There’s no way we could be Orange without a loyal team of individuals who are passionate about the church and family. Our strategy makes us Orange thinkers; our team makes us Orange Slices. Take a squeeze. We’re juicy.
Orange Team
252 Basics Curriculum For Children's Ministry
Joy is part of the special-ops team for 252 Basics. It’s a highly classified group that consults with Orange partner churches. Formerly a spy based somewhere in Santa Barbara, California, Joy felt that getting a BA in Psychology from U.C. Santa Barbara would be a better career path than spy. Since 2000 she’s put her special training to work in a variety of volunteer and staff roles. Before joining the Orange team Joy was a part of the children’s ministry staff at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship and Irving Bible Church. If you really want to see Joy light up, talk to her about children’s worship. She now lives in Texas with her husband and two boys.
Abbey has been Orange for a long time. From her years of incorrectly applying self tanner, to her internship as an Oompa Loompa at the Chocolate Factory, Abbey has certainly had maximum exposure to the color. Even in college, she continued her infatuation with orange at Auburn University, where she learned the value of orange paired with blue. But, alas, it wasn’t until attending The Orange Conference in 2009 with her ministry team, that she finally understood the true meaning of the color. Abbey has worked in children’s ministry for 10 years, serving as children’s ministry director at her church for eight years, where she implemented both First Look and 252 Basics. After a move to the ATL, Abbey now enjoys all things Orange with her wonderful husband and two beautiful children!
More details, fun facts and a little embellishment about Elloa coming soon…
Amy has served for over 15 years in children’s and family ministry in both volunteer and staff capacities including implementing 252 Basics in two church plants over the last eight years. In her years in church plant situations, she has learned what it looks like to start a children’s ministry in “lean” environments with few volunteers and resources while still capturing the hearts and imaginations of the children. Amy and her husband, Powell, live in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with their two sons.
All kinds of details, fun facts and some made-up stuff coming about Liz soon….
What do you think of when you here the phrase: professional volunteer? We think of Becky. Serving in a variety of ministries throughout the past twenty years, Becky has recently joined the Orange team as an Orange Specialist. She is also the wife of Darren—another specialist role—who is the Family Ministries Pastor at Parker Hill Community Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania. With one hairy dog, two wonderful-not-so-hairy children and two Madagascar hissing cockroaches, Becky’s life is full of laughter and joy. It’s also hairy.
More details, fun facts and a few little known stories about Jessica coming soon…
Brandon is a professional actor with a BFA in Theatre from Shorter College. This means he gets paid to be someone he is not, which is fine with him. He’s been performing as host of KidStuf with North Point Ministries for seven years. He worked freelance, writing Family Production scripts for two years before joining the Orange staff in 2007. Now he divides his time writing for Studio 252, Camp KidJam, 252 Basics, and anything else he can be roped into. Brandon and his wife recently welcomed their first daughter, Lydia, into the Orange world.
We found Greg Payne in the backwoods of the north Georgia mountains eating apple pie at a woodshed-Shakespeare reading. He was telling the story of Hamlet except it was in the hillbilly vernacular. It turns out Greg is way into his family. After 17 years of marriage and two daughters he still finds joy in grilling and tree house building. He has two unnamed dogs and channels his inner HGTV host by planning vacations. Do not challenge him in Mario Brothers.
When we brought him into the offices he saw one of our office chairs and began racing everyone. He has since simmered down. At Orange he is the hillbilly writer who is passionate about creative meetings (kinda). Greg contributes to the following: Family Times, Family Experience, the Cue-box, Home FX, Skeeples and Lomes, Ovations, 252 Basics, posters, Orange Conference. In his spare time he poses as a college professor, general researcher, KidStuf director.
Misty Phillips has over 25 years of experience in children’s ministry - first as a volunteer, then pastoral staff directing children’s leadership teams. She has launched First Look, 252 Basics and a Family Experience environment while leading. Misty’s sweet spot is training and motivating volunteers. She joined the Orange staff as an Orange Specialist in 2009 so she could share her vast experience with churches around the country. A Missouri native, she is ever so happily married to Tim, mom of 4, and nana to 3.
What is there to say about Phil Pierce that hasn’t been said already? He’s a classically trained pianist, fluent in seven languages, a licensed pilot, graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Chef’s School and author of the best selling book I’m Schizophrenic … and So Am I, soon to be a major motion picture starring Barry Williams as Phil Pierce. Phil now spends his days doing chair races in The Orange Office with his fellow writers Greg and Jon. (Only 10% of this bio is true.)
Professional cheerleaders could take a lesson in sustaining upbeat energy from Stephanie Porter. That energy is put to good use as an Orange Specialist. She never meets a stranger and thrives on helping others reach their greatest potential personally and in ministry. She’s worked in next generation ministries since 2004, loves to lead kids’ worship, and formerly oversaw the children’s ministry in a church plant. Stephanie lives in Fresno, California, with husband, Ryan, and two daughters, Caidence Jade and Annalisse Joy.
Dan currently serves as the Director of Children’s Ministry Strategy at The reThink Group. He spends most of his time leading the creative team for 252Basics. Prior to coming on board at reThink, Dan served as the Elementary Children’s Director at Ada Bible Church. He loves all things kidmin and was recently named one of Children’s Ministry Magazines’ 20 leaders to watch. Dan and his wife, Jenna, live in Cumming, Georgia and have four amazing kids: Liam, Ellison, Addison, and Taye.
