We are proud to have such a devoted staff here at MLCC. We invite you to find out more about them and the capacity in which they are serving our Lord.

Preaching Minister

Doug Dykstra

Doug Dykstra has been the Preaching Minister at Mid-Lakes since 1994. He was born in 1946 in Munster, Indiana, which is in the northwest corner of Indiana, at the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan.

Doug went to Christian elementary and high schools, and after graduation, entered immediately into