our individual mentors, and our individual supervisors. This process has given me the chance to intentionally grow, and to consider what my best next steps might be. My main growth focus over these next few months will be in leadership and taking initiative. Who am I to receive a blessing if I am not equipped to steward it well? Who am I to receive any blessing, for that matter? I am continually undeserving of grace and love, and yet I receive it, because my Father in heaven freely gives to his children, out of his abundant love. So, through the journey of walking faithfully with God, I aim to live my life well and to grow in faithful stewardship.

In the intern program, I continued to learn and have some fun experiences. The interns had a game night at the Snyder’s house; that was really good. We also substituted most of our regular intern classes this month for masterclasses, where someone on staff got to show us something they do outside of working at CedarCreek, how it impacts their life, and how it coincides with their spiritual journey. Jason Jones, who works mainly on the communication team here, also works as a regional event manager. During our first masterclass, Jason showed us how his agency books artists, sets them up with local venues to host their tour dates, and then works with the venues directly to make all the logistics of the performance run smoothly. His role acts as a middleman, where everything that needs to be ready for show day is his responsibility, from food to seating to lighting to costumes to specific requests, you name it. He works in this role while also working at CedarCreek, and although he is very busy, he still has experienced so much growth through these experiences, by the grace of God.

Our next masterclass was with Julie Lewandowski, who works as an assistant project manager at CedarCreek, but runs her own painting business outside of the church. During our time with her, she showed us watercolor painting, the importance of each person leaning into their unique form of creativity, and some good ways to utilize and express creativity in everyday life. Her artistic and thoughtful background provided for some unordinary viewpoints on life, which was quite valuable to hear and experience. Our other masterclass this month was with Libbe Brossia, who works part time for CedarCreek as our director of payroll. Her main job, though, is being a data analyst for IBM, where she works remotely, and has a flexible schedule. This is necessary in her situation, as she balances working her main job, working for the church, volunteering at the church, raising her children, and maintaining fitness as a priority. To that note, our class with her was at a CrossFit gym in Toledo called The Standard, where Ben Olin was our instructor, and Libbe led our discussion afterwards. She told us about her work life balance, her love for fitness, the pursuit of continuous improvement, the motivation to start right now on your improvement journey rather than waiting to magically be ready, and how she makes fitness, faith, and family some of her biggest priorities in life, even if it means moving her schedule around. Luckily, she has the luxury to move her schedule at moment’s notice, so she can go to CrossFit 5 days a week, even when other demands come up. The drive for improvement and the commitment to priorities, despite the challenges, is what really stood out from our time spent with Libbe.

Some other things I did in the intern program this month included being a part of a Squawkbox, where a select group of people gets to help bounce around some ideas, usually about future church messages, and often utilizes the working geniuses of wonder, invention, and discernment. These do not occur very often, so I enjoyed the opportunity to experience this. Additionally, I was a part of my first financial advisory meeting for CedarCreek. In this, some of our church leaders meet with a board of volunteers, typically those that are involved with CedarCreek and have some substantial business/finance background. Church leadership shares some high-level info on church financials, the current direction/projects of the church, some history on where we are trending, and some look at where we are wanting to go. These meetings happen four times a year as a way for the church to receive additional accountability and oversight, and to get valuable advice on what we should do next.

Outside of work, I went deer hunting for the first time this year, courtesy of my mom’s boyfriend Darin, who is exuberantly passionate about all things outdoors. After purchasing my Michigan hunting license, getting a buck tag, being given some equipment, and going the whole opening day of gun season only seeing some doe, we went back out a week later at my uncle Dan’s place and finally saw a buck. We were in a deer blind; the shot was through a small brush hole, 140 yards away, got it. First buck acquired.

The month was capped with Thanksgiving, then another snowy day to finish out the At The Movies series. My rhythms of serving and groups have continued throughout most of the month as well. You’ll see a photo attached of just a few of the guys from my Thursday night group. I’ll leave you with some scripture as you depart from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Luke 19:10 ESV “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Luke 18:17 ESV “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Luke 18:27 ESV “But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Joshua 1:9 ESV “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

What’s going on?! It is great to reconnect with you all on this journey.