More details, fun facts and a few made up stories about Courtney coming soon…
Orange music projects and Rebekah are nearly synonymous. She’s been involved up to her eyeballs as a singer, choreographer, dancer or administrative assistant. Currently she’s working on the leadership team to improve and maintain Amber Sky Records. Rebekah and her dog, Boston, live in Cumming, Georgia. Yes, she actually named her dog Boston.
The quintessential artist-songwriter-worship leader, Yancy is a rare and wonderful talent. She has the unique ability to lead all ages in worship and to do so with verve and insight. If you can fly a plane you can catch Yancy traveling the globe sharing her music and leading worship. When she’s not globetrotting you can find her fingerprints all over AmberSkyRecords.com—informing, guiding and sculpting. She and her husband, Cory, live—where all great musicians live—in Nashville.
We looked high and low for someone to be responsible for taking Reggie Joiner’s dreams and ideas and seeing them to fruition. And we found that person in Colette Taylor. From napkin-brain-storm to premiere to sustainable production, Colette is able to tame Reggie’s brain, turning ideas into reality. She dips into her experience working with Reggie as the primary producer and designer for family environments for North Point Community Church. So they go way back.
Adaptable and flexible, Colette has mastered the art of working with volunteers to help them achieve their greatest ministry potential. Sometimes equipped with little more than a sketch on a three-by-five note card, Colette develops the framework and fabric for engaging, entertaining events. She also leads the Camp KidJam team as well as serves as the director for AmberSkyRecords.com. Yeah, she’s busy.
Kristi is an enigma to the Orange team. She went to school in Alabama—Samford University—yet, loves the Georgia Bulldogs. This is strange to us. But what makes perfect sense is Kristi’s role at Orange. With her BA in Musical Theatre she is another eccentric working with the marketing team. While she was at that school in Al*b*m* she taught Creative Drama and performed in several shows in area schools. She also plies her trade (being eccentric) in her role as Assistant Director of Camp KidJam and she handles logistics for the Orange Tour. Kristi also has extensive experience in retail, specifically with the world-renown Harrods of London. We’re not sure, exactly, what that means. But we like it. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, JR. Finally, Kristi would like us to include: GO DAWGS. We like that too.
Dan currently serves as the Director of Children’s Ministry Strategy at The reThink Group. He spends most of his time leading the creative team for 252Basics. Prior to coming on board at reThink, Dan served as the Elementary Children’s Director at Ada Bible Church. He loves all things kidmin and was recently named one of Children’s Ministry Magazines’ 20 leaders to watch. Dan and his wife, Jenna, live in Cumming, Georgia and have four amazing kids: Liam, Ellison, Addison, and Taye.
We looked high and low for someone to be responsible for taking Reggie Joiner’s dreams and ideas and seeing them to fruition. And we found that person in Colette Taylor. From napkin-brain-storm to premiere to sustainable production, Colette is able to tame Reggie’s brain, turning ideas into reality. She dips into her experience working with Reggie as the primary producer and designer for family environments for North Point Community Church. So they go way back.
Adaptable and flexible, Colette has mastered the art of working with volunteers to help them achieve their greatest ministry potential. Sometimes equipped with little more than a sketch on a three-by-five note card, Colette develops the framework and fabric for engaging, entertaining events. She also leads the Camp KidJam team as well as serves as the director for AmberSkyRecords.com. Yeah, she’s busy.
Most people dub anyone who works in youth ministry over ten years as certifiable. If this is indeed true, then Ricky Wise is a nut-job of the sweetest kind. Of course if a person, like Ricky, receives a BA in Business Administration from Saint Leo University the obvious career path is youth ministry. And then it happened. He was sucked into the Orange bubble when he met Colette and Kristi Taylor in 2008. He officially joined in 2009. Since then it’s been all … well, it’s been interesting.
Ricky serves as the Assistant Camp Director of Camp KidJam. He also serves as Youth Pastor and various other roles at House of Prayer #2 church in Marietta, Georgia. Ricky’s passion? Lovin’ on kids on behalf of Jesus Christ and sharing the Gospel. Done and done.
Sandy is part of our Orange Store / Warehouse Team, and is a key player in making sure orders are fulfilled and shipped in a timely fashion. She is the mother of three teenage girls—Sarah, Allison and Caroline—and the wife to Scott, the senior pastor at a local church. Needless to say, she stays on the run—so much so that she wears a pedometer to track steps each day. Her current daily average is around 9,000 steps!
Debbie Joiner is the epitome of multi-tasking. She finds time to head up Orange’s online store, manage the client services team, organize the Orange Specialists AND keep Reggie on track (sometimes). Debbie’s organizational skills as well as her passion to equip churches with the resources to implement the strategy provide an incredibly valuable skill set to Orange. In her spare time she is a mom to four grown kids, Reggie Paul, Hannah, Sarah and Rebekah.
More info about Kim coming soon…she’s so busy answering phones and emails that she hasn’t been able to write anything about herself!
As Product Manager at the Orange fulfillment warehouse, Mell combines paper and passion. He takes his knowledge of printing and combines it with a desire to reach the community of faith. He is also a pro at pouring lemon juice on paper cuts. Seriously. His passion is to make sure the Orange customers get the right products at the right time.
Kelli likes college students so much that she decided to lead a group of them to Kenya in 2009. That’s Kelli, always setting her passion into action. She experienced the ins-and-outs of customer service while working for various non-profit organizations. Orange is lucky to have someone who loves people the way that Kelli does.
Daniel is a mystery - even to us. We’re not sure how he gets so much done, but when he gets a minute to write a bio, you’ll learn all about him!
