by Dale Reeves
Story Pastor
Wes Holman grew up in the Catholic church. He attended Bishop Fenwick High School in Franklin, Ohio, and after high school entered the United States Air Force. He says that growing up he always knew something was missing from his spiritual journey but he didn’t really know what it was. While in boot camp some of his friends went to a non-denominational church and he decided to check it out too.
After his stint in the Air Force, and after visiting several churches in the area, in the fall of 2017 Wes Holman and his fiancée Micah found themselves attending Christ’s Church. They were drawn to the relevant, straight-from-the-Bible preaching here. They were challenged to sign up for the 10-week discipleship experience that we call Rooted. When Wes and Micah decided to get involved with a Rooted group, they had no idea how it would change the trajectory of their lives.
Noah and Lisa Hardwick were the facilitators for Wes and Micah’s Rooted group. Noah has this to say about Wes: “When I first met Wes through the Rooted experience, he seemed to be in the spectator phase of his faith. But as the weeks unfolded and our group began opening up to each other and the Lord, Wes moved from spectator to active participant.”
Wes says, “Signing up for Rooted was definitely a leap for us, but was probably the best decision we’ve ever made. It put things in perspective, it made my spiritual journey real. It made me want to know more of God’s Word. It helped me figure out what has been missing all along—knowing who I am and what I’m meant to do. Rooted made me want to jump in to help and serve.”
Celebration Night
As the conclusion of the ten weeks of Rooted drew near, Wes and Micah knew that the Celebration event was quickly approaching. So, three weeks ahead of time Wes approached his manager at the restaurant where he worked to make sure he would not be scheduled to work on that Friday night. What would happen next was definitely a God thing that he would have never imagined.
When the work schedule came out, Wes noticed that he had been scheduled for that Friday night anyway. He worked the morning shift, but was not going to work a double shift that day and miss the Rooted Celebration. When Wes told his boss the reason, his boss rolled his eyes and told him he couldn’t have the second shift off. It was about 5:00 pm that Friday and Wes thought to himself, I can’t miss this celebration. It has been such a life-changing event for my fiancée and me. Even though the couple had no other source of income at that time, Wes told his supervisor, “I can’t miss this. Unfortunately I have to quit this job.”
Wes walked out of the restaurant, headed to the Rooted celebration that night at church, and at the conclusion of the evening Noah baptized him, and Noah’s wife Lisa baptized Micah. The couple wanted to start this new life together. Noah says, “Man, what an honor it was for us to baptize them together!”
Faithfulness Rewarded
There wasn’t a moment when Wes said, “I no longer have a job. What am I going to do now?” He says that he knew he was doing the right thing in obeying God and actually had a peace about it.
Word quickly got out concerning what steps Wes and Micah had taken that night, and the line in the sand that Wes had drawn. Two days later Wes received a message from Dave Buffenbarger, one of the elders at Christ’s Church. Dave emailed Wes and asked him to come in for an interview at a company in Loveland called TaleMed, whose work consists of matching healthcare professionals with appropriate opportunities. Wes had no idea what the company did, and they didn’t know he was only 20 years old at the time. They knew nothing of his background or his education, they just knew of his story at Christ’s Church. He was their youngest hire at the time and is still working there.
One of the things Wes has loved about TaleMed is how they have been involved in going on mission trips to places like Back2Back Ministries, an international non-profit organization dedicated to being a voice for orphans. Wes says, “I’ve always craved to be a part of something bigger than myself, and I have gotten to do that.”
Next Steps
Wes is currently studying business marketing at Xavier University and next June Wes and Micah will be married. He knows that much about the future. Regarding his future service in God’s kingdom, Wes says, “I’m at a place now where I really want to get involved more. I don’t know exactly what that looks like yet, but I want to help out in any way I can.”
He continues, “Rooted opened my eyes to see what God has in store for me. It helped me translate some of the hard-to-understand Bible verses into real life. It’s definitely been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. If you haven’t gone through Rooted yet I would say do it. Don’t be afraid to take the leap. Don’t even think twice about it. Just trust God and do it. You never know how it will change your life. It really changed mine.”