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MEET OUR LEADERSHIP
INTERIM ELDER TEAM
I am the husband of Olivia and father of Lily, Ned, and Eleanor! Olivia and I have lived in State College since 2007. We were part of the original launch team that started Wellspring and I have served on the Leadership Team since its inception. I recently completed a M.A. in Ministry Leadership from Western Seminary and have a B.A. in Youth Ministry from Moody Bible Institute. I have been involved in one form of ministry or another for the last 20 years including eight years as a Youth Pastor at the State College Evangelical Free Church.
I love Wellspring Church and count the time I have spent serving here as my greatest ministry adventure, full of incredible challenges and beautiful expressions of the gospel. Being a part of this church family has been such a blessing. Through Wellspring God has provided people who have been able to journey with us as we try to be real with our struggles and shortcomings and he has given us the privilege to journey with many others in brokenness that only he can heal.
Our favorite thing to do on a Sunday is to linger after the service and catch up with our Wellspring family. We also love to get out into nature, go on adventures, and eat new and interesting things. These things are only made better when we get to do them with new or old friends!
You can contact Matt at matt@wellspringchurch.co
My wife, Sandy, and I started attending Wellspring Church the fall of 2018 and became members the spring of 2019. We both moved to State College separately in the mid 1980s. In 1990, God brought Sandy into my life and we were married in 1991. We have two grown daughters and just last year became grandparents!
For 30+ years, Sandy and I were members of State College Efree Church and ministered in their AWANA program, small groups, Sandy ministered in the women’s ministry and I was an elder for 8 years.
In 2017, as I approached the end of my term as an elder, we felt God saying it was time to step away from leadership for a time of renewal and redirection. Sandy and I were not sure where God was leading us, but we felt a supernatural peace as we prayed over two years for His direction. In 2018, God seemed to tell us it was time for us to leave EFree after 32 years and step out into the unknown, which ended up with God drawing us to Wellspring.
Last year, I retired from architectural practice after 43 years, and God nudged me to move back into leadership, which included moving into connection group leadership with Sandy and becoming part of the leadership team at Wellspring. Sandy and I look forward to seeing what God has in store as He leads us into the next chapter for Wellspring.
You can contact Dan at danoroe@gmail.com
Mikala and I live in Boalsburg; she’s a State College native and I’m a transplant from Pittsburgh. I moved to State College in 2012 to serve on campus as a college minister with the CCO. In 2017, Mikala and I helped plant Wellspring. At the time, I was a part of the Wellspring staff team helping to transition the college ministry into today’s version of the Salt Co. We moved to Pittsburgh in 2017 after we got married so I could pursue a new opportunity training campus ministry staff with the CCO. After a difficult season there, we moved back in 2019, and have been at Wellspring since. We came back because we wanted to plant deep roots in a community committed to Jesus and his Kingdom.
Currently, Mikala works for Penn State as the Academic Integrity Coordinator of the College of Liberal Arts and as co-owner of Idou Coffee Co. I still serve the CCO as the Assistant Director of Training and am in the process of completing a masters in Systematic Theology + Church History.
We both hold a strong conviction that God is actively redeeming, restoring, and healing people and places through His Body + Bride, the Church. We hope to be a part of a community that longs for and anticipates the day when all things will be made new under Jesus. Until then, we wait, proclaiming His death, resurrection, ascension and session until He returns.
If we haven’t met, we would love to treat you to a cup of coffee on our porch. Send me an email at iammikeswanson@gmail.com and we can work out a time.
Hi, I’m Bryan. Over the last 15 years, it has been my joy and privilege to follow Jesus into the lives of college students at the University of Illinois, Virginia Tech, and now Penn State University. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, I moved to State College in 2012 working for Norfolk Southern Railroad.
Soon after, I became a member of the State College Efree Church. In 2014 the Lord opened a door to teach Engineering at Penn State Altoona, and this gave me new opportunities to serve Christ among PSU Altoona students and fraternity men here in State College.
In 2018 Jesus intersected my life with a beautiful godly woman from northern California. Anna and I were married in July of 2019 and she moved to State College in August of that year. We began attending Wellspring regularly towards the end of 2019 and became members in 2020. We were drawn to your passion for Jesus, unwavering commitment to God’s Word, desire for genuine relationships, and deep love for college students. Despite the challenges of the pandemic last year, Anna and I have greatly enjoyed building friendships through our Connection groups and through leading D-groups with some amazing Wellspring students. In April we welcomed our first child and have been overwhelmed by all the love and generosity poured out on us through this community. Anna and I are excited to continue “doing life” with you this summer and serving our brothers and sisters here at Wellspring. We’re especially looking forward to cookouts with friends, block parties in our neighborhood, plenty of hikes in the woods, and maybe even a camping trip or two!
You can contact Bryan at bryanschlake@gmail.com