Ryan is a part of our marketing team. He’s a Creative Director. He leads the branding and design projects at Orange. Before that he did a lot of other things for some really cool people that made him think he might be good at what he’s doing now. He’s still not totally sure though. But we are.
He rarely ever craves carbonated beverages—his beverage of choice is H2O—but when he does, it’s always root beer. He and his incredible, super gorgeous, amazingly patient, all around awesome wife Jessica can be found milling around Atlanta window-shopping. You might also see them with their “bargain hats” on at Scott’s Antique market. But don’t be alarmed, their just looking to find really cool things and repurpose them for their home. Or they’re grabbing dinner at one of the new local establishments that pop up daily in the city. They love to eat.
There’s lot’s more, but that’s all you get for now. If you want to know more feel free to ask him.
Betsy is an Orange linchpin. She coordinates event and Internet initiatives for Orange. As an Orange linchpin Betsy resources the creative teams and production groups which present gatherings like the Orange Conference and web presences like WhatIsOrange.org and OrangeLeaders.com. Basically, she buys a lot of URLs so no one else can get them.
She was Event Director for five years at North Point Community Church, guiding the national “Grow Up” and “Drive” conferences as well as ministry events for church members. Betsy has also coordinated events and camps for DASH Student Ministries, developer of the “Seven Checkpoints” curriculum. Most days you can find her working on the next Orange conference or dreaming up ridiculous marketing gimmicks. So you see, when we say linchpin, we mean coordinator. Betsy insists she doesn’t have a control problem. Most of us believe her. Betsy and her husband, Justin, live in the great state of Texas with their two kids, Charlie and Lily.
Kristen holds a degree in secondary education as well as a master of divinity. After teaching high school for two years, she joined the Orange team in 2006. Currently she works as the executive director of messaging by day. In the evening she lives out the full orange spectrum as the wife of XP3 Students Orange Specialist, Matt Ivy, and the mother of two First Look aged children: Sawyer and Hensley.
At one time we thought Mike wasn’t human. He leads everything from communications to marketing to global missions for an emerging South Florida church. Plus, he guides content and communications for every publication that Reggie and the Orange team are a part of. There’s no way this guy has time to breathe.
Armed with an MA in ministry Mike is passionate about seeing church members mobilized for worldwide ministry. As a former high school and college teacher, he enjoys seeing students discovering their potential for impact in places all over the globe.
Debbie Joiner is the epitome of multi-tasking. She finds time to head up Orange’s online store, manage the client services team, organize the Orange Specialists AND keep Reggie on track (sometimes). Debbie’s organizational skills as well as her passion to equip churches with the resources to implement the strategy provide an incredibly valuable skill set to Orange. In her spare time she is a mom to four grown kids, Reggie Paul, Hannah, Sarah and Rebekah.
Hannah has been involved with Orange since the beginning. She is basically the reason that Reggie knows anything about parenting and thinks she should get more credit. Hannah is currently a college student, which means she will probably surpass Reggie in overall knowledge very soon. She has been involved with KidStuf dancers and singers since 1996 and serves as co-choreographer for 252 Basics. To top it off Hannah enjoys working with the music development team for Amber Sky Records. She’s also recently joined the leadership team for the XP3 College curriculum.
Reggie wasn’t always an Orange thinker. It was a transmogrification that extended over epochs—well, actually just over 11 years. It all started when Reggie helped found North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. While in his role as Executive Director of Family Ministry, Reggie disappeared in some mythical cave for a few weeks. When he emerged he had developed a new concept for relevant ministry for preschool, children, students and married adults.
The morphing continued during his time with North Point Ministries. Reggie created KidStuf, an environment where kids bring their parents to learn about God, as well as Grow Up, an international conference to encourage and equip churches to create relevant, effective environments for children, families and teenagers. Slowly, Reggie was turning Orange.
In 1995 Reggie founded The ReThink Group (view history here) acting as the Chief Executive Officer. ReThink is a non-profit organization providing resources and training for churches to maximize their influence on the spiritual growth of the next generation. Then it happened, in 2009 ReThink became Orange and so did Reggie.
Reggie also leads the creative efforts behind the Orange Conference and Orange Tour. He is the author of Think Orange and co-author of Seven Practices of Effective Ministries. His latest books include Parenting Beyond Your Capacity, Slow Fade, Lead Small and Zombies, Football and the Gospel. He and his wife, Debbie, live in Cumming, Georgia, and have four grown children: Reggie Paul, Hannah, Sarah and Rebekah.
Josh is a key player at Orange in lots of different areas. He’s a video and audio guru and is always helping us get events and products to the finish line. Check back for more details soon!
We looked high and low for someone to be responsible for taking Reggie Joiner’s dreams and ideas and seeing them to fruition. And we found that person in Colette Taylor. From napkin-brain-storm to premiere to sustainable production, Colette is able to tame Reggie’s brain, turning ideas into reality. She dips into her experience working with Reggie as the primary producer and designer for family environments for North Point Community Church. So they go way back.
Adaptable and flexible, Colette has mastered the art of working with volunteers to help them achieve their greatest ministry potential. Sometimes equipped with little more than a sketch on a three-by-five note card, Colette develops the framework and fabric for engaging, entertaining events. She also leads the Camp KidJam team as well as serves as the director for AmberSkyRecords.com. Yeah, she’s busy.
