The Zone Gathering

I remember the first time I met Heather (then Hirschy) Gonzales. We met at Johnny Rockets to talk about small group stuff. We were both former NCCers returning to DC. We were also the only two Heathers at NCC at that time. Heather has been faithfully discipling folks at NCC for several years, and it was a tremendous blessing to have her join the Zone Leadership team in 2003. She and Nathan have been great friends to Ryan and me, and their awesome personalities and passion for God have been key to the creation of the small group culture we have at NCC.

I love these spotlights because I always learn something new. Apparently, Heather and I both love Mark Twain and dream of one day being an interpreter at an historical park.

Today, we caught up with Heather to talk about life, ministry, and scoring goals on the soccer field.

How long have you attended NCC? What brought you to NCC?
I first came to NCC when I was an intern back in 1999 at the suggestion of some friends. I’ve left the city since then for a few short stints, but in total I’ve been at NCC for about 6 years.

Tell us a little about the small groups that you lead and how that experience has impacted you.
I first started leading small groups at NCC back in 2002 when I led a Thursday night small group with Michael Ferrigno and Erin Tuggle. I stayed with that group for about two years and throughout that time, I formed some of my foundational NCC relationships. I knew we had something special when pretty much the entire group drove out to the sticks of Indiana (over 10 hour drive) to attend our wedding! That meant a lot to us and we still love to hang out with the people that attended that small group!

I am currently facilitating a small group on Muslim-Christian relations. The group has been a great opportunity to learn more about both Islam and Christianity and to really dig down to consider some of my own attitudes and motives when it comes to interaction with people of other faiths. I love meeting weekly with a group of bright motivated believers who really care about this important and timely issue!

Where can you be found on Sunday mornings?
Usually at Union Station.

When did you start following Christ and what have been some of the spiritual turning points in your life?
I grew up in a Christian home and became a believer as a young child. I had a pretty typical midwest Christian upbringing - spending much of my childhood and teenage years in Sunday school and church youth groups and going to an evangelical Christian college for my undergraduate degree.

These experiences helped lay a strong foundation for my faith. Once I left college I really started the process of thinking more deeply about the implications of my faith for the way in which I lead my life. Moving to DC, spending several months in Africa, undertaking my masters degree (focused on religion) at Georgetown, and my recent job search have all been turning points in which I came to better understand that God calls us to move beyond our areas of comfort, that he reveals himself in many ways, and that he is faithful even when things don’t seem to make sense.

Tell us a little about your background.
I grew up in Huntington, Indiana…known for the only vice presidential museum in the country in honor of our native son, Dan Quayle. My mom is an elementary school teacher and my dad served in the leadership of a small evangelical denomination (which means we spent a lot of time at church activities) and is now working for the denominational school, Huntington University. My older brother, Jason lives in Denver, and my younger sister Amber is heading to Cambodia for a year in May.

I attended high school at Huntington North and college at Huntington College, home of the Foresters! During the fall semester of my senior year I came to Washington as an intern with the American Studies Program. In those few short months, I grew to love DC…but more importantly I also developed a special interest in a cute fellow intern by the name of Mr. Gonzales. After heading back to our respective schools for one more semester, Nathan and I both came back to DC and eventually, after a few challenges and few months on my part in Africa, we got married. Nathan and I have both just recently finished up our master’s degrees so we are finally just now enjoying married life without schoolwork!

What is your favorite Scripture passage?
“Don’t be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6&7

What are your favorite books?
I enjoy reading anything historical, both fiction and non-fiction, or on evangelicalism…in terms of favorite authors Mark Twain is hard to beat and James Michener is great for historical fiction, and in the popular Christian realm John Ortberg is always good.

What are your favorite movies?
The truth is that I’m not a huge movie fan, though I do like The Three Amigos…we need to get those three guys in a movie again! The only movie I own personally is the 40th anniversary edition of the Sound of Music. But, I do enjoy and own quite a few exercise videos if those count…

What is your favorite fast food?
Onion pizza from Papa Johns and the pizza sandwich at Potbellys

What is something that most people at NCC would not know about you?
I made the first goal in the history of Huntington College Women’s Soccer…too bad it was in about the 10th game of our inaugural season…needless to say we didn’t go to the playoffs that year.

Tell us a little about your day job. What is your dream job?
The truth is that my current job is my dream job – I am a policy analyst in the Office of Governmental Affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals. It’s a really small office so that means I do everything from making sure we have paper for the printer, to keeping our finances, to helping develop policy and strategy on issues of relevance to the evangelical community. We play a role in the debate on lots of important issues from religious freedom, to interfaith relations, the environment, HIV/AIDs initiatives, and just about everything in between. I love leaving the office each night knowing that we are making a mark on history!

Speaking of history…in my retirement years, I would love to be a historical interpreter at a national park or other historic site.

Who is your hero? (besides Jesus or any other member of the Trinity)
I’m not a huge hero orientated person, but in terms of role models, the people I admire the most are probably my parents and my sweet husband – they love me unconditionally and have set high standards of character and sacrifice I try to emulate.

What do you do in your free time?
I enjoy visiting historical sites, going on picnics, riding my bike, hiking, running, reading, playing games, spending lots of time with my husband (unless the activity involves televised sports or hardcore music), and spending time with friends and family.

In NCC:THE MOVIE who would play you? Who would play Pastor Mark?
Based on my previous response that I don’t watch many movies…anything I say here would be a wild guess…

What is your favorite Pastor Markism?
I know it’s been said before…but when I think of Mark, I can’t help but think of “tying it in a knot.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 21st, 2006 at 10:41 am and is filed under Spotlights, Zone Leaders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.