our team

i want to take a minute hear to introduce you all to our team.

first, let me introduce you to josh and kim jones...

i met josh my freshmen year in college through football and campus ministries. from the beginning of our relationship we clicked and quickly became the best of friends... mushy, i know. we were roommates for the last three years of college and got to know each other way too well.

josh is one of the dearest friends i have ever known. he is a man that stands as close to friends as he does family. he has walked with me through some of the toughest times in life lending strength and support.

josh is also amazingly talented. not only is josh a gifted speaker, writer, and entertainer...if you know him, you know what i mean...he is also the greatest worship leader that i have ever known. josh isn't just a guitar player or a song leader, josh is a pastor at heart that knows how to teach people the Gospel as he leads them in song. i experienced this for 3 years as we traveled around the midwest leading worship together.

even though josh is so amazingly talented, it is still a mystery to all of us as to how he ended up with kim. kim, formerly bright, jones is the perfect addition to josh's life. i met kim in college. she was a bubbly, loving, kind girl who was an instant friend. kim is well educated, amazing at everything she does, and is the perfect help-mate to her husband. kim has a knack for hospitality and has a very keen sense of style and art. kim loves to take care of people as is evident in her marriage, friendships and personal business that she has started.

josh and kim are a-teamers. no, i don't mean that they resemble mr. t in any way. i mean that these guys could go pretty much anywhere they wanted and be successful. we are so incredibly humbled that God would call them to be with us.

next, let me introduce you to todd genteman.

wow! where do i even start? i met todd in college through josh. for as long as i have known todd, he has amazed me. from fca, to lifeway camps, to churches to starbucks todd is proclaiming the Gospel with his life.

todd graduated siue with a degree in medical biology. genius, i know. but todd decided against dental school to be in ministry. todd has always followed God's call since i have known him. a talented communicator, leader, athlete, facebooker, latte maker and percussionist, todd is also one of the most talented dudes i know. on top of all this, he is the funniest person i know.

todd's faith amazes me. i called him on a wednesday and challenged him to move back from texas to plant with us (and live with us) and he was packed that weekend. todd could go anywhere he wanted and fill any position in a church. i know this because he gets offers all the time. every day i spend time with him and every day i am more and more thankful that God has brought him into my life.

finally, the person who rounds this team out and makes it the most amazing group of people ever is my very own wife, heather...
heather is the most amazing woman God ever created. not only is she extremely beautiful (come on! check out that smile!) but she is so so so so extremely talented. most people don't ever get a chance to see all the talent because she hasn't even begun to tap into most of it.

for instance, since moving heather has gotten into photography. most people start out slow, but some of her stuff is already amazing! heather is such a hard worker as she proved last year by working horendous hours in an extremely competitive and fast paced environment.

she is an amazing cook, decorator, dresser, wife, sister, friend, user of photoshop, hostess and player of uno. even more competitive than me in a few instances, she has a tenacity that is matched by very few.

contrary to what opinions may be out there, heather is the brains of the operation. she is as much of a dreamer as i am. and what is more, my wife's faith is on the same level of that of my mother's. that isn't a flippant statement as most who knew mom would describe her as a modern day female job. heather is the driving force that keeps me going when i have one of those elijah "just-let-me-die-i'm-so-worthless" moments with God. any time that doubt over the call sets in, heather is the first to uncover it and rebuke it. i don't say it enough, but i am truly the luckiest dude ever! i mean seriously...i really married up a few levels.

trusting God gets easier and easier as i look around and see the caliber of people He has put around me.

here's the challenge for you though... is God calling you to come be a part of this team? would you abandon comfort, hometowns, and perfectly planned lives to be a part of a movement of God to reach the city of st. louis? are you even asking? the challenge is to ask...and you may be surprised, God may call you to join this amazing group of crazy people to turn the stl upside down!

Pictures from around the Interchange

Inside The Jesus Church in Soulard










Another View From the Balcony


























I loved the exposed brick...








The Houses in Lafayette Square

September Update...

