December, 2000

KATIE ANDERSON, a freshman at Libertyville High School, spent her first four years living in Deerfield and then moved to Libertyville with her parents, Marti and Bill, and brothers, Jon and Mike. She has attended Libertyville Covenant all her life. "I have grown in the church, so I feel I am ready to become a member," she says. Katie likes playing sports of all kinds, hanging out with friends, shopping, and babysitting. Her favorite vacation spot is Maui, Hawaii.

SARAH FROST goes to Deerfield High School and lives in Riverwoods with her parents, Ann and Dan, and sisters, Amy and Julie. Sarah grew up in Riverwoods and likes the friendly people at Libertyville Covenant. She has participated in mission trips, camp and retreats. Basketball and field hockey are favorite activities, and Jamaica is a favorite place to visit.

HEATHER LUNDSTEDT grew up in Libertyville and is a freshman at Libertyville High School. Her parents are Karin and Paul, and she has a sister, Britta, and a brother, Carl. Heather has been on three mission trips with the youth group, and her parents and her church friends have been strong influences in her spiritual life. For recreation, she enjoys playing the piano and flute, singing, reading and chatting online with friends. She also likes to spend time at her lake house and at Covenant Point Bible Camp.

KAITLYN PETERSON, a freshman at Stevenson High School, grew up in Hawthorn Woods. Her parents are Beth and Dave, and she has two sisters, Kristin and Kimberly. She has gone to Libertyville Covenant since she was born. The closeness she feels to her friends at church and the kindness from people in the congregation are very important to her. She has participated in mission trips, and she looks up to her parents and grandparents as spiritual influences in her life. For fun, Kaitlyn likes to play tennis (she was on the Stevenson tennis team), water-ski and do anything outdoors. A good vacation for Kaitlyn would be at the beaches of Florida or Hawaii.

RYAN SPAULDING lives in Libertyville with his parents, Nanci and Douglas, and sisters, Haley and Heather. He grew up in Mount Prospect and now goes to Libertyville High School. The Libertyville Covenant youth group has been a strong attraction for Ryan, and his mother is his strongest spiritual influence. For recreation, Ryan likes sports, television and music, and his favorite vacation spot is Puerto Rico.

CAROLYN AND KIRK (CAP) JOHNSON live in Libertyville and are the parents of four-month-old Gavin. Cap is a manager for Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Carolyn grew up in Deerfield; Cap grew up in Iowa, Colombia, South America, and Chicago.

They initially were attracted to the warm family atmosphere at Libertyville Covenant and have been extensively involved in various church activities. Carolyn works in the nursery, helps with the Shakers and Bakers program and is a Love Inc. volunteer. Cap is a senior-high youth group counselor as well as a Sunday School teacher.

In any spare time, Carolyn enjoys camping in the north woods of Wisconsin, and Cap likes to go to Chicago Fire soccer games. He notes that he usually has an extra ticket! The Rocky Mountains are his choice for a vacation spot. He credits his father as having the strongest spiritual influence on his life.

JOSH BECKER goes to Libertyville High School and lives in Libertyville with his mom and stepdad, Less and Michael Boyd, and his sister, Laurel, and brother, Jake. Josh grew up mainly in Libertyville but also lived in New Mexico and Georgia. Friends and youth activities drew him to Libertyville Covenant, and he has since participated in mission trips. Roller hockey is a favorite activity, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a favorite place to visit.

ANNE CLAUSEN lives in Gurnee and goes to Warren High School. Her parents are Julie and Roger, and she has a sister, Beth, and a brother, Chad. Her family came to Libertyville Covenant because it was a Covenant church, and Anne found that the people were very friendly. She enjoys youth group, retreats, camp and mission trips. In fact, the many dedicated Christians at camp have had a strong influence on her life. In her spare time, Anne likes running and roller-blading and enjoys vacationing in Florida.

