Who We Are
God is the most gracious being in the universe and has shown His grace to us. That’s why we love Him. And that’s why we want to love you and welcome you into our church family. That’s why our church’s name is Koinos. It means shared together (Greek for the word “common” in Acts 2:44). We welcome people from all races, social classes, sinful pasts, and weaknesses. We would love for you to become part of God’s loving church family along with us and together show the world His grace.
Our History
A New Church in Troy
The story of Koinos is all about God’s good providence. In the mid 1990’s, the believers at Huber Heights First Baptist Church had a vision to see a new church planted in Troy, Ohio. They prayed for God to bring a church planter, and in God’s providence they became friends with Johnathan and Jeni Newman, newly married and living in Memphis, Tennessee. The Newmans moved to Troy to plant a new church in 1998 with their eight-week-old baby, Joshua. They began meeting with people in the community and the first LIFE Group was formed in their living room with a group of friends from Narcotics Anonymous. That first group turned into a growing body of diverse people from many different backgrounds. They were all broken people who found redemption in God’s grace. Koinos was born…broken people made new in Christ.
The Church in the Movie Theater
Koinos began having Sunday worship gatherings at the Troy Junior High gymnasium for the first year and then moved to the Movies 5 Theater. For eight years our church had the best popcorn in town. At the same time, God grew the body into a loving church family that treasures the gospel and treasures loving one another. Those early Sunday mornings setting up the sound equipment and nursery space did something wonderful. They taught us all how to live as servants, laying down our lives to open the door for many broken people to find the grace of God in the body of Christ. During this time, Koinos grew from being a church with one pastor to one with three pastors. Before long the Koinos body filled up every space of the theater and began asking God for a facility that would allow them to add more people to their gatherings.
The Church on Grant Street
In God’s good providence He opened the door to a new facility where the Koinos body could expand and provide more space for Sunday gatherings. The number of LIFE Groups also continued to expand as God added to the body some of the most loving and caring people you could ever meet. The story of redemption in God’s gospel continued. Broken sinners from every background imaginable found saving and healing grace in Jesus. More leaders continued to rise up to lead the body in many ways. The number of pastors increased to six and then to nine faithful brothers shepherding the flock. Expansion of the worship facility continued as our Sunday gatherings increased, and in 2019 a second Sunday worship service was added. We continually give God praise for the loving kindness He shows us. It is so good to see God make this church body the most loving, welcoming church we have ever known. Everyone is welcome here regardless of their race, their sinful past, how rich or poor they are, or how undeserving they feel. God’s grace is sufficient for us all.
We hope you will join us and be blessed by God’s amazing grace along with us.
OUR LEADERS
We are thankful to God for those He has given to the Koinos family, who are good examples and lead with joy. Our pastors reflect the giftedness and calling in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Other staff members serve in various ways helping ensure the church family is cared for. Please contact them as you have need for help in growing in grace.
Elders
Johnathan Newman
Johnathan and his wife, Jeni, were blessed to be part of starting Koinos in 1998. Johnathan is the teaching pastor and a certified biblical counselor with ACBC (Association of Certified Biblical Counselors).
He is a graduate of Union University and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, both in Tennessee. The Newmans have three children: Joshua, Jesse, and Julia. In his free time, he enjoys riding bikes with Jeni, running, or going on camping and fishing trips with the kids.
Norm Kight
Norm oversees our LIFE Groups, Next Step classes and many other ministries at Koinos. He is a graduate of Union University in Jackson, TN and received his Masters of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Norm and his wife, Rita, have five grandchildren.
Chris Early
Chris joined Koinos in July 2019 as our pastor of worship. Chris is Ohio-homegrown and has been leading worship in churches since he was 16. You’ll often find Chris enjoying an over-priced cup of coffee, talking theology at a local coffee shop, or smoking meat on his days off.
He and his wife, Amy, have three girls: Selah, Aliyah, and Rinnah.
Tom Batty
Tom enjoys spending his free time with his wife, Nikki. He loves serving the Lord. He and Nikki lead a LIFE Group and do one-on-one mentoring. Tom received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University and his MBA from George Mason University.
Tom currently works for a defense contractor.
John Hickman
John retired from Pioneer Rural Electric in 2007 where he served as the Director of Technical Services. He received his BS in Electrical Engineering from University of Kentucky.
John spends most of his time in Mexico where he is leading the Koinos effort in planting a church among an unreached people group in the mountains of southern Mexico.
Doug Hoblit
Doug and his wife, Iva, enjoy leading a LIFE Group and going to the gun range together. Doug has a BS in Electrical Engineering from GM Institute as well as Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He currently works as a Principal Software Engineer.
Vic Haddad
Vic and his wife, Jennie, have 4 children: Morgan, Meredith, Megan, and Jonathan. They have also added a son-in-law, Spencer, to the family. Vic teaches the 5th & 6th grade boys at Koinos. He enjoys spending his free time golfing. Vic went to Word of Life Bible Institute and graduated from Cedarville University with a degree in History.
Vic owns a local business in Troy.
Bryan Barnes
Bryan serves as an elder. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Indiana Wesleyan University. He is a financial advisor.
Bryan is married to DeAnna. They have two sons, Conor and Killian. Bryan enjoys the outdoors. He likes hunting, fishing and skiing.
Nathan Cargle
Nathan recently retired from faithfully serving over 13 years giving oversight for our youth ministry. He is a graduate of Wright State University and works for a defense contractor.
Nathan is married to Erika and together they have three awesome boys -Luke, Reed, and Knox. When he isn’t enjoying long walks on the beach, he loves riding his hovercraft. But one day he’d really like to have a personal jet-pack.
Support Staff
Emery Phipps
Emery has been our Student Minister since June of 2021 and a member of Koinos since 2019. He also manages the Koinos Resource Center. He is a graduate of Sinclair Community College. (A few times–ask him)
Emery is married to his High School sweetheart Karen and they have 6-ish kids; Cody (and his awesome wife Kelsey), Madison, Reagan, Carter, Houston, and Carson. Emery loves to read theology books, being a Marine Grunt, and loves to fish and hunt (but is really looking for Sasquatch more than anything). He loves partnering with parents to disciple their students more than any of that though.
Marie Palmer
Marie has a background in non-profit work and church management. She is married to Kyle. They have Connor and Kate. She enjoys serving in the nursery and getting to love on all the babies. Marie loves spending time with her family, cooking and thrifting in her free time!
Jozan Harmon
Jozan serves as the Children’s Ministry Director. She has an associate degree in Mental Health Technology. She has served Koinos in some capacity since the beginning in 1999.
Jozan and her husband, Brett, have four children: Andy, Aelainia, Miriam, and Sevanna. In her free time, Jozan loves holding babies, taking on projects, reaching out to others in need, and picking flowers.
Brandi Yaqub
Brandi serves as our Early Childhood Director. She is married to Bashir. They have four children: Romello, Quintyn, Nataya, Amariah and Deyon’tae. Brandi loves teaching and caring for children. It is a passion she has had since she was young. She has served families in the area by providing in-home daycare for the past 12 years. In her free time, Brandi likes spending time with family and friends and shopping.
LOCATION & TIMES
Times: Sunday Worship: 9:00 a.m. & 10:45 a.m.
Location: 722 Grant Street in Troy, OH 45373
Please arrive a bit early!
