Now I'm offering them to you,’” he said.īrenek started as children’s minister at Good Shepherd in 2007. “It was like she said, ‘I’ve been through this spiritual journey and here are the words that God gave me to sustain me. Especially meaningful to the pastor was that she brought a Bible verse that had helped as a children’s minister, 2 Corinthians 8:4, “They urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.” More than anything, her support and presence were a game changer, Whang said. And Cari had already traveled down that road. “It’s like we were getting ready to go on a long hike and climb a steep mountain.
“She offered a lot in terms of vision and how to offer support,” Whang said.
Her role is instead to serve as a guide and coach. The idea is not to replicate what Brenek had accomplished at Good Shepherd. “We were all in the same room with doughnuts and a white board,” Whang said. The two then met in person, as well as two core leaders from Oikon. “And she resonated with that,” the pastor recalled. He was able to communicate what Oikon valued and what type of community they wanted to build. “I loved her spirit, and I could tell she was sincere.” “Right away, I could tell Cari loves the Lord and loves the church,” Whang said. Robert Besser, Associate Director of Church Leadership in the Center for Leadership Formation, serving as moderator. “She helped start something from the ground up and learned a lot in the process,” Whang said. Whang read the profiles of several Ministry Specialists – and Cari Beneke, Executive Director at Good Shepherd UMC in Cypress, stood out.
“They could save us years of trial and error by sharing their experiences,” he said. He was intrigued by the possibility, as a new church, of learning best practices from others. “It helps to be attached to a denomination, a connectional system of churches.”
Whang noticed that children’s ministry was on the list. There are currently 64 categories of coaches. The new Initiative, which launched in January, pairs clergy and congregational leaders with Ministry Specialists who are prepared to help. Then, Whang learned about the Ministry Specialist Initiative in the Texas Annual Conference. “How do we minister to them – and how do we equip parents?” he asked. His focus is on ways to ensure that children are equally part of the congregation.
The congregation is now largely made up of young families with children. The founding members made a promise to God and to each other to pray, serve and witness together. The congregation has been intentional every step of the way to develop something new for discipleship and faith formation. Then, with time, Oikon became a separate church. Starting as “Oikon Chapelwood,” the congregation began with 10 house churches. The family residing in the home has recently taken center stage at Oikon – as the congregation makes sure that everyone is included, even its youngest members. The name reminds us that church is the house of God – and that churches were originally composed of small groups, meeting in homes.
Oikon UMC comes from the Greek “oikos,” which means “the family dwelling” or “houses.” The title is ideal for a congregation started with a series of small groups, gathering in house churches.