MICHAEL GUTIERREZ, a freshman at Libertyville High School, grew up in Libertyville, where he lives with his parents, Penny and Lorenzo, and his brother, Alex. The youth group program initially attracted Mike to Libertyville Covenant, and Sunday school also became an ongoing draw. He has participated in mission trips and service projects with other church youth. For fun, Mike likes to play sports, sleep and read. He believes a good vacation would be at Mackinac Island.

LISA HJELM, Libertyville High School freshman, lived in Ohio for three years before moving to Libertyville with her parents, Beth and John, and sister, Andra. She came to the church with her family and has helped with Vacation Bible School and participated in mission trips. Spring breakout speaker Kirk Bell made a big impression on her when she heard him. For recreation, Lisa likes bowling, and her favorite vacation spot is Hagerman Lake in Michigan.

JOHN LINDAHL is a freshman at Libertyville High School. His parents are Deb and Wes, and he has a sister, Anne. Libertyville Covenant has been his church home his entire life, and John thinks it is a great place to go to church. In his free time, he likes golfing, fishing and biking, and a favorite vacation spot is California.

CRAIG NELSON lives in Northfield and is a freshman at New Trier High School. His parents are Suzy and John, and he has a sister, Kari. He and his family came to Libertyville Covenant when they were looking for a church with a good youth program. Craig also knew some people at church, whom he thought seemed to be really close to one another. Youth retreats have been important influences in his life. For recreation, Craig likes roller-blading on ramps and halfpipes, and he likes to vacation in Florida.

Kristi and Kurt Barker and eight-month-old John live in Wildwood. Kurt is a music teacher at Iroquois Community School, a year-round school in Des Plaines, and Kristi, formerly an itinerant teacher for children who are deaf or hard of hearing, now stays at home with her son.

Kristi grew up in Moline, Illinois, where she attended Moline Covenant Church. Kurt grew up in Des Plaines. They have known Pastor Kirk and Deb for several years, and the Townanders invited them to church at Libertyville when they moved to the area. What they like about the church includes the pastors, the worship service, and the worship team, of which John is a versatile member.

The Barkers enjoy vacationing at Kristi's aunt and uncle's cabin on Hagerman Lake in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where they try to stay once a year. In her spare time Kristi likes to read, play games, and watch movies. Around church she takes a turn in the nursery and recently helped with VBS. Kurt likes to read, listen to music, and play racquetball.

When asked about spiritual influences in their lives, both Kristi and Kurt cite the example provided by their parents, as well as their campus ministers at Northern Illinois University, the Rev. Drs. John and Ruth Peterson. In addition, Kristi credits her childhood pastor, Rev. James R. Lundell.

Kristen and John Bethancourt, Mundelein, are the parents of Caitlin, age 5, who begins year-round kindergarten this month at Lincoln School. Kristen, a native of the Ravenswood area of Chicago, has worked for USG Corporation for thirteen years. She is a systems analyst who supports and develops computer systems for the human resource department. John is a tax accountant for Allstate Insurance Company, where he prepares the federal return as well as returns for selected states for Allstate and its subsidiaries. John grew up on the Southwest Side of Chicago.

The Bethancourts attended Ravenswood Covenant Church when they lived in Chicago, and when they moved to this area they wanted to continue attending a Covenant church. "We had heard from several people how good the pastors [at Libertyville] were and how the church was growing. It sounded great," said John. And according to Kristen, they decided to make Libertyville their church home because of "Pastor Dave's wonderful preaching, the terrific programs for children, the excellent Sunday school classes for both kids and adults, and the friendliness of the people." Kristen has been teaching kindergarten Sunday school and recently joined the long-range planning committee. She also is interested in the fellowship committee. John plays percussion in the worship team.

In her spare time Kristen likes to read, especially mysteries by Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton, and Diane Mott Davidson. She also enjoys baking. John likes working out, playing chess, photography, and "goofing around on the computer." Disney World is a favorite family vacation spot, as is annual attendance at Covenant Harbor family camp.

