Pastor Blake Owings has served as the Youth Pastor at The Woods since April 2021. He graduated from MidAmerica Nazarene University in 2017. Before coming to The Woods, Blake was the youth pastor in Coffeyville, KS. Blake and his wife, Maddie were married in 2017 and have 2 sons, Forest and Fox, and a daughter, Roselynn.

Pastor Ruthanna has been serving as the Children’s Pastor since fall 2024 and brings a deep passion for helping kids know they are loved by Jesus and valued by their church family. She graduated from Olivet Nazarene University and spent her college years serving as a ministry intern at Kankakee First Church of the Nazarene, where her calling to children’s ministry continued to grow. Originally from Pennsylvania, Ruthanna is the youngest of two siblings and loves spending time with her brother, mom, dad, and their 4 dogs. Ruthanna especially enjoys creating welcoming spaces where every child belongs and is passionate about loving and discipling the next generation, as well as advocating for children with special needs so they can fully participate in church life. When she’s not at church, you’ll likely find her spending time with her dog, Beckham. 

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Peggy is a wife, mother, Grammy and Great Grammy. She has served Jesus through WWCN for over three decades, where she has continuously played a pivotal role in compassionate outreach through the NMI (Missions) Council. Alongside her husband, Wally, she serves in Area 51 and a small group. Retiring from 42 years as a pediatric Speech Language Pathologist grants more time to answer His call. She is firm in her belief that the world is HIS mission field, where she is excited to be joined by others in sharing the love of Jesus to everyone in all aspects of life.

Wally Fisher has enjoyed the privilege of actively serving in many capacities at Wanamaker

Woods Church Of The Nazarene for more than 30 years. Upon retiring from over 40 years of

teaching in public education, he now has the opportunity to be on staff, where he serves in any

capacity to enrich the lives of others to strengthen their walk through Know-Grow-Serve-Share.

He and Peggy have been married since 1974 and recently discovered the joy of travel. Most

importantly he spends much of his time with his three cherished children, their spouses and

especially the grandchildren and the newest great-grandchild.

Kim Rogers has been serving at The Woods since January 2022. However, she has been a member here since 2012. She graduated from Washburn University in 1994. She was the Quality Assurance Manager to a non-profit here in town before joining our team. She is the mother of 3 children and a grandmother of 2.

Dr. Holmes was born in Portland Oregon. He has been married to his lovely wife Jolene since they met as teenagers in Hastings Nebraska. They have two lovely daughters, & five beautiful granddaughters. He holds four earned college degrees, (AA-BA-Th.m Th.D.) Dr. Holmes served as Senior Pastor of Wanamaker Woods from 1985-2022. He enjoys playing golf, reading, and especially spending time with his family.

Pastor Jerry Schmid has served at The Woods for many years in many roles.  Jerry has two daughters and several grandchildren.