My name is Leigh Gerstenberger

and this is my story...

My wife Mim and I began attending Orchard Hill Church about 10 years ago when our son Rob was nine and our daughter Kathryn was 7. At the time, my primary areas of focus were my career, my income objectives and my position within my company.

My wife and I had both been raised in traditional churches and upon reflection, I would say that we did a good job of "practicing our religion", but had no understanding of what it meant to have a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ". Little did I know at the time how that would change over the next decade of our lives.

Looking back, I can see now, that I was a slave to the market place. I was trying to advance my career and make as much money as possible so that I could enjoy a certain lifestyle and the "toys" that came with it.

The wake up call for me came one day when after fourteen years of being together, my wife and I realized that we had been slowly growing apart in our marriage. Fortunately for us, we recognized that we had a problem, found a good counselor and began to work through the issues that had begun to polarize our relationship.
       
In retrospect, while this process would prove to be extremely worthwhile in the long run (Mim and I are now celebrating 25 years of marriage) the actual steps involved in rebuilding our relationship were very emotional and revealing.
  
For me, the most significant revelation came one day when I finally realized that I was looking to how much money I made, the position I held at work, the car I drove, essentially, all the wrong things to validate my worth as a person.
  
When this realization hit me, and it did hit me like a ton of bricks, I also realized that the only validation I needed, the only thing that really mattered, was the validation that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  For me, that realization became a defining moment that would begin to shape my life and the lives of my wife and children from that day forward.

As a family, we began to plug ourselves into life here at Orchard Hill Church. Through their middle and high school years both of my children were involved with Cross Training, Storm, Surf City and now Power and Light, the college ministry. The highlight of the last three summers for them has been the time they've spent, along with Mim, in helping with the Kid's Fest program.
  
Rob and Kathryn have both been members of D-teams, small group get-togethers, with kids their ages, who meet regularly for fellowship and Bible study. Rob's D-team leader was Dan Shields, our worship leader and lead guitarist. Kathryn's D-team is led by Lisa Molinaro a terrific young woman who's on the student ministry staff here at Orchard Hill. Mim and I couldn't ask for two better mentors for our son and daughter than Dan and Lisa.

Last year, at the end of his senior year in high school, Rob had the opportunity to go to Haiti, and in all likelihood, Kathryn will go this coming spring. 
 
While none of us ever know what the future will hold, I have the strong sense that the relationships my children have established here at Orchard Hill Church will last them a lifetime.

Probably the most telling example of the impact that Orchard Hill has had on my children, is that while off at Penn State this past year, Rob (on his own) plugged himself into a campus ministry program. This clearly is the Lord at work, because if his mother and I had suggested he do this, it never would have happened!

Just as the time we've spent at Orchard Hill has had a major impact on our children's lives, it's also impacted my relationship with Mim and our marriage. Over the last ten years, we've been fortunate to be a part of several house groups as members and leaders and we've enjoyed volunteering here at the church in the information center and out in the parking lot.
  
For the last six years, Mim's been involved in a women's Bible study where she is now a small group leader. In addition, she and a group of women have formed a Mom's In Touch group that meets every other week in a room, just off the church lobby, to pray for the children, teachers, administrators and staff of the North Allegheny Schools.

Over the last ten years, I've struggled with trying to take my relationship with the Lord to the next level.  In spite of my best intentions, I have had difficulty over the years, developing any kind of discipline around my spiritual life.  However, this has begun to change. For the last six months, I've been meeting with a group of twelve men, every Friday morning from 6:00 – 8:00 AM, for fellowship, Bible study and discussion. During these meetings, the men in my group and I have been introduced to the writings of several Christian authors, Bible verses which we have begun to commit to memory and a dozen new friendships with one another. For me, the time I've spent with this men's group, has led to some of the most significant spiritual development in my life since the day that I first realized that my validation came not from my position in the market place, but from my relationship with my maker.
  
In May of 1971, a few weeks before my 18th birthday and the week before I graduated from high school, my father died of a heart attack at the age of 42. My father was a great man. I know he loved my mother, his children and the Lord. He was big, gentle, and had a wonderful sense of humor. This past Memorial Day weekend marked the 30th year that he's been gone.  And while I miss my Dad and think of him often, my biggest regret is that while he was living, I didn't spend more time with him building our relationship. But then how could I have possibly known that the time we did have with each other would come to such an abrupt and early end. A wise person once said, "nothing brings a man face to face with his own mortality more, than the death of his father." 

In many ways, I feel that loosing my father when I was seventeen; ended up being the catalyst that awakened the "seeker" in me. It also made me aware of the importance of trying to spend quality time with my wife and children, since none of us ever know how much time we have left together.

The first Bible verse we memorized in our men's group was 2 Chronicles 16:9a, "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." I know that over the last ten years the Lord has had his watchful eye on my family and me. I know that he continues to help me strengthen my marriage and my relationship with my wife and children. And I know my family and I are enriched daily as we strive to "fully commit ourselves to him".

 My name is Leigh Gerstenberger and this is my story.