Walnut Grove Methodist Church

Vincent Pontius hails from Milford Center, OH.  He has a BA from Wittenberg University and a Master’s in Divinity from Duke Divinity School in Durham, NC.  His former appointments have been most recently in The Plains UMC in The Plains, OH and prior to that appointment, he was at Bexley UMC for 4 years.  He's passionate about sharing biblical knowledge and helping people uncover the spiritual treasures that the saints of the past left for Christians today.

Nathan, along with Dylan Shepherd, leads the youth at Walnut Grove. They have been leading the youth since 2012. He has been married to his wife, Shelby, since 2015 and they have two daughters, Liza and Vera. Nathan has been a teacher at Hardin Northern elementary since 2014.  He also is a part of the praise band at Walnut Grove.  If you have any questions about the youth group please don’t hesitate to contact Nathan at his email, ruhlenn@gmail.com

Dylan is a 2010 graduate of Hardin Northern High School, and a 2014 graduate of The Ohio State University where he earned a BA in Early Childhood Education. Dylan is a 2nd grade teacher at Wapakoneta City Schools, where he has been since 2014. He has been a member of Walnut Grove since 2010 and was active in the WGUMC youth group when he was in junior high and high school. Dylan has been a Co-Youth Director since the fall of 2012.

Hi!  My name is Katie Vanderpool and I am so excited to be a part of growing the Children's Ministry and watching little disciples grow and truly understand the love of God and how to show that to others.  I have been married to my wonderful husband Curt for 5 years and we have 5 children; Raelynn, Kinzley, Casen, Elsie, & Walker.  We live on our farm outside of Forest, where we enjoy spending time outside in our garden and in our barn with our livestock.  With the free time I do have, I really love to read, sew, and indulge in some Netflix binging on occasion.

Hello everyone!  My name is Haley Waller and I am excited to be one of the new co-directors for the Walnut Grove Children's Ministry.  My family has attended Walnut Grove since 2007 and primarily attends the first service.  My husband Travis and I have been married for 5 years and have a 4 year old named Parker and a 1 year old named Brynlee.  We live outside of Kenton and enjoy being outside as a family with our various farm animals.  I work as a registered nurse instructor at University of Findlay; I teach various aspects of nursing but especially enjoy teaching pharmacology, pediatrics, maternal childhood classes and anything hands-on.  I feel that working in the children's ministry program at Walnut Grove will be greatly rewarding and is something that will benefit our church and community.  The thing I look forward to the most about this position is the "Kid's Club" which Katie and I are starting.  I think this program will teach the younger generation about Jesus and those classic Bible stories while also connecting families in our community to our church.  I look forward to starting this new position and ask that if anyone has the desire to volunteer or assist in the Children's Ministry that you reach out to Katie or myself.