It does not feel like a lot went on during this month, largely due to how QUICK it really has gone by. I believe you all can relate, but it feels like time is outrunning me at the moment. Hopefully that means I am enjoying my time that much more haha! Some things did happen, though, and I would love to share them with you.

First off, we had a day trip that was practically a spiritual retreat, where Cindy Casey led us through a discussion on spiritual disciplines. Out of the six presented to us, I was challenged to more intentionally pursue the discipline of journaling, as a means of spending time with God and ultimately processing my thoughts and emotions. The spark for this began when Cindy challenged us interns for the next 7 days to write down 10 different things we are thankful for, at the beginning of the day, meaning that I wrote down 70 different things I am thankful for over 7 days. Once I realized how this practice put me in a positive and grateful headspace, while also helping me grow closer to Jesus, and I got used to the rhythm of sitting down and writing in the morning, I then made the decision to transition into daily journaling in the morning. So, since then, I have journaled every single morning, basically for the whole month of October. I have come to find that journaling is simultaneously a time of therapy, meditation, and prayer with the Lord. Being able to identify my shortcomings, as well as where God is clearly moving in my life, and to do that every single day in a tangible way has been quite life-giving.

Next, the finance team got the opportunity to help care for some attendees at CedarCreek. We set out to identify people who had given significantly (3+ gifts, $1,000+ total) over the course of 2024 to CedarCreek but had yet to give to the church in 2025. Then, we sent a list of these people to their respective campus pastors, based on their listed home campus in our Rock database. The campus pastors then sent out a care communication to these individuals, checking on their livelihood, encouraging them to get plugged back into what is going on at the Creek, and offering any prayer they may need in their lives right now. Out of this, we received a response from an individual who was going through a rough patch, who really appreciated our concern, and even requested some prayer for their situation. To see this direct ministry opportunity, especially coming from the finance team, was so joyful and inspiring for us, because we do not always get to see how our ministry has a boots-on-the-ground effect on individuals.

In the middle of October, I got the opportunity to go to an event called Man Camp down in Cincinnati, hosted by Crossroads Church, with my Thursday night men’s group that I attend. My brother Noah invited me, and it was a great experience. Our crew had 13 men, we tent camped all weekend, talked around a fire, played some games, listened to some messages, had some worship, and got to experience the whole thing alongside 4,000+ other men. The worship under a huge tent with 4,000 people was truly a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience, and I have a photo of it attached to this blog post. Many guys had breakthroughs, which was the theme of the weekend, and it got capped off by many people getting baptized in the pond right before we left! Some guys and I from our group have already signed up again for next year! Now, our men’s group on Thursday nights seems to be growing quickly, and I am so excited for the ways God is moving and introducing us to a new family almost every week we meet!

I’m continuing to serve on the parking lot team at Perrysburg, as well as the vocal team at West Toledo. I am meeting new people all the time and am grateful for the people who have continued to help me get plugged in to what God is doing in Northwest Ohio. Jesus has a unique way of bringing me on the lifechanging adventure with Him, as He also does with you. The sooner we choose to fully surrender to His Will and step into adventure, the more fulfilling our lives will be. Again, I am so thankful for all of you and the ways you have been uniquely wired to help people like me, who are in a stage of life where they must rely on the generosity and kindness of others to make it through. By the grace of God, though, people like you continue to step into that calling and make sure that the younger generation is equipped to be impactful leaders for Christ in this broken world. So, know that your role is very valuable, it is unique, it is appreciated, and God, your heavenly father, is smiling down on you, more than you’ll ever know. Thank you for saying yes to my invitation to join me on this journey, where Christ can be glorified in a fresh new way! Have a great day!

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

1 Corinthians 4:20 “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.”

James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Hello! I hope you have all had a great month!

First, I want to say thank you to the multitude of people, including you, who have helped me improve and continue to be successful this month!

Right before September began, all the staff got to help with our DreamTeam Launch event, where we help celebrate and provide vision to all our volunteers here at CedarCreek Church. The evening consisted of encouraging messages, prayer, worship, and sending the team off into the community to carry out the Great Commission. The attached photo shows me greeting people at the door of the event!

I am becoming accustomed to the typical rhythm of the finance department, which usually centers around counting giving and creating reports to be sent out, among other things. Mondays are busy for the finance team, but it is typically the most consistent day from week to week. I have had some other tasks as well, like: assess communications sent to first and second time givers, create a quarterly giving report, shadow operations of the logistics department, review audit reports, view a webinar on generosity and stewardship, come up with ideas on implementing stewardship principles within staff culture, become acclimated with staff culture values, analyze a report on how Christians are handling their finances across the USA, research scripture on giving and generosity, help lead Monday morning count team, lead a devotional for the count team, lead journal questions at the beginning of an intern class on Tuesday afternoon, review other financial reports, etc.

Also, maybe the most exciting thing this month is that I joined the DreamTeam for the first time! I have had two weekends when I helped greet people in the parking lot at the Perrysburg campus, and I had one weekend where I got to shadow the arts team at the West Toledo campus. For the arts team, I am a vocalist, so I sang some backup vocals on stage, and am looking forward to more opportunities for that in the future.

To cap off the month, the interns are taking a trip to Chicago! I am writing this blog prior to our trip, but I know that it will consist of great conversations, a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, some dinner reservations, The Bean, a visit to Willow Creek Church, coaching from The Table Group for our Working Geniuses, and adventures in a van.

Romans 15:13

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Galatians 5:22-23

Colossians 3:23

May you all be blessed!

Hello to you all!

Where do I begin? I think to say that my life has completely changed its course over this last month would be an understatement. From all the new people, new rhythms, new work environments, and new experiences, life is changing for the better. As some of you may know, I just finished my 4 years of undergrad, so this is my first year in the full-grown adulting phase. CedarCreek has made this transition quite enjoyable.

At our intern class once a week, we have been doing a deep dive on what it means to be a great team player, a great leader, and how to effectively communicate. In my specific role in the finance and business administration offices, my supervisor Bryan Dickman has been doing a great job exposing me to all their operations, providing me the space to ask great questions, the time to occasionally get some hands-on experience, and the intentionality of giving me valuable feedback. 

In my personal life, positive change has been sparked by a few things. Firstly, my mentor for the intern program is Rick Watson, and he has helped motivate me and give me valuable advice about life overall and how to establish effective habits in my day. I am now on the journey of establishing a quality morning routine because of Rick's mentorship. Secondly, the interns, along with most of the church staff and some members of the public, recently attended an event at CedarCreek called the Global Leadership Summit. The attached image on this blog shows all of the interns who attended the summit at the Perrysburg campus (apologies to Gabby, who was at the Findlay campus watching the same conference). At the summit, one point from Craig Groeschel's message stood out to me and helped spark life change, similar to Rick. He talked about keystone habits, which are the little things that, when done correctly and consistently, will transform your life and leadership over time, resulting in many other positive things. For me, this change was to consistently make time to read scripture right before bed. This has transformed my ability to be at peace at night and to calm my mind before I sleep.

Our finance department helps to impact the efficiency of operations and management of resources within the church. We may not be the people you see greeting you at the door on the weekends, but we help the church run well, which in turn helps our guests encounter Jesus in a more powerful way, guests like Angela. Angela just got baptized at the West Toledo campus. She is stepping away from the life of chaos and addiction that she has known her whole life. After a teenage pregnancy, abuse from loved ones, substance abuse, and the death of her mother, she finally decided to look for belonging in the right places, starting with her mother's bible. When she surrendered her whole life to Christ, everything changed! With the help of the Lord, the community of fellow believers at CedarCreek, and our Kids/Student Ministries, she is looking to break the cycle of toxic generations in her family and help lead her 4 children to a life lived with the Lord, just as she is living now! Praise God for Angela and people like her!

With your support to CedarCreek, you help make life-change like Angela's possible. Thank you for choosing to be a part of the story that God is writing, and thank you specifically for choosing to be a part of my story. The generosity of the church and the grace of God have fueled revival for generations, and it will not stop now! May the Lord be with you always, and may the Holy Spirit empower you to carry out His will for your life today. Have a great day!