Loving God...

i can’t even begin to tell you all that we are learning during our time here in st. charles at matthias’ lot. this past month has been a whirlwind. our weeks have been

filled with both plugging in and serving the matthias’ lot congregation while at the same time spending hours and days down in the city asking God for vision and clarity over a location to plant.

for the past three sundays we have been leading matthias’ version of a small group called a “lot family” in our home. there is nothing like celebrating the sabbath like it looks in the books of acts. we each lunch together, spend time in fellowship and then spend time in God’s word and prayer. it is a beautiful thing as we have seen God transform our sundays into a day of rest, remembering Him as creator and that we are slaves no more because of His redemption.

two weeks ago we began to host “the truth project” for a group of 17 college students that range from strong believers going into ministry to wanderers with questions. it has been amazing to watch the Holy Spirit convict, challenge, and open doors for conversation.

i have been playing a role in every worship gathering since we got here. one week i may open with a challenge and call to worship, the next i may give announcements and lead in a responsive reading. marc has been training me more thoroughly in video editing and i feel like i am growing in that each and every week. the greatest part of my week here is being involved in teaching. though i won’t teach on a wednesday night until december, i am involved in the teaching every week. every thursday and monday the staff gathers to study the scripture that will be presented that week. though i am not the one presenting, it is great to be a part of the preparation process, see how what God is showing me is brought into the message.

God is so good. heather and i have been wrestling through some very huge personal prayer issues and God is holding us through it all. it is amazing to see God’s provision not only financially but also emotionally, socially, and spiritually. we are sure that He is and will hold us through it all.

my studies are going very well. i was a little worried with having so many things going on that my grades would begin to slip. but, glory to God, things are going well. my class on the gospel of john is “rocking my face off” as i learn more and more about Jesus, his plan, and his call on my life. each and every day God is growing a deeper passion for truth in my heart.

Loving People...

lot families is just one way that we are able to connect with people. on the second saturday of each month, we as a church go out into the community to serve the poor, the marginalized or the widowed. this month we worked for a woman named phyllis, a mother of many and a grandmother of even more who lives in a house that has been in her family for generations yet is very run down and dilapidated. as a group we spent the morning cleaning, hauling out old furniture and appliances and loving on the family.

this month i have had the opportunity to get back into the leading worship. i spent a weekend playing bass for a youth retreat and will begin to help during our wednesday night gatherings.

everyone here is so amazed at how quickly and how well heather has plugged in…in everything. she’s involved in a woman’s bible study, wednesday nights, hosts our lot family (which is a bigger task than actually teaching at it) and is mentoring a handful of college-age women.

in all of our activities we are rubbing shoulders and elbows with people but are we really loving them? we’ve learned to love people better over these past two months. i’ve learned to listen to people’s hearts, not just what they are saying or doing. i’ve learned while truth, community, accountability and discipleship are necessary components to being the church, love is primary. without love we have no permission to speak truth, engage in community, require accountability or disciple anyone.

we’ve learned all this not from a class or reading a book, but by doing it; by choosing to reach out to people, to engage people, to ask questions and be ready to love, no matter the cost. it’s a beautiful thing.

Restoring The City...

i want to thank each and every one of you who prayed for us after our last newsletter. in that newsletter, we stated that our biggest prayer need was location. well God is faithful! after a few months of wrestling in prayer and exploring the city, we feel like God is opening doors for the location that we are to plant.

we have been fortunate to be able to network with some amazing guys in the st. louis region. two of these guys are darren casper from the metro baptist association and tim cowen, the pastor of rock hill baptist church. as we sought God for direction on where to plant, these men stepped in and have played a huge part in encouragement and wisdom.

just south of downtown st. louis are several neighborhoods. marked by their culture and diversity, both racially and economically, beautiful parks, and the restoration projects that are happening, soulard, benton park, layfayette square, the gate district, and downtown south are some of the most unchurched areas in st. louis. a historically catholic area, the architecture still stands, but the Church is no where to be found.

