With Nathan Cargle now retired from student ministry we begin the transition to a new era of student discipleship at Koinos. We are thankful that God has brought us the right person for the job. Emery Phipps, welcome to the Koinos Staff!
If you haven’t gotten to know Emery yet you need to do that, especially parents of teens. You will find that it’s a lot of fun talking to Emery, literally about everything. He’s probably read a few books on any topic you pick. Mostly that is because Emery is married to Karen, a nurse practitioner, and is a homeschool dad with 6 kids. You’ve got to be ready to talk about anything to do that.
Get this, Emery grew up in a tiny town in Alaska called North Pole, right across the street from Santa Claus’ house. No joke! It’s true! Then he joined the Marines for nine years as an infantryman. After the Marines he earned degrees in Political Science, Sociology, and Appalachian Studies. Then he was a political consultant running a number of successful campaigns in local elections. Yep, quite a versatile dude.
And the most important thing is Emery is a born again believer who has been transformed by the grace of God. He loves God’s word, reads it and studies it with zeal. If you’re ever looking for a good book on some topic of theology or discipleship, just ask Emery. He’ll have it to you in two days if not sooner. But he’s not just about knowing stuff; he’s about doing stuff. He’s doing a good job discipling his children at home as God instructs in Deuteronomy 6:7-9 and Ephesians 6:4. He’s doing a good job loving and caring for his wife. This is the kind of leader God wants the church to as an example.
We are thankful that God has brought this dear brother to the Koinos Family and that he has given Emery a heart to serve the body by discipling students. Please pray for God to enable him to lead our youth group well and for other leaders to join the student ministry team. Lot’s of helpers are needed and Emery welcomes those to join him who have a heart to serve.
Oh, by the way, parents, get your students signed up now for the summer group study at Emery and Karen’s home on Wednesday nights. Here’s a link to all the details. This will be a 6-week study on having assurance of salvation from JD Greear’s book Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart. Go here to see an overview of the content and a video by the author.
Please go get connected with Emery and the Koinos Student Ministry on Facebook here. And connect on Instagram here.
