August 1, 2024

Dear Central Church,

I have some exciting news to share with you! We are adding a new member to our pastoral team Tyler Zehr has accepted our offer to be the new Middle School pastor. This also means that Pastor Bethany Acre is moving into the Senior High position and will take the strategic lead over the entire youth ministry at Central.

Tyler is no stranger to many of you, as he grew up in this church. As a young person at Central, God put on a call on his life that led him to MidAmerica Nazarene University, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts in Youth and Family Ministry. He served first as a volunteer in our youth ministry, and for the last several years has been one of our finest interns. Tyler recently completed a 7-year journey of leading a boys’ small group, beginning with them in 6th grade and looping up with them until they graduated.

Tyler is currently enrolled at Nazarene Theological Seminary and hopes to complete a Masters degree to further prepare him for a life in vocational ministry. We are confident that God is going to work through him to draw our middle school students closer to God and one another.

Bethany Acre joined our team in 2019 as our Middle School pastor. Over the last 5 years, we have seen God use her to grow and develop the emerging faith of middle school students. An ordained Elder in the Church of the Nazarene since 2023, Bethany is poised to lead our student ministry and has a vision to see our students become Christ-like disciples who love God and others.

I’m excited to introduce this new Youth Ministry team to you this Sunday. We’ll have a time of prayer for them in both services.

This Sunday is “back to school” Sunday. We’re excited to present our school partner, Rising Star Elementary, with backpacks for students and gift cards for teachers. Our goal is to give every teacher a $50 Amazon gift card for school supplies. If you would like to give to this initiative, you can click here.

We also will recognize and pray for ALL our community teachers, educators, and school staff. We thank God for men and women who give their lives to our children. Join me in praying for them as they begin a new school year!

Until He’s Finished,
Pastor Mark