five years ago God burned Isaiah 58 on my heart. and today, we are watching as that vision is coming into existence. it is the belief of our team that God is calling us to reach what we are calling “the interchange” (where highways 55 and 44 meet and the 1.5 mile radius surrounding it). we believe that God has a heart for the city of st. louis and has placed that love in our hearts. we desire to see the name of Jesus lifted high, coming worshipfully form the lips of those who have be bought back from a life of hopelessness, despair, chaos, and blindness.

right now we see a couple of opportunities on the horizon that we need prayer over. currently rock hill baptist has ownership of the famous “jesus church” building in soulard. their may be a possibility of us partnering with them to share the building and ministry in the city as they send a team down to lead a service on sunday nights. also, there is an african american church just across the highway in the lafayette square baptist church building that is struggling to reach the increasingly growing white community. we are asking God for favor with these leaders and for His direction as we pursue relationships and share vision.

please keep praying for us. ask God how you could play a part in this work. whether it be through prayer, financial giving or even God calling you to move to st. louis to join us in this effort, please plead to the Lord on our behalf. also, pray for our team as they raise funds and situate life to prepare themselves for this work. we love you all!

Whats New...

OK. So when I first started this blog I had the best of intentions of keeping it updated. I am still trying to do this but often falling short. I want this to be a place where all of our dear friends and family can keep up with the many aspects of Noah and my life. Right now we have a lot going on. I will let Noah comment later about our prayer needs on location for the church plant and I will focus on the thing that has captivated my heart.

As most of you already know Noah and I have been trying to get pregnant for over 3 years now. We have sought out medical advice and help in every area that we have lived and nothing has been positive. I am going to post the letter that Noah and I sent out to close friends and family a little over a week ago because I think Noah is an amazing writer and he puts things just the perfect way.

Dear friends and family,

We are writing this letter because we want to make you aware of a very emotional situation in our lives but the thought of even trying to explain things to everyone brings us to tears. For the past three years (our entire marriage) we have been trying to have children. We believe that children are a gift from the Lord and that He has placed a desire for them deep in our hearts. After being unsuccessful month after month we began to seek medical opinion. This morning was the more recent appointment, with unfavorable news.

Fortunately, the doctors say that there is nothing harmful going on. Heather and I are both biologically “fine,” even down to the hormones. Unfortunately for some unknown reason my body isn’t doing what it is supposed to do. I have done several tests over the past few months and each and every one has come back at the same level: extremely low.

So here we are at a crossroads. We aren’t sure what to do. The options are out there and we see that we have three. 1. Wait on the Lord and His “perfect timing.” We have been very prayerful this entire process and we feel the more we pray, the more we long for children. 2. In vitro fertilization. 3. Adoption. If you know anything about infertility you know that the options can be very expensive and/or take a very long time to pursue.

We’ve heard all the clichés and we’ve been told all the anecdotes. As well-meant as they are, it’s interesting that those only come from people who have never struggled in this area and honestly have no idea. We don’t need opinions and we don’t need lip service. We need prayer, because we need to hear from the Lord. Heather and I are asking that you would join with us for the next 4-7 days to diligently pray for wisdom from God. We are emotionally spent. We are at the age when and belong to a church where people are getting pregnant almost weekly. While we rejoice with the blessing those children are, something inside our hearts breaks a little more as we wait and plead for answers from the Lord.

We appreciate the time that will be spent on your knees pleading before the Lord on our behalf. We need wisdom. We are clinging to James 1:2-8. We believe God has a plan that was set before the foundations of the world. Ultimately, this is His story and not ours. So we, putting our will at the cross, are asking for His will and His plan to be made known to us.

Clinging to His promises,

Noah and Heather Oldham

I ask that you all pray that God makes himself clear. We are desperately seeking him for answers and all we know is that our deep desire for children has not changed. At this time I am asking for your encouragement especially from those who have walked this before, scripture that speaks to you.. really anything you feel like sharing. In the days and months ahead I will keep you posted on where our hearts are and what our plans are for moving forward. Thanks.

I covet your prayers,

Heather