Tim Walker’s inner-geek often gets the best of him. But he’s OK with that, and so are we. He likes Flash and Spider Man, which make him uniquely gifted in the Orange world. If you know the secret password, he will reveal his super power. For ten years Tim served as the editor for YouthWalk magazine. Geek plus super-power times editor for popular youth magazine divided by published author equals product development mega-leader. He loves finding ways to help children and students move beyond white noise to hear and experience God’s truth. And most of all, he loves leading a team of super-talented people.
If it’s possible for a person to have teaching in their blood, Melanie is such a person. She holds a Master of Education degree, specializing in early childhood education and has taught children ever since graduating from college. She lives and breathes children’s curriculum logging 20 years of producing leading-edge content.
Karen takes on the challenge of working alongside Reggie to make sure he stays organized and serves the rest of the Orange team. This is no small feat—just ask Hannah. She and her husband have two kids and live in Cumming, Georgia.
Kristen is experiencing her own extended Orange Tour. First introduced to Orange seven years ago as a kindergarten small group leader for 252 Basics at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, she has been a storyteller at Wiregrass Church in Dothan, Alabama, and a preschool director, children’s director, storyteller/host and worship leader for Cumberland Church in Franklin, Tennessee. When she has any free time, she spends it with her husband Bruce, and their four kids: Tucker, Claire, Jack and Ellie.
Kathy’s lead the First Look team since 2008. It’s her passion—her heart. She thinks the world of her team—words like blessing, honor and absolute pleasure surface when she tries to describe her experience working with them. Before Orange, Kathy earned a Master’s in Early Childhood Education and taught in the public school system as well as preschool at her church. She has volunteered with preschoolers on Sunday mornings since forever—or at least a decade. She is the blessed wife of David and loving mommy of Maggie.
Sue is a leader, author, and gifted communicator. She joined The Orange team in 2005 after 17 years of leading Promiseland at Willow Creek Community Church. Sue was instrumental in leading the change process that grew Promiseland into a cutting-edge ministry known around the world. At Orange, Sue travels extensively—feeding her passion to mentor leaders, inspire volunteers, and consult with churches that strive to partner with parents. Sue’s newly revised book, “Parenting is Wonder-full,” offers new parents a glimpse of the important role they play influencing their child spiritually right from the start.
Lois worked in Promiseland at Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois, for 15 years before moving to Atlanta in 2005. Promiseland is a little like Wonderland, except without the Cheshire Cat. She loves working with Orange as Sue Miller’s assistant and a project manager working on preschool curriculum projects for First Look.
Deb is a rock-star in Early Childhood Education. She’s worked as a teacher, program manager, college instructor and consultant. As an Orange Specialist for First Look and adjunct faculty member at Lanier Technical College, she has the chops to work at Orange. But what really makes her “fit right in” here is her ability to make popping sounds using her palm and ear (this is not true). She enjoys the raucous life that only Cumming, GA can offer with her husband, son, dog, and cat and miniature armadillo. Her family actively participates at Browns Bridge Community Church and life in general.
We have loads of good stuff to share about Annette….check back soon to read all about her!
Who doesn’t love Paula Deen? When we heard that Gay Tucciarone was from Savannah, we hired her, hoping for some low-country cooking. More importantly, Gay loves to talk to new people, which is a defining attribute of an Orange Representative. Before coming to Orange, Gay served for 10 years as a volunteer and 15 years as children’s ministry staff member at Savannah Christian Church. She enjoys helping churches that are looking for innovative ways to place parents back in the role of being the spiritual leaders of the home. Gay has three sons and two granddaughters; She and her husband recently moved to Atlanta to be closer to family (read: “grandchildren”) and to cheer on the Braves and Yellow Jackets. (Notice that their team colors are primarily red and yellow? Coincidence? We think not.)
Kevin joined Orange this past year after hearing the Orange strategy and realizing it is one of the most compelling stories in family ministry. And he also was dying to move to Georgia. Texas is nice, but Kevin saw the signs when he failed to become an extra on Friday Night Lights. With a background in marketing and strategy development, he’s spent the past 15 years telling the story of organizations that are building faith in the next generation. That’s right, Kevin is a storyteller. And Orange has a special affinity for people who can tell good stories, especially when those stories are Orange. As much as he likes talking about Orange, he’d rather be talking about his wife and three kids who are all enjoying the southern hospitality of Atlanta. More sweet tea please!
Ryan is a part of our marketing team. He’s a Creative Director. He leads the branding and design projects at Orange. Before that he did a lot of other things for some really cool people that made him think he might be good at what he’s doing now. He’s still not totally sure though. But we are.
He rarely ever craves carbonated beverages—his beverage of choice is H2O—but when he does, it’s always root beer. He and his incredible, super gorgeous, amazingly patient, all around awesome wife Jessica can be found milling around Atlanta window-shopping. You might also see them with their “bargain hats” on at Scott’s Antique market. But don’t be alarmed, their just looking to find really cool things and repurpose them for their home. Or they’re grabbing dinner at one of the new local establishments that pop up daily in the city. They love to eat.
There’s lot’s more, but that’s all you get for now. If you want to know more feel free to ask him.
Kristi is an enigma to the Orange team. She went to school in Alabama—Samford University—yet, loves the Georgia Bulldogs. This is strange to us. But what makes perfect sense is Kristi’s role at Orange. With her BA in Musical Theatre she is another eccentric working with the marketing team. While she was at that school in Al*b*m* she taught Creative Drama and performed in several shows in area schools. She also plies her trade (being eccentric) in her role as Assistant Director of Camp KidJam and she handles logistics for the Orange Tour. Kristi also has extensive experience in retail, specifically with the world-renown Harrods of London. We’re not sure, exactly, what that means. But we like it. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, JR. Finally, Kristi would like us to include: GO DAWGS. We like that too.
