Tim Harrington
I am Tim Harrington. I have been a Christian since age 12, when, at vacation Bible school, I accepted the gift of Christ’s death for my sins so that I would have eternal life. My four siblings and I grew up in northern Michigan. I met my wife, Mary, shortly after graduating from Ferris State College. Yes “college;” it was not a university yet when I left there in 1984. Mary and I were married 11 months after we met. I started working for Kmart in 1984 and continue working there today. Our son Alex was born in 1990. Mary and I adopted Ashley and Jessica in 1999. Mary is a stay at home mom who also home schools our children. We attended Grace Country Side Church (otherwise known as Ore Creek’s Mother Church) prior to helping to start Ore Creek Community Church. Our desire is to serve Ore Creek Community Church and to follow God’s direction in our life.
My dream for Ore Creek Community Church is that we are a church that has an impact in Hartland. I would love to see us have a facility that would bring families together to play and develop relationships with others and would serve as an outreach facility that would draw people to the church. I hope that Ore Creek Community Church will be known as a giving church that works to meet the needs of the community. I long for us to be a church that has passion for Christ and for those who do not yet know Christ. I long for us to really live the Christian life that is described in the second chapter of Acts.
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Don Tanner
Don B. Tanner is a resident of Brighton MI. and owner of Don B. Tanner, Inc., a medical consulting company; and Planetrehab, Inc., a medical software company. Don has lived in Michigan for the past 13 years with his wife Jeanne, and two daughters Suzannah(16), and Lisa(14). Don and his family came to OC3 from Grace Countryside Church in the summer of 2001.
Don placed his faith in Christ after the death of his first born daughter. "I was moved on a path to consider my own life, purpose, and finally eternal destiny, personally, through this trial." From the example of the Christian love and hope of his father-in-law, and God's call on his life, Don trusted in Christ's life, death, burial, and resurrection for his own new life and rebirth. "I could finally have hope that this was not all there was to life, I could now live in anticipation that the best is yet to come. This was a whole new way of looking at life for me."
My dream for OC3 is that we would be a congregation that lives as an example of Christ's love and hope in our personal relationships and profess that he is our our light, our hope and our joy. We will boldly proclaim we are nothing, and have nothing of any lasting value except him.
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Dave Long
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Kevin Kiefer
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Mike Kaza
Hello I’m Mike Kaza, I have lived in the Hartland Area for the past thirteen years with my wife Sarah and my two daughters, Brooke and Lindsay. Sarah and I have been married for over twenty-one years. I grew up in the Plymouth-Canton community and graduated from Plymouth-Salem High School. I’m also a graduate of Lawrence Technological University. Sarah and I have been married for over twenty-one years.
I’d like to tell you that, similar to Matthew, I’m a converted tax collector. However, I must admit that I still work for the IRS, a job I have had for the past twenty years. I became a Christian at Ore Creek Community Church. I’m continually learning that being a Christian is much more than salvation. It’s about following Christ now – not just after death. It’s about laughing, loving, crying, failing, serving others and grappling with faith and life – all while offering hope through Jesus Christ.
My prayer for Ore Creek Community Church is that God, in and through us, gives us the strength and courage to impact the Hartland Community. How will this take place? I’m not exactly sure. However, I can tell you the result - lives will be changed. How do I know - because my life was changed!
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Dave Norlin
I was born on a mountain top in Tennessee,
Prettiest state in the land of the free.
I was raised in the woods so I knew every tree,
And killed me a bear when I was only three.
Davy...Davy Norlin, king of the wild frontier.
Oh, wait...
I was raised in a Christian home, went to church at least three times a week, and we prayed over our food, My father would read the bible after supper to us, and I would sit and watch the clock and hear my friends outside calling my name to come out and play baseball. For a long time church and bible reading got in the way of my idea of a good time.
When I was eight years old I made a profession of faith in Christ as my Savior. During my college years I went through a time of questioning and testing of my faith to see if I had just surrendered to the church and my christian up-bringing, or did I really own my own faith in Christ. There was no way I was going to base my eternity on a decision I made when I was a dumb eight year old kid who still believed in Santa ( if the gifts kept coming, I was willing to believe). Well, I think you all can figure out how it turned out, and how my spiritual journey has progressed so far.
God has blessed me with a wife I don't deserve, who loves me way beyond my loveability factor. Our three adult children are a wonderment, and fill us with joy and thankfulness. God has been very kind to me over the years.
My hope and prayer for our church is that God would make it a place where real life is shared with all it's joys and sorrows. May we find God's love and strength in each other as we journey through life together in pursuit of a life that would be pleasing to God.
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Our pastors, Dave Classen and Nick Dimmick, also serve as elders.