We are excited to announce that we will have two new youth directors. Micheal Phelps will be working with our youth on the programming and formation side, and Christina Kastendike will be helping to communicate and coordinate our youth activities. Below is some information from them both.
We look forward to the work they will be doing with our youth.
Christina Kastendike
I am originally from Maryland and have lived in NC for the last 15 years. I have been married to my husband, Greg, for 17 years and we have three boys, Sam 14, Charlie 12, and Andrew 11.
I graduated from University of Maryland @ College Park in 2000 and have been working in education ever since. I taught middle school for many years before having Sam and becoming a stay at home mom. Sam was lucky enough to grab a spot in St. John’s preschool and we have been involved ever since. I have taught in the 3’s class, led the playgroup, and the music and movement special. I have also taught Sunday school classes at St. John’s. Currently I am a building substitute at Heritage Middle School.
I look forward to working with and building relationships with St. John’s teens.
Michael Phelps
I’ll start with a confession: Although I am Mo. Sarah’s husband, I have trouble finding my way in the Book of Common Prayer. If I can admit that, you can, too.
The middle and high school kids are St. John’s are sensitive, smart kids with loads of potential. I am super excited to work with them. When Sarah and I lived in California, I led our church youth group for four years and loved helping kids grow in their faith by encountering Jesus. My emphasis in working with youth is to help them understand the big picture of the Bible and Christian faith, so that have tools to talk and think about their faith. This equips them to have a rich, challenging, and life-changing encounter with God as revealed by Jesus.
I went to graduate school to study the Old Testament, but rather than becoming a professor, I started a non-profit organization, the Early Manuscripts Electronic Library (EMEL) that applies digital imaging technologies to ancient manuscripts. I am often in the Middle East and Europe working with ancient and medieval manuscripts.