Josh is a key player at Orange in lots of different areas. He’s a video and audio guru and is always helping us get events and products to the finish line. Check back for more details soon!
Kristen graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.B.A in marketing. She may be a UGA alum but she is a Florida Gator at heart, so our color scheme works for her. She’d been thinking Orange for a few years before her graduation so as soon as she finished her degree, we snatched her up. She now works on all things product development (we are not sure what that means but we know she is good at what she does). Kristen married Josh Lamm (who also works for Orange) in September of 2010. They are loving life as newlyweds with their dog Jacoby (who they treat like a child).
More details, fun facts and a few little known stories about Jessica coming soon…
More details, fun facts and some super interesting stuff about Kristi coming soon…
Brad serves in the areas of marketing and product development, and came to Orange with eight years of experience working at INJOY, Catalyst and Growing Leaders. He enjoys playing most any sport, especially golf. He also loves following the football and basketball teams of his Alma Mater, the University of Missouri. He is the co-leader of a 9th grade boys small group at his church. By far his most fulfilling task at Orange is to follow Reggie around the country on the Orange Tour, refilling the ice in his drink and carrying his “murse”.
Tim Walker’s inner-geek often gets the best of him. But he’s OK with that, and so are we. He likes Flash and Spider Man, which make him uniquely gifted in the Orange world. If you know the secret password, he will reveal his super power. For ten years Tim served as the editor for YouthWalk magazine. Geek plus super-power times editor for popular youth magazine divided by published author equals product development mega-leader. He loves finding ways to help children and students move beyond white noise to hear and experience God’s truth. And most of all, he loves leading a team of super-talented people.
Hadley serves as the Director of Information Systems and Technology at Orange. Hadley is one of the foremost Technology Architects in Internet database publishing and delivery of enterprise level integrated solutions. We’re not sure what all that means, but we’re pretty sure it means A) Hadley is smart and B) He likes tech stuff—and so do we.
Prior to this role, Hadley spent fourteen years with Apple Computer, and worked on several of the initial Macintosh projects and later managed the worldwide delivery of integrated solutions to the Fortune 50. After Apple, Hadley led the development of an award winning multimedia-learning system for the Health Care industry and the creation of several edutainment titles for the Apple and Bandai Digital Entertainments’ ‘PIPPIN’ Internet and gaming console. Hadley and his wife, Amy, reside in Atlanta and have three children.
Reggie prefers to be labelled as the younger, smarter, hipper Reggie of the Orange crowd and he typically gets away with it unless Joiner is in the room. Actually, Reggie just loves serving alongside his amazing team members as the Chief Operating and Financial Officer, which is just a fancy way of saying he helps with the financial and operational aspects of the organization. Before joining Orange, Reggie served on the executive team as the COO and CFO of INJOY and Catalyst and brings over a decade of extensive operational and financial experience to the leadership team at Orange. Along with traveling internationally, Reggie’s passions also include youth and young adult ministry and he serves in these areas in his local church. His newest passion is the love of his life, Anna, who he is marrying just as soon as he possibly can.
Nancie is one crazy lady. You’d never know that she has her Master’s Degree in accounting, but she does. And she helps keep us all in line as well as trying to keep her husband, Ted, and three kiddos all in line as well. Good luck Nancie….
More details, fun facts and a few war stories from Justin coming soon…
Darla is passionate about accounting. No, it’s true. Since she began her accounting career at the age of 15 she has always loved numbers. So naturally she fits right into the Orange accounting team. Previously Darla was part of the DASH Student Leadership team. She and her husband, Jack, have three kids and live in Cumming, Georgia. They are also owners of Christian Brothers Automotive—an automotive repair franchise in Alpharetta, Georgia. Darla handles all the financials at their automotive shop as well—like we said, she loves numbers. In her spare time she enjoys decorating and fashion.
Susan has been a part of Orange from the beginning. So, she knows how to handle Reggie well. She graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in Accounting. Though she loves accounting, she has served in many roles including Assistant Director of Camp KidJam and various roles administratively for the organization. Susan now works as the Orange Director of Accounting.
Steve is a first-time grandfather to Micah. But don’t let the “grandfather’ moniker fool you. He is as sharp as the new core7 chip and likes to race in the Baja 500 just because. We might have made some of that up—but he is a first-time grandfather. Steve joined Orange in 2009, bringing experience in developing data systems for education, government and manufacturing spanning forty years. He is part of the IT team and works to ensure our clients have a great experience with all of our web sites. He, too, is assisting Alex on the droid project. He is in charge of developing Reggie’s intelligence interface. This is difficult because there’s not much to build from. Steve is happily married to Linda, has two grown children.
The United States government recruited Alex to build the first droid soldier after he obtained and rebuilt his first computer when he was 12 (no, he is not related to Tony Stark). Alex left the outfit because he thought he’d be creating G.I. Joe toys not real droid soldiers—that’s just weird. The government allowed Alex then to join the normal U.S. Army and actually be a G.I. Joe. He was honorably discharged after serving on deployments in Iraq and Kuwait during the first Gulf War.
Alex now makes Orange robots. Not really. But his vast experience and passion for technology makes him a perfect fit here at Orange. He sees his contribution to the Orange team as a way to serve God in his work. From websites to hardware to serving in the tech department at Perimeter Church, Alex is our green beret of technology. He is currently working on a droid replacement for Reggie. This will take some time.
