The Zone Gathering

Today, we shine the spotlight on one of our most innovative and energetic small group leaders– Jana Hoisington. Jana co-leads a group that has one of my favorite names- Enter His (Tennis) Courts. In fact, she’s pictured here on her first competitive tennis courts from junior high. She led Boundaries last semester and is currently leading Safe People. Jana is very thought-full and intentional in the way she approaches leadership and the way she builds community in her group. Her win sheets are full of praises and stories of how people are growing.

She’s also got all these quirky stories, interests, and passions, and I think I learn something new about her every time I talk to her. In fact, I learned a whole lot of new stuff just reading her Spotlight today!

We talk with Jana today about life, ministry, and the unacceptable distance to the “nearest” Sonic. (I love those cherry limeades, as well, Jana! The Sonic is two blocks from my house in Mobile, so I feel your pain. We need to take a 54.53 mile road trip soon!)

How long have you attended NCC? What brought you to NCC?
I’ve been attending NCC since 2005. I actually visited NCC for the first time back in 2000 with Heather Hirschy (now Gonzales), but I wound up attending a more traditional church instead. Five years later the Lord called me to switch to NCC. That’s the highly abridged version. The unabridged version is quite interesting but would take too long to share in this space.

Where can you be found on Sunday mornings?
I love the evening services at Ebenezers, but I can often be found at Union Station on Sunday mornings.

Tell us a little about the small groups and/or ministries that you lead and how that experience has impacted you.
On Tuesday nights I lead a group entitled Safe People, which focuses on relational health and character discernment, based on a book by the same name by Christian psychologists Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend. Last fall I lead the Boundaries group, which was also based on a book by the same authors. The experience has been incredible – it’s hard to express the blessing it has been to witness the changes people have made in their lives, and to see friendships forming and trust building within the group. The diversity of experiences and personalities in the group adds richly to our discussions, and I am amazed at the Lord’s faithfulness to us each week.

Last summer Theresa Johnson and I started Enter His (Tennis) Courts. We continued it in the fall semester, and are currently impatiently waiting for warmer weather to start our spring semester. The general rule is that if it is at least 50 degrees, we will be playing tennis on Saturday mornings. Soon we hope to have our own tennis blog….

When did you start following Christ and what have been some of the spiritual turning points in your life?
I accepted Christ as my Savior when I was a small child. I grew up with family devotions every morning at breakfast, and special readings and traditions at Easter and Christmas, as well as occasional family worship, drama, or missions nights before bedtime as a family. My family was very involved in church activities. I was in youth group and was a Bible quizzer in the Lawrence Free Methodist Church in junior high and high school.

Three major turning points in my spiritual walk include 1) attending a small Bible study in high school where I experienced finding the Bible truly compelling for the first time; 2) interning for a correspondent at National Public Radio in college who not only talked about the Lord as though He were her best friend, but who also maintained her faith despite professional circumstances; and 3) coming to NCC where I finally found the type of community I had been desiring, challenging and applicable messages, worship experiences like none I’d ever previously experienced, and the ability to be in meaningful lay leadership.

Tell us a little about your background.
I was born and raised in artsy, historic, and university-influenced Lawrence, Kansas. The entire town bleeds crimson and blue for the University of Kansas Jayhawks, especially during March Madness. I join fellow Kansans in a mysterious but devout fondness for our home state. Though I played on tennis teams, I was actually much more dedicated to music all through childhood: had 13 years of piano lessons, was a three-year all-state bassoonist, played the trombone in marching band, took voice lessons, and sang in several choirs. My last significant foray into music was singing with the semi-professional Master Chorale of Washington during 2001-2002. I graduated from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, and spent a life-changing semester here in DC at the American Studies Program (ASP) during my junior year.

As a retired junior high science teacher, Dad can answer all of my science questions (such as the difference between steam and condensed water vapor, how planes can fly when they weigh more than me, etc). Mom is a hand weaver and owns her own business, Silver Thread Handweaving. My parents have led a number of small groups and parenting classes through their church. My oldest sister and her husband live in Jackson, Michigan with my smart and incredibly darling nearly-5-year-old niece. My middle sister and her husband live in nearby Springfield, Virginia.

What is your favorite Scripture passage?
Psalm 139:14 is my baby verse. I also like Isaiah 43:2.

What are your favorite books?
Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. Anything by Jane Austin or Madeleine L’Engle (both fiction and non-fiction). If we can include magazines, I love The Atlantic.

What are your favorite movies?
All-time favorite: 1776. Close second: A&E’s Pride and Prjudice. Tie for third: Pirates of the Caribbean (the first one, the second one was too gooey) and Hoosiers. I also like movies in the spy genre (“Spy Game” and the Bourne movies), and classics and musicals in general.

What is your favorite fast food?
McDonald’s French fries and Sonic’s Cherry Limeades. Mmm. Unfortunately, while Mickey D’s are easy to find, the nearest Sonic is 54.53 miles away (according to the Sonic Locator). My sisters and I generally get at least one cherry limeade anytime we go home.

What is something that most people at NCC would not know about you?
I have vivid memories of my house being hit by a tornado when I was about three years old, and thunderstorms have always held a strong fascination for me. Growing up, often while tornado sirens were blaring and my Mom was asking my Dad and me to come down to the basement, we would be standing on the front porch watching the rain fall and the sky grow dark and ominous. I miss good Midwestern thunderstorms – out here, rainfall is rarely accompanied by thunder and lightning. So what’s the point?

Tell us a little about your day job. What is your dream job?
I work for the “softer side” of the Department of Justice handling outreach for the faith-based and community initiative. Last year I traveled quite bit to speak at conferences. It’s fulfilling and encouraging to talk to and meet with social service organizations on a daily basis that have such a heart for reaching those in their communities with the greatest needs.

My dream job? My dream is evolving, and I still possess a latent desire to teach history and government (and maybe I’ll join Heather Z and G as a historical interpreter someday ;-)). But I have a growing desire to work more closely with people in a professional counseling capacity.

Who is your hero? (besides Jesus or any other member of the Trinity)
This is a hard one. I admire Abraham Lincoln for his character, humble determination, and his ability to look troubling and divisive reality straight in the eye with tremendous insight. He suffered greatly, and many believe that the fruit of this suffering was clarity and conviction, creative skills in the face of adversity, and a faithful humility that helped him guide the nation through its greatest crisis. He was a deeply religious man, and his chief form of prayer was to seek and follow God’s will, not to change it.

What do you do in your free time?
I read a lot, play tennis, do outdoorsy things, attend concerts and tennis tournaments, travel, and try to keep up with friends and family.

In NCC:THE MOVIE who would play you? Who would play Pastor Mark?
In high school I was compared to Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber), the skinny next-door neighbor on Full House. But I prefer Janine Turner from Northern Exposure. For Pastor Mark, how about Colin Firth?

What is your favorite Pastor Markism?
I’m sort of amused by the way he starts his sentences without “I am … “. E.g., “So glad you’re with us today,” or “So excited about …..”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 20th, 2007 at 10:31 am and is filed under Small Group Leaders, Spotlights. 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.