2022-2023 Interns

Hey everyone!

Wow, this month has gone by so fast! I find it so hard to believe that this is my final blog post.): I am so honored and grateful that each one of you has continued to support and encourage me over these past nine months. The internship experience has taught me so much, and I am so thankful for how God has guided me through it. There have been many changes, surprises, and challenges that I truly believe God used to grow me as a person. I greatly enjoyed getting to build new relationships with so many amazing individuals who I wouldn't have met had I not been apart of the internship. Seeing the fruit that has been produced over the past nine months has brought me so much joy, and I cannot thank you enough for being a huge contribution to that!

I will miss all of the wonderful people who I have had the pleasure of working with every single day. Each one of them has helped me in my walk with Christ, and I will never forget the impact that they have had on my life. I will miss my fellow interns and all of the fun times we have had learning and growing together. I cannot forget to mention how much of a positive influence Lauren Snyder has had on me as well as my fellow interns. She is such an amazing leader who I have absolutely loved getting to learn from, and I am so thankful for how she has taken the time to invest in each one of our lives! I am so grateful for the amazing connections I have made with different DreamTeam members, and I am so encouraged by how many new individuals I have seen take next steps to discover their God-given purpose. I am excited to see CedarCreek Church continue to flourish and help lead others closer to Christ!

This experience has been one that I will remember for the rest of my life, and I want y'all to know that I couldn't have done it without your prayers, support, and encouragement. I am excited to see what God has next for me, and I would ask for continued prayers as I continue to discover what that is. Thank you again for the amazing impact you have had on me! Words cannot describe my gratitude! YOU MATTER!!!

-Abi

Hey everybody! Spring is finally here! I hope you have had an amazing month...except when it comes to your March Madness brackets.(; As the end of the internship approaches, I have been really trying to slow down and enjoy my final two months as an intern. I am so grateful for this experience and all of the helpful skills I have learned. I am especially grateful for all of you and the impact that you have had on me during the internship. Please know it is greatly appreciated!

This month, our GrowthTrack numbers have increased significantly, and we are seeing so many new individuals getting plugged in to our church. One weekend, we had 41 people go through GrowthTrack which was insane! Also, three of my students that I used to lead on Wednesday nights showed up this past weekend and started GrowthTrack. They weren't planning on doing it but they decided to, and I am so excited to see what God does through each one of them as they step into their purpose that He has for them! I believe that situation is just another reminder of how God continues to show up at our church.

In class, we were able to take the "Working Genius" assessment which was super cool! I have taken it before ,but this time I felt like it was a much more accurate representation of myself. Tenacity and Discernment were my Working Genius which I really resonated with, and I greatly enjoyed getting to read through my working competency and my working frustration. I believe it helped me to discover the strengths that I bring to the table as well as the weaknesses that I can continue to develop and grow in. I thought it was very interesting to hear what everyone else's geniuses were and how each one of us is so incredibly unique. My hope is that I can use what I have learned to better serve others and lead people closer to Christ. 

I am thankful for all of the wonderful things I have learned over this past month. It is sad to think that the internship is coming to an end, but I am thrilled to see where God takes me next. I want to soak up this last month as much as I can, and I pray that, whatever may come, I would continue to trust in God's goodness and His faithfulness. I am so thankful that all of you have continued to support and encourage me over these last eight months. It has been such a blessing to me, and I cannot thank you enough!

-Abi

Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well and that this month has been filled with joy for you! I keep finding myself shocked at how quickly the internship is flying by and it's so crazy to think that we will be done soon. I am trusting that no matter what happens in the coming months that God will always be in control. It is comforting to remind myself of this any time I am feeling overly stressed or anxious, especially around this time of year. Remembering that He is faithful through all of the different circumstances in life is what brings true hope to all of us.

This month, I have taken on a few different responsibilities due to our Groups Director, Amy, being fully recovered from surgery. I have been able to step into GrowthTrack and see the process of how that comes together and how we can help people take next steps on their spiritual journey. I love getting to help people discover what their spiritual gifts are and see how each one of them is wired so uniquely. I really valued getting to go through GrowthTrack and learn how I can make a difference in God's Kingdom, and I want to be able to have that kind of impact on others just like the ones who guided me through GrowthTrack did. I am so grateful for all of the amazing connections I have made with people, and I am excited to see how each one of them steps into their purpose!

As always, class has been super fun! We got to wrap up our discussions on the book "Amplified Leadership," and I loved getting to read through that as a class together and talk about what resonated with each of us. I thought the book was a very helpful read and my hope is to apply some of the key points into my life. We also had Andy Rectenwald speak to us about "Apologetics" which is one of my favorite topics! He shared a lot of insightful arguments for how to defend our faith, and also attempted to answer some of the more difficult questions that people ask. I greatly appreciated hearing him talk, and I definitely learned a lot (and I enjoyed getting good book recommendations from him too!)😁

I am excited for this upcoming month because we are going to be covering so many different topics in class, and I am also looking forward to developing more connections with people going through GrowthTrack! Thank you for your support! 