Don’t even think about sneaking something by Jennifer (aka, em dash). She is our last set of eyes on product and marketing pieces, as well as an online content manager for Orange Leaders. But wait, there’s more! Jennifer has also served in other church roles: as an events planner, leadership team member and worship leader. She’s pretty talented, but don’t worry we don’t let it go to her head—well, most of the time. Jen and her husband, Nathan, live in Woodstock, Georgia.
Kevin joined Orange this past year after hearing the Orange strategy and realizing it is one of the most compelling stories in family ministry. And he also was dying to move to Georgia. Texas is nice, but Kevin saw the signs when he failed to become an extra on Friday Night Lights. With a background in marketing and strategy development, he’s spent the past 15 years telling the story of organizations that are building faith in the next generation. That’s right, Kevin is a storyteller. And Orange has a special affinity for people who can tell good stories, especially when those stories are Orange. As much as he likes talking about Orange, he’d rather be talking about his wife and three kids who are all enjoying the southern hospitality of Atlanta. More sweet tea please!
Ryan is a part of our marketing team. He’s a Creative Director. He leads the branding and design projects at Orange. Before that he did a lot of other things for some really cool people that made him think he might be good at what he’s doing now. He’s still not totally sure though. But we are.
He rarely ever craves carbonated beverages—his beverage of choice is H2O—but when he does, it’s always root beer. He and his incredible, super gorgeous, amazingly patient, all around awesome wife Jessica can be found milling around Atlanta window-shopping. You might also see them with their “bargain hats” on at Scott’s Antique market. But don’t be alarmed, their just looking to find really cool things and repurpose them for their home. Or they’re grabbing dinner at one of the new local establishments that pop up daily in the city. They love to eat.
There’s lot’s more, but that’s all you get for now. If you want to know more feel free to ask him.
Betsy is an Orange linchpin. She coordinates event and Internet initiatives for Orange. As an Orange linchpin Betsy resources the creative teams and production groups which present gatherings like the Orange Conference and web presences like WhatIsOrange.org and OrangeLeaders.com. Basically, she buys a lot of URLs so no one else can get them.
She was Event Director for five years at North Point Community Church, guiding the national “Grow Up” and “Drive” conferences as well as ministry events for church members. Betsy has also coordinated events and camps for DASH Student Ministries, developer of the “Seven Checkpoints” curriculum. Most days you can find her working on the next Orange conference or dreaming up ridiculous marketing gimmicks. So you see, when we say linchpin, we mean coordinator. Betsy insists she doesn’t have a control problem. Most of us believe her. Betsy and her husband, Justin, live in the great state of Texas with their two kids, Charlie and Lily.
Reggie prefers to be labelled as the younger, smarter, hipper Reggie of the Orange crowd and he typically gets away with it unless Joiner is in the room. Actually, Reggie just loves serving alongside his amazing team members as the Chief Operating and Financial Officer, which is just a fancy way of saying he helps with the financial and operational aspects of the organization. Before joining Orange, Reggie served on the executive team as the COO and CFO of INJOY and Catalyst and brings over a decade of extensive operational and financial experience to the leadership team at Orange. Along with traveling internationally, Reggie’s passions also include youth and young adult ministry and he serves in these areas in his local church. His newest passion is the love of his life, Anna, who he is marrying just as soon as he possibly can.
Angie has been working for Orange longer than she’s been working for Orange. Get it? We’ll explain. Angie officially joined the Orange team in August 2010 but she comes to us from 10 years at Gwinnett Center where she was the Event Manager over many different kinds of events—fabulous weddings, rock and roll concerts, consumer shows, corporate meetings and even the crazy Orange Conference. After talking to Angie for 30 seconds, you can tell she is not southern born and raised. Growing up in Minnesota, the true southern life has been a pretty big change. But after more than a decade in Atlanta, the “y’alls,” sweet tea, fried foods and southern hospitality are feeling quite natural for her. In her time away from Orange world, she enjoys spending time with her husband Wes, playing tennis, planning social gatherings for her church and taking her pup, Miller, to the park.
Debbie Joiner is the epitome of multi-tasking. She finds time to head up Orange’s online store, manage the client services team, organize the Orange Specialists AND keep Reggie on track (sometimes). Debbie’s organizational skills as well as her passion to equip churches with the resources to implement the strategy provide an incredibly valuable skill set to Orange. In her spare time she is a mom to four grown kids, Reggie Paul, Hannah, Sarah and Rebekah.
Mark is heading up our coaching initiative here at Orange. We’ll be sharing more details about him when he gets a breather from this project to write a bio! Stay tuned!
Brad serves in the areas of marketing and product development, and came to Orange with eight years of experience working at INJOY, Catalyst and Growing Leaders. He enjoys playing most any sport, especially golf. He also loves following the football and basketball teams of his Alma Mater, the University of Missouri. He is the co-leader of a 9th grade boys small group at his church. By far his most fulfilling task at Orange is to follow Reggie around the country on the Orange Tour, refilling the ice in his drink and carrying his “murse”.
We looked high and low for someone to be responsible for taking Reggie Joiner’s dreams and ideas and seeing them to fruition. And we found that person in Colette Taylor. From napkin-brain-storm to premiere to sustainable production, Colette is able to tame Reggie’s brain, turning ideas into reality. She dips into her experience working with Reggie as the primary producer and designer for family environments for North Point Community Church. So they go way back.