John says that the strongest personal spiritual influence in his life is a man who was a Sunday school leader at his parents' church. "He led an excellent Christian life. Later, he met tragedy through a stroke. This helped me seek God and find out what I can do for him." Kristen acknowledges "my friend Cheryl Johnson Walton, who first brought me to Ravenswood Covenant and helped me make my faith in Jesus a personal one. Also my friend Darlene Madvig, whose continued and constant faith through some very tough times has been an inspiration."

Jodi, who grew up in Decatur, Illinois, found "the friendly people and the ease of getting to know everyone" as appealing factors about Libertyville Covenant. Skokie native Steve agrees, saying that the location is handy as well.

In any spare time Jodi enjoys taking walks with Gretchen and Annie, Steve likes running and biking, and they both cite Aruba as their favorite vacation spot. Around church, Jodi is interested in working with the fellowship committee. Steve's high school youth pastor, Bruce Finfrock, is someone who made a strong spiritual impact on his life.

Heide and Andy Szabo, Libertyville, are the parents of Jackson, who turns 3 in June, and Cameron, who is five and a half months old and recently was baptized. Heide, who grew up in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, is tending the needs of her family full-time, and Andy is a commodities broker at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He grew up in the western suburbs of Detroit and graduated from Michigan State.

What the Szabos found attractive about Libertyville Covenant is "the warm, outgoing personalities of the pastors and the people," the pastors' sermons, the number of kids, and the wealth of family activities. Heide also notes the benefit of "a great nursery environment for my kids so I can attend the service and worship without distraction."

According to Heide, "The pastor at our previous church really brought God and worship back to me by her great way of showing people that God is with us in our practical, day-to-day lives. Her name is NormaLee Barnhart." Andy's mother demonstrated the Christian life to him through her qualities of being kind, forgiving, unselfish, and thankful.

Heide says she likes to vacation any place that has warm temps and lots of sun. Andy is a bit more specific, mentioning the Greek islands, where they honeymooned and would enjoy going back some day. They also spend time in Lake Geneva with Heide's family.

Andy enjoys all sports and music, and is involved with the AMICUS organization through CME, as well as LCC's nursery. Heide is helping with VBS and enjoys gardening. She concludes, "I am so glad there is a LCC and everything that it is made up of. After looking at a few other churches, I think that LCC really has a wonderful worship team and congregation. The music is also really special, a great treat each Sunday!"

"We enjoyed the services, and the people were very friendly and made us feel welcome," says Karen. Tom adds, "We also have been impressed with Pastor Dave and Pastor Kirk and their style of worship." Tom, who grew up in the Princeton, Illinois, Covenant Church, appreciates the consistent positive spiritual influence his mother has been in his life.

Karen, who grew up in Evanston, is a member of Libertyville Covenant's fellowship committee and the mom's group that has been meeting the past several months. Although Tom's travel schedule has prevented him from participating in regular committee work so far, he is willing to fill in where he can and where his abilities match the needs.

The Harrises enjoy biking, and also traveled a lot before Amanda was born. One memorable trip for Karen was along California's Highway 1 between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Tom singles out their two-week honeymoon in Hawaii. Other activities they enjoy are spending time with family and friends, reading and being outside for Karen, and basketball and volleyball for Tom.

Paul is a vice-president at Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, an investment bank in Chicago, where he works on merger and acquisition transactions for automotive companies. Kristin is at home with her daughter, after having spent eight years in the business office at the Covenant's denominational headquarters in Chicago. Paul grew up in Chicago, where his home church was North Park Covenant, and Kristin in Peoria within First Covenant.

The Hawkinsons were attracted to Libertyville Covenant because of the "great mix of people, some we knew, many we looked forward to meeting," the great environment for kids, and the many activities in which to become involved. They further appreciate the church's hunger for continued growth and receptiveness toward new people. Kristin recently assisted in the church's 1999 audit, and also helped with the Head Start Christmas party.

In her spare time Kristin enjoys reading and skiing, and Paul likes to golf. Favorite vacation spots are Kapalua, Hawaii, and Minocqua, Wisconsin. They credit their parents with being strong influences in their spiritual nurturing.

February, 2000