-Abi

Hi y'all!

I hope you were able to have a great start to the new year! I don't know about you, but I love kicking the new year off with new goals, dreams, and challenges. I love being able to look back over the previous year and see all of the growth that took place and what areas of my life need fixing. It is crazy to think that January is already over, but I am looking forward to what God has in store for the future months ahead.

We had a great start for Groups this month. We have multiple new coaches, new leaders, and two new Hub Leaders! We also had an amazing turnout at our Groups Kick-Off event a couple weeks ago, and it is so encouraging to see how these individuals have stepped up to lead this semester. They are truly such servant-hearted people, and I am excited to see how God uses them to influence others!

Our intern class got to go to Maumee Bay State Park for an overnight retreat which was so refreshing and greatly needed. I really valued that time getting to be alone with God without any distractions or responsibilities. As a class, we are currently reading "Amplified Leadership" which has been a fantastic book so far! Our Groups Director at the West Toledo Campus, Tristen Rayot, has lead the class and brought in a few guest speakers that we've been privileged to listen to and learn from. One of my favorite parts about being in the internship is how we get to have so many influential leaders come and teach us about the impact that each one of us has and how God can use the unique gifts He's given us to serve and lead others closer to Him.

I have been continuing to learn new things every single day, and I am so blessed to be serving on the Perrysburg team! I love them all, and I truly enjoy getting to do ministry alongside each one of them. Thank you for your continual encouragement and prayers. I appreciate you!

-Abi

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year! Unfortunately, mine started with me fighting off a pretty bad cold which resulted in me not being able to attend most of the Christmas services. However, I was able to recover and I got to spend quality time with family and friends which I am thankful for!

This month, I was able to settle into my new role and learn what my different responsibilities were. I am absolutely loving it!!!  It was a busy time sending communications to group coaches, leaders, and members reminding them about the upcoming Winter Semester starting in January. We also had our Second Saturday Serve, wrapping Christmas shoeboxes for local communities, that I had the privilege of getting to help organize. We had an amazing turnout of people who stepped up to serve others who were in need this Christmas season! I loved getting to be apart of such an amazing experience!

Class has been great! We got to hear from our Executive Pastor, Josh Brossia, as he talked about biblical finances and how to manage what God has placed in our hands. It was very insightful, and it definitely got me thinking about how I want to honor God with how I handle my finances. We also got to have a Christmas party with our class which was a total blast! 

This month was amazing! I have been greatly enjoying my new role, and I can't wait to see all of the big things that God continues to do at CedarCreek Church!

The picture is from our Second Saturday Serve. I loved getting to serve alongside each one of these awesome individuals!

Blessings,

Abi

Hi Everyone!

 I hope that you all had an amazing Thanksgiving with your friends and family! I am incredibly thankful for each one of you and how you have continued to offer your support and encouragement to me. It truly does mean a lot, and I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for your generosity and care!

 I have some big news!!! I am currently transitioning into a new role for my internship from Next Steps Central Support Groups to Next Steps Groups at the Perrysburg Campus. Our current Next Steps Director at the Perrysburg Campus, Amy Crofts, is on leave because of a recent surgery, so our staff needed someone to fill in for her position during this time. I am so excited  to step into this role, and I cannot wait to do my part in helping Perrysburg Groups continue to grow! I am praying that God will use me to help others continue to discover their purpose by getting involved in Groups. I believe that Groups are a key piece for helping people grow on their spiritual journeys, and my hope is that God will move through peoples' hearts to get them to want to take that step.

 Class has been so much fun! We traveled together to visit the Findlay, Perrysburg, and South Toledo campuses a few weeks ago, and it was cool to see the different themes for At The Movies as well as the uniqueness of each campus. We also took our Enneagram tests, and went over our results in class. I am an Enneagram 1 which wasn't a surprise since I have identified with that number before. It was interesting to read more in depth about my number and gain more of an understanding of how I am wired. I am a total geek when it comes to the enneagram, so I absolutely loved hearing everyone else's numbers and discussing what resonated with them.

 I am excited to see what the next month has in store, and I ask for prayer as I begin to step into this new role. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season, and I am looking forward to updating you soon!

-Abi

     Wow!!! October was a super busy month filled with so many amazing events and experiences! This has definitely been the best one yet, and it was so cool to see how the things we have been working on for the last two months finally came together! Getting to see the fruit that was produced by our Groups team was so fun to be apart of, and it was nice to get to celebrate those wins together!

     This month, I had a few different responsibilities than I normally do with working at Student Worship Night, Men's Event, Celebrate Recovery, and HalloWeekend! Since I usually work more behind the scenes rather than on the weekends, it was nice to change it up and see more of the people aspect of Groups. I was able to travel to the Whitehouse Campus to help Jen Carroll, our WH NextSteps Groups Director, set up Celebrate Recovery and get to see how that runs through.  I greatly enjoyed getting to be involved in that, and Jen is such an amazing leader to get to learn from! I love that our church offers that as a resource to help people who are dealing with any hurts, habits, or hangups. It was a blast getting to see how all of the preparation paid off for these events, and I am very grateful that I was able to play a role in them!

     The intern classes have been great, but we only had two this month due to sickness and Lauren being out with outreach responsibilities. We were able to have a fun class this past week on the "Development of Female Leaders." We had a bunch of different women leaders, as well as our Oregon Pastor Andy Rectenwald, come in and share some of their perspectives and experiences. It was very insightful, and it definitely gave me more of an understanding of where our church stands on those issues . Our class also got to travel to three campuses (Whitehouse, Oregon, and West Toledo) a few weekends ago to watch and observe the differences between them. I loved getting to do that, and it was so interesting to see the uniqueness of each campus! It was also just a great opportunity to get to be together as class and hear what everyone's takeaways were. 

     I am so grateful for all of the new and exciting experiences that I gained this month. I am continuing to learn more every single day, and I love all that God is doing in my life and in the lives of those around me. I am so thankful for all of your encouragement and support! I can't wait to update you all next month!

     The picture was from Student Worship Night with my fellow intern, Ashlee! We had a super fun time getting to dress up and greet the students! We were so exhausted when it was over, but it was totally worth it!

Hi Everyone!

     I cannot believe how fast September has flown by! This month has been filled with so many new and exciting things that I have learned. I have really seen how God continues to do His amazing work through CedarCreek, and the positive impact that this church has on so many individuals.

Work has been extremely insightful for me, and I am continuing to learn something new everyday.  It has been stretching me in certain areas with my creativity, and I have seen the growth that has taken place as a result of that! Fall Groups started this month, so I was incredibly busy trying to accomplish tasks to get things prepared for Group Leader Kick-Off. It has been super cool to see how the number of groups at the church have significantly grown this year. We have started to see more people taking next steps to make a difference in peoples' lives by deciding to lead groups, and I am so excited to see what God does through that! One woman I met at group leader training told me how she was invited to co-lead a group with someone who was on the baptism team with her. She was very hesitant about pursuing it when she was talking to me, but I could see how God had put that on her heart. After the training, I spoke to her for a while and she seemed much more excited about taking that step! She shared how much of an impact being involved in a group had on her life, and she wanted to be able to have that kind of influence on others. Getting to see the life-change happening through so many peoples' lives has been one of the biggest blessing of being apart of the internship!

Class has been such a blast! This month, we went over our staff values and how to be an ideal team player.  We finished reading the "Ideal Team Player," and it was truly such a fantastic book! I discovered a lot about myself and how vital it is for me to strive to be a better team player in all areas of life. This book challenged me in many ways, but I am motivated to apply the things I have learned!

Thank you all for your encouragement and support! I am thrilled to see what this next month has in store!

Thanks,

Abi

Hello everyone!

It is so amazing to think that a month has gone by of me being a part of the internship! So much has happened in such a short amount of time, and I have enjoyed stepping in and getting my feet wet! This month has been such a cool learning experience for me! It was overwhelming at first, but now I feel like I am finally in a rhythm with my schedule. I'm ready to continue diving in and I'm excited for this upcoming month!

Work has been great so far! I have been able to sit in on a lot of meetings, and it has been cool to see how things come together behind the scenes. I love how everyone on staff shares the same vision and passion for CedarCreek Church! I am very blessed to have such wonderful leaders to learn from, and I just absolutely love observing those meetings. I have been able to get my hands dirty with the LivingItOut and learn the process of how that comes together on a weekly basis. My favorite thing has been attending pre-record every week. I get to hear Ben walk through his message for the upcoming weekend, listen to the feedback afterwards, and come up with the discussion questions in the message notes. It has been fun getting to contribute in that way, and I hope that those questions are helpful to those who read them!

The intern class has been super fun too! We have nine interns who are all passionate about using their gifts to grow the church and expand God's Kingdom! It truly is an awesome group of people, and I am so grateful that I get to grow and learn with them over these next few months! This past month, we have learned about task management strategies and personal well-being. It was interesting to see the difference between the two task management strategies (digital and paper). I found that digital works best for me even though I prefer using paper. Learning about personal well-being was extremely helpful in how we all really need to take care of the different aspects of our well-being (Career/Purpose, Social, Financial, Physical, and Community). It was very eye-opening for me to see the importance of each of those areas and how to be more conscious of which one/ones I am thriving in or struggling with. 

I am so pumped for what this next month will bring, and I can't wait to share more of what God is doing in my life and in the lives of those around me! I cannot wait to keep you all updated, and I am so thankful for your prayers, support, and encouragement!

Thanks,

Abi