Children's Ministry

The Grove- Oak Creek Children's Ministry

Welcome to "The Grove- OC3 Children's Ministry". The ultimate goal of our children’s ministry is to see each student become a rooted and growing follower of Jesus Christ, and prepare them for future growth as a young person. Our Mission Statement for all our children is parallel to Oak Creek's larger vision, “Growing Kids into Fully Devoted Followers of Christ.”

Our vision is based on the passage that is found in Colossians 2:7: "Let your roots grow down into [Christ], and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness." [NLT]

Oak Creek provides Bible lessons and activities that are age appropriate, interactive and relevant to today’s children. We nurture their spirit and prepare them to discover a relationship with Jesus. We help them develop a servant’s heart while equipping them for a future of following Christ. ….

Sunday School for all ages 9:30 - 10:30 AM

Children’s Church 10:45 - 12:00 PM

Ignite Youth Group Monday’s 7:00 - 8:30 PM

Team: Stacy, Shelly, Robyn

Stacy Garton is married to the pastor of our church and has been involved with the children's ministry since the very beginning. Stacy received Jesus as her Savior when she was a young girl growing up in the church in Arkansas and began serving in children's ministries when she was in college.

Stacy has a heart to see children established in a life-long process of growing in their relationship with the Lord. She loves seeing them have hands-on learning experiences and helping them grasp God's Word for themselves. Serving on the children's team, Stacy seeks to help all of the children's areas be effective in having children understand the Gospel and continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

The greatest joy of Stacy's life is her children: Hannah, Madison, and Fletcher. She stayed at home with them the first 10 years of their lives, and now that they are in school, she currently works part-time at River Bend Cancer Services. She has a Masters degree in Social Work.

Stacy enjoys scrap booking, gardening, organizing, decorating, and Pibb Extra.

Toddler Team Leader: Stacy Garton

Robyn Joyner has attended Oak Creek since 2009. With a degree and background in Early Childhood, Robyn has passion for young children and how they learn. While helping with the bigger picture ideas on the Children's Ministry Team, one of her roles is also communicating curriculum to the Preschool Teachers.

She asked Jesus to be her Savior as a young girl after a neighbor invited her to Vacation Bible School. Later in high school she began to really commit her life to Christ with the love and direction of a Youth For Christ leader. She later met her husband, Jon, at Youth for Christ. After they were married in 2003, Robyn and Jon were youth leaders with the organization Young Life Michiana for the first two years of their marriage. They served teens at Adams High School in South Bend, IN. She went on to earn a degree in Early Childhood and became a preschool teacher at Notre Dame's Early Childhood Development Center. She now stays at home with her four year old twins boys, Benjamin and Isaac, and is a part time wedding photographer. Her husband Jon is a Foster Care Case Manager.

Robyn enjoys photography, painting, and time spent talking with friends around a bonfire.

Pre-School Team Leader: Robyn Joyner

Shelly Gregory has been a member of Oak Creek since moving to South Bend in 2005. Shelly has been serving in ministry since her freshman year of college and has experience in collegiate ministry, singles ministry, music ministry, youth ministry, missions and children’s ministry.

She received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point and currently teaches Biology and Anatomy & Physiology at Adams High School in South Bend. Shelly also has a Master of Divinity from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Her passion is teaching, and she truly loves building Christian character into her students. Shelly also serves on the worship team as a vocalist.

Shelly is married to Ted Gregory who works as a locomotive engineer for Canadian Pacific. Shelly’s interests include music and the fine arts, DCI, spending time with friends, science, reading, travel and sports – especially football.

Lower & Upper Elementary Team Leader: Shelly Gregory