Every year, Parkside welcomes a new class of residents who are seeking to clarify their calling to full-time ministry. Residents serve alongside various pastors and staff, learning about many facets of ministry at Parkside. 

Jake Durham from North Carolina
 

Jake grew up an hour north of Charlotte in a town called Statesville with his two brothers, one older and one younger. He attended the Christian school where his father works as a Bible teacher, and his mother works in healthcare administration. In his spare time, Jake enjoys learning to play guitar and learning to cook, especially pasta, smash burgers, and cooked vegetables.

Jake has served in two ministry internships, one of which was working with youth ministry at a church in Cedarville. He has also led Bible studies for various groups, including his high school tennis team. God used his heart for youth ministry to prompt him to pursue his Master of Divinity at Cedarville. “I’d been desiring to be in youth ministry for a long time, ever since I was in youth ministry. As I got older, I realized the importance of that age,” Jake said. “I was drawn to students, and I was affirmed by people in my church.” 

The Parkside residency program came highly recommended to Jake by his friends and former residents Matt Bandy and Isaac Shaw. So far, he has been excited by the number of youth activities he’s been able to help with already as SI kicks off for the school year.

“I just want to be pushed to grow,” said Jake. “I think an aspect of it at my young age is learning what it means to be an adult and come alongside other people and pour into them. I’m sure there are a lot of things I’m going to look back at and be like, ‘Whoa! I’ve learned a lot!’”

Fun Facts
 

• Favorite Snack: kettle-cooked chips dipped in peanut butter
   
• Fictional World in Which He'd Like to Live: Star Wars. “With my luck, I’d probably be a peasant on a far-out planet,” he joked.
   
• Currently Reading: Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, by Thomas Brooks. “It describes ways that Satan tries to deceive us and then it gives remedies for how to counteract that,” explained Jake. “The remedies are about who God is and what he's done in order to fight off those temptations. It’s interesting because this guy just dissects your heart.” 

How You Can Pray
 

• Pray for Jake as he steps into a new place and a new stage of life. 
• Ask God to help Jake get comfortable and find friends. 
• Ask God to give Jake wisdom and direction for what he should do once his residency is over.

Callie Conner from Aurora, OH

Callie has been no stranger to Parkside—she grew up in the church and interned here two years ago—so starting her residency felt more like coming home. Callie’s journey into ministry began when she was a student and she was very involved in Parkside’s student ministry. During that time, she also served with the children’s ministry and with the nursery.

Callie left Aurora to go to college at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, beginning as an undecided major. But throughout college, she felt God’s call on her heart toward full-time ministry, and she finally decided to double major in communications and ministry. “I was looking around for work while I was still in school and had a couple different good directions,” said Callie, “but ultimately, Parkside was the door God kept the most open, and it was where he very clearly wanted me this year.”

Despite Callie’s familiarity with Parkside, she knows she still has a lot to learn. “I'm really trying to absorb as much as I can. I'm hoping to be mentored by older, wiser women. I want to know how to love and serve people better and think less about myself and more about other people.” So far, Callie has done a lot of work with the children’s ministry and the student ministry, partnering especially with Renee Kearney. Callie has officially joined our team, and going forward she will be working full-time with our youth ministry.

When she’s not working with students or kids, Callie enjoys spending time in coffee shops and catching up with friends. She recently found herself deep into learning about cruise ship mysteries: “So many weird and mysterious things happen on cruise ships,” she said with a laugh. Still, what energizes her most is growing in relationships and learning how to serve people with wisdom and grace.

Fun Facts
 

• Favorite Snack: hummus
   

• Fictional World in Which She'd Like to Live: In the movie Legally Blonde. “Because in a different life, I would be a lawyer if I didn't have to do all the schooling and all the reading, and I think I would be friends with Elle Woods,” she said.
   

• Currently Reading: Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller. “I feel like I have so many distractions around me in general. I'm truly recognizing things as idols and cast them away and distinguish where my time should go.”

How You Can Pray

Callie asked for prayer for her in the transition period she’s in. She just graduated college in May and moved home, and now she is joining our team full-time to work with student ministry.

Jake Strano from Middlefield, OH
 

Northeast Ohio is home to Jake, who grew up attending Cornerstone Bible Church and whose parents work at Heritage Classical Academy and Wickliffe City Schools. Jake has played guitar for 18 years, enjoys vegetable gardening, and follows local sports teams, such as the Buckeyes and the Guardians.

In high school, Jake started to sense a call to ministry, and he considered his options. Should he just to ministry on the side while he found full-time employment elsewhere? Or should he pursue full-time ministry? “Praying about it, I felt led to pursue it as a full-time thing,” said Jake. His conviction led him to get a Biblical Studies degree from Liberty University. “Residency was a great opportunity to get experience develop skills and observe experienced pastors. I was hoping to get the residency at Parkside. I knew it was a great church. I applied, interviewed, and was offered a spot.”

Jake has experience volunteering on a worship team, at youth group, and in a young adult group. He served in 2021-2022 as a camp counselor at Lake Anne in Michigan, and he was the program director for fourth and fifth grade in 2023. While in school at Liberty, he was a community group leader in his hall and eventually became a resident shepherd, during which he oversaw several community group leaders.

The biggest thing Jake wants to learn is the practicalities of being a pastor. “I don't have as much experience regarding what does a typical week looks like. How to balance time, lead in meetings.” And Jake has confidence Parkside’s residency will give him the experience he needs. “Nice to know this program is so well-established. We'll be used for meaningful things. It's not just a ‘go grab my copy’ situation. I’m excited that we'll be doing helpful stuff for the church.”
  
 

Fun Facts

Favorite Snack: Oreos

Fictional World in Which He'd Like to Live: Tolkien’s Middle-earth, specifically in Rohan. “I like the lifestyle with the horses, and its more rural community, but they're still strong,” he explained.

Currently Reading: The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul. “It helped me see the holiness of God not as one attribute but as the biggest thing about him in the Bible,” he said.
 

How You Can Pray
Pray for Jake as he transitions into life after college and as he tries to discern God’s will for his life. “I’m thankful for the year here,” Jake said, “but I need to balance that with what I'm doing afterward.”

Andrew Neal from Kentucky 

From Louisville, Andrew is a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with experience in youth ministry, worship, missions work, and his local church’s equipping classes. He's traveled to both France and Southeast Asia for ministry service opportunities. After finishing seminary, Andrew sought to shadow more experienced pastors and learn from them, being challenged to grow in his abilities. Through this residency, he hopes to learn more about pastoral care and counseling and refine his teaching and preaching.

Andrew has been married to Jessie for 10 years, and they have four children: Samuel (8), Nora (6), Eli (3), and Benjamin (6 months). Jessie works in women’s healthcare as a nurse. At the moment, they are staying in Strongsville with family until they find a more permanent home. When Andrew isn't at Parkside, he enjoys exercising, weightlifting, and hiking with his family and Bernedoodle, Oliver. He counts Utah and the unique landscape of Arches National Park as among his favorite places to hike. 

Fun Facts

Favorite Snack: Anything sweet with peanut butter and chocolate

Fictional World In Which He'd Like to Live: J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, either in the Shire or among the elves.

Currently Reading: Digital Liturgies: Rediscovering Christian Wisdom in an Online Age by Samuel D. James. Andrew said that this book helps us think critically about the media we consume. 

How You Can Pray

• Pray as Andrew and his family transition to life in northeast Ohio in new places with new schools and jobs.
• Pray that God would provide community for their family.
• Ask that God would help them sell their home in Kentucky.