Who is Sempervirens?

President

I am husband to Lee Ann and dad to 6 kids. I greatly enjoy spending my time with them as well as coaching my son’s baseball team, playing sports, reading and growing trees (some of which are Redwoods!). I feel most inspired by the Lord and his love for me and others. Being part of this ministry is important to me because God used my college and young single years to develop my relationship with Him. I desire to help others in that same season. I feel there are often few mentors, but so many questions in those years. As I get older, I am inspired by the good my father did in spite of not being perfect. I also look to the wisdom and experience of Dietrich Bonhoffer, Stonewall Jackson, Hugh Ross, Abraham Lincoln, Leland Eliason and my Mimi. I’m a nut about dinosaurs, the weather, and flying. I enjoy gardening and will think before I even hurt an insect.

Administrator

Wife and lover to the Resident Red Beard, Bryan! We have 5 kids and 1 angel baby. If my life was described in hashtags (because that’s the culture we live in and I still don’t understand it)…#Jesuslover, #homeschoolingmama, #homesteadlife, #ButFirstCoffee, #goodwine, #charcuterieboards, #chickenwrangler, #goatherder, #boho, #nature, #traveling, #cooking, #mamabear

I feel closest to God in nature and being outside any chance I get. Each day I do my best to train our kids up in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6) fully relying on the Lord because I too, am a work in progress.

Genuinely living life together in community brings out beautiful fellowship with others and is rooted in the way we (Bryan and I) live our lives. My hope is to live life with others as authentically and transparently as possible.

Treasurer

Husband to Jamie, and dad to two girls! I enjoy spending time with my family, and in other spare time reading and listening to podcasts. Inspiration comes to me in the forms of humility, learning something new, seeing someone do what they love, seeing someone find their gifting, or improving/refining something. Being involved in Sempervirens is important to me because I did not have this kind of community at any point in my life growing up and I wish I would have. We are designed to live in community, to share our strengths, to share our victories, and to share our struggles with people that care about us and want the best for us. My father is a hero of mine. He worked hard, created many memorable experiences, always pushed me to do things I thought I couldn’t and encouraged me to be better than I was the day before. I’m weird about my closet - it needs to be organized in a certain way as I do not like disorder. All the hangars must be the same. Short sleeve t-shirts are with other short sleeve shirts. Long sleeve t-shirts are with other long sleeve shirts. Dress shirts are with other dress shirts. All the dress pants are together. And they have to face the same direction. It’s not cool when something is doing its own thing.

Leadership Team

I’m wife to Brad, and mom to two teenage girls. I like to come up with new ways to teach and connect with pre-K students, spend time with my family, and watch and attend sports games. People with caring hearts that love people well are an inspiration to me. The people I work with inspire me daily. I look up to my friend and Director of the school I work at, Angela. She loves people so well, is extremely empathetic, and walks through really challenging circumstances with people with grace and kindness. Sempervirens is important to me because I enjoy being able to share tidbits of wisdom and experience with those in the season of life behind me. I didn’t have this as a college aged person or young single person and wished I would have. I am continuously interested in the weather and weather changes in our area. My family and friends call me the weather watcher. Instead of using a weather app or watching the news, they ask me what’s happening and what to expect.

Vice-President

I am a Lover of my Beloved, Hannah, and a Father to my little Loves, Liam and Nora. I love spending time traveling with Hannah, building something out of Legos with Liam, hugging Nora when I get home from work, and pushing myself through exercising. I find motivation in the stories of people like Diedrich Bonhoeffer, Nelson Mandela, and the Apostle Paul. Being a part of Sempervirens is important to me because our complex modern world has made it difficult to see Jesus for who he is and even more difficult to follow him. I believe Jesus is worthy of a lifetime of faithful allegiance to him and his mission of bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to the here and now. I am passionate about empowering others so they can find fulfillment in Jesus and learn to love their life and the work they do. I enjoy cooking breakfast on the weekends, Star Wars, and wrestling all of my kiddos: Liam, Nora, and Rey (our boxer). One last thing, I love to read and spend most of my free time between the pages of a book or two.

Leadership Team

I see myself first as a wife to Matt and mom to Liam and Nora. I enjoy spending my time with them, and as a family we love to camp. Traveling to new (or familiar!) places is a love of mine. Being out in nature helps to reset my soul and I feel and see God most when I’m out enjoying his creation. I first became involved in this ministry when Matt and I started dating in college, and felt drawn to carry on this ministry for those coming up behind me. I look up to my grandmother – she’s such a constant, gentle presence, and her love for the Lord is amazing. I hope to age like her, in wisdom and beauty! Something fun to know is every year for our anniversary, Matt and I travel to see a new ballpark – we love baseball! We have seen 12 stadiums so far and can’t wait to see the rest! We also hold the Guiness Book World Record for longest kiss at a wedding. It lasted for the first six months of our marriage.

Resident Coordinator

I find the most joy in hosting other people, cooking and baking for them, and making them feel at home. I really love spending time with friends and family, playing board games, enjoying a meal, going on adventures, and just being together. I am continually emboldened by my community. The way we are truly living life together through the good and bad with one common goal of being more like Jesus and leading others to Him. I am inspired by my Grandma, who sadly passed away in 2020, but she left a legacy of hosting friends, family and anyone who needed a safe place and some extra care. I’m part of Sempervirens because I want to create that same protected place I have known for people to wander and discover the wonder of Christ all around them and living in them. I also want them to know mentors like I had in my community who helped me discover who God is, who I am and what I am passionate about. I would not be where I am today without them. On a slightly less serious note, I have loved peacocks since I was 9 years old and I have a lifelong dream of owning one as a pet.