Adaptable and flexible, Colette has mastered the art of working with volunteers to help them achieve their greatest ministry potential. Sometimes equipped with little more than a sketch on a three-by-five note card, Colette develops the framework and fabric for engaging, entertaining events. She also leads the Camp KidJam team as well as serves as the director for AmberSkyRecords.com. Yeah, she’s busy.
Bre is a builder. Not of homes, but of children ministries. With education experience and eight years in family ministry and five years on staff at Summit Church in Orlando in her tool-belt, Bre is the consummate Orange handy-er-woman. What makes her so handy? Her neat-o tools and ministry incite from her experience working with a church plant—implementing a preschool ministry, children’s ministry and a weekly family production. When it comes to nuts-n-bolts, Orange takes care of the nuts, Bre, the bolts. She currently leads the charge for OrangeLeaders.com. Bre lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband, Jonathan, and their two kids, Tyson and Marli.
More details, fun facts and a little bit of made up stuff about Matt coming soon…
Mark is heading up our coaching initiative here at Orange. We’ll be sharing more details about him when he gets a breather from this project to write a bio! Stay tuned!
Brad serves in the areas of marketing and product development, and came to Orange with eight years of experience working at INJOY, Catalyst and Growing Leaders. He enjoys playing most any sport, especially golf. He also loves following the football and basketball teams of his Alma Mater, the University of Missouri. He is the co-leader of a 9th grade boys small group at his church. By far his most fulfilling task at Orange is to follow Reggie around the country on the Orange Tour, refilling the ice in his drink and carrying his “murse”.
Dan currently serves as the Director of Children’s Ministry Strategy at The reThink Group. He spends most of his time leading the creative team for 252Basics. Prior to coming on board at reThink, Dan served as the Elementary Children’s Director at Ada Bible Church. He loves all things kidmin and was recently named one of Children’s Ministry Magazines’ 20 leaders to watch. Dan and his wife, Jenna, live in Cumming, Georgia and have four amazing kids: Liam, Ellison, Addison, and Taye.
Don’t even think about sneaking something by Jennifer (aka, em dash). She is our last set of eyes on product and marketing pieces, as well as an online content manager for Orange Leaders. But wait, there’s more! Jennifer has also served in other church roles: as an events planner, leadership team member and worship leader. She’s pretty talented, but don’t worry we don’t let it go to her head—well, most of the time. Jen and her husband, Nathan, live in Woodstock, Georgia.
Joy is part of the special-ops team for 252 Basics. It’s a highly classified group that consults with Orange partner churches. Formerly a spy based somewhere in Santa Barbara, California, Joy felt that getting a BA in Psychology from U.C. Santa Barbara would be a better career path than spy. Since 2000 she’s put her special training to work in a variety of volunteer and staff roles. Before joining the Orange team Joy was a part of the children’s ministry staff at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship and Irving Bible Church. If you really want to see Joy light up, talk to her about children’s worship. She now lives in Texas with her husband and two boys.
Abbey has been Orange for a long time. From her years of incorrectly applying self tanner, to her internship as an Oompa Loompa at the Chocolate Factory, Abbey has certainly had maximum exposure to the color. Even in college, she continued her infatuation with orange at Auburn University, where she learned the value of orange paired with blue. But, alas, it wasn’t until attending The Orange Conference in 2009 with her ministry team, that she finally understood the true meaning of the color. Abbey has worked in children’s ministry for 10 years, serving as children’s ministry director at her church for eight years, where she implemented both First Look and 252 Basics. After a move to the ATL, Abbey now enjoys all things Orange with her wonderful husband and two beautiful children!
Amy has served for over 15 years in children’s and family ministry in both volunteer and staff capacities including implementing 252 Basics in two church plants over the last eight years. In her years in church plant situations, she has learned what it looks like to start a children’s ministry in “lean” environments with few volunteers and resources while still capturing the hearts and imaginations of the children. Amy and her husband, Powell, live in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with their two sons.
More details, fun facts and some fictional accounts about Matt coming soon…
What do you think of when you here the phrase: professional volunteer? We think of Becky. Serving in a variety of ministries throughout the past twenty years, Becky has recently joined the Orange team as an Orange Specialist. She is also the wife of Darren—another specialist role—who is the Family Ministries Pastor at Parker Hill Community Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania. With one hairy dog, two wonderful-not-so-hairy children and two Madagascar hissing cockroaches, Becky’s life is full of laughter and joy. It’s also hairy.
Kristie is the Orange Specialist for XP3. She’s been involved with student ministry for 20 years. Before she came to Orange Kristie served as Director of Student Ministries as well as Partner Director for Dash Student Leadership. She’s also volunteered as a small group leader and leadership coach at her home church in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Misty Phillips has over 25 years of experience in children’s ministry - first as a volunteer, then pastoral staff directing children’s leadership teams. She has launched First Look, 252 Basics and a Family Experience environment while leading. Misty’s sweet spot is training and motivating volunteers. She joined the Orange staff as an Orange Specialist in 2009 so she could share her vast experience with churches around the country. A Missouri native, she is ever so happily married to Tim, mom of 4, and nana to 3.
Professional cheerleaders could take a lesson in sustaining upbeat energy from Stephanie Porter. That energy is put to good use as an Orange Specialist. She never meets a stranger and thrives on helping others reach their greatest potential personally and in ministry. She’s worked in next generation ministries since 2004, loves to lead kids’ worship, and formerly oversaw the children’s ministry in a church plant. Stephanie lives in Fresno, California, with husband, Ryan, and two daughters, Caidence Jade and Annalisse Joy.
Deb is a rock-star in Early Childhood Education. She’s worked as a teacher, program manager, college instructor and consultant. As an Orange Specialist for First Look and adjunct faculty member at Lanier Technical College, she has the chops to work at Orange. But what really makes her “fit right in” here is her ability to make popping sounds using her palm and ear (this is not true). She enjoys the raucous life that only Cumming, GA can offer with her husband, son, dog, and cat and miniature armadillo. Her family actively participates at Browns Bridge Community Church and life in general.
We have loads of good stuff to share about Annette….check back soon to read all about her!
More details, fun facts and a few made up stories about Courtney coming soon…
Who doesn’t love Paula Deen? When we heard that Gay Tucciarone was from Savannah, we hired her, hoping for some low-country cooking. More importantly, Gay loves to talk to new people, which is a defining attribute of an Orange Representative. Before coming to Orange, Gay served for 10 years as a volunteer and 15 years as children’s ministry staff member at Savannah Christian Church. She enjoys helping churches that are looking for innovative ways to place parents back in the role of being the spiritual leaders of the home. Gay has three sons and two granddaughters; She and her husband recently moved to Atlanta to be closer to family (read: “grandchildren”) and to cheer on the Braves and Yellow Jackets. (Notice that their team colors are primarily red and yellow? Coincidence? We think not.)
Jeremy is probably the craziest XP3 Orange Specialist. He is the creator of www.ReyouthPastor.com, a blog about all things related to youth ministry. He is passionate about students and helping student pastors develop ministries that produce students who are zealously in love with Jesus. A former aspiring fighter pilot, Jeremy surrendered to Christ’s call to serve this next generation in 2002. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in California. You can often find Jeremy in the office blaring techno music, drinking an insane amount of coffee, and eating hot sauce. He is in love with his wife Mikaela.
Chuck served for almost nine years as pastor of student ministries at Cornerstone in Simi Valley, California, where the weather is amazing. He is now the senior pastor of Colossae Church located in Portland, Oregon, where it rains every day—almost. He is passionate about his work with college people so he founded CollegeLeader. Somehow Chuck manages to squeeze writing into his schedule, producing resources such as College Ministry 101: a guide to working with 18-25 year olds. He and his wife, Barbara, have two daughters, Karis and Hope. Chuck also co-authored The Slow Fade: Why You Matter in the Story of Twentysomethings with Reggie Joiner and Abbie Smith, the foundation for the XP3 College Conversation Guides.
Someone introduced Abbie to God during her freshman year in college. A couple years and diploma later Abbie wrote the book Can You Keep Your Faith in College. Her unique experiences overseas and her work with Passion Conferences and College Leader make Abbie a happy shade of Orange. With degrees from Emory and Talbot’s institute of Spiritual Formation she thought it best to live somewhere where she could sit around, be smart and stare into openness—like Savannah, Georgia. Abbie is a writer and spiritual director. We love her. Abbie also co-authored The Slow Fade: Why You Matter in the Story of Twentysomethings with Reggie Joiner and Chuck Bomar, the foundation for the XP3 College Conversation Guides.
Sarah has an orange heart. She loves being a mom to Asher and a wife to Rodney. To Sarah, the days are full—full of love, full of fun, full of Orange. Her experience working at North Point Community Church and subsequently with DASH Student Leadership makes her a perfect fit for our XP3 Students curriculum writing team. That, and she is super talented.
Ben Crawshaw leads the student initiative (including XP3 Students curriculum) at the reThink Group. He graduated from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, where he played baseball, studied English, and begged for food. Prior to working at reThink, Ben was the Creative Director of High School Ministry at North Point Community Church. Ben’s hobbies include living vicariously through college and professional athletes, watching non-horror movies, and eating Reese’s Pieces. He and his wife, Holly, love living in the ever-so-quaint town of Dahlonega, Georgia. They have two daughters, Lilah and Esmae, and an unruly cat named Cupcake.
Stuart is a serial multi-tasker. He serves as the director of training for XP3 Students and also leads DASH INC, an organization he founded in 2000 to develop spiritually influential students that engage culture. Plus, he likes to co-author books—lots of them: The Seven Checkpoints: Seven Principles Every Teenager Needs to Know, MAX Q: Developing Students of Influence with Andy Stanley, and the leadership edition of Wired: For a Life of Worship with Louie Giglio. One day he may write a book by himself. In his spare time (insert sarcasm here), he serves as a community girls basketball coach for the two-time defending state champion Buford Lady Wolves. Stuart, his beautiful wife Kellee, and their three incredible children reside north of Atlanta.
More details, fun facts and some fictional accounts about Matt coming soon…
Kristie is the Orange Specialist for XP3. She’s been involved with student ministry for 20 years. Before she came to Orange Kristie served as Director of Student Ministries as well as Partner Director for Dash Student Leadership. She’s also volunteered as a small group leader and leadership coach at her home church in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Jeremy is probably the craziest XP3 Orange Specialist. He is the creator of www.ReyouthPastor.com, a blog about all things related to youth ministry. He is passionate about students and helping student pastors develop ministries that produce students who are zealously in love with Jesus. A former aspiring fighter pilot, Jeremy surrendered to Christ’s call to serve this next generation in 2002. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in California. You can often find Jeremy in the office blaring techno music, drinking an insane amount of coffee, and eating hot sauce. He is in love with his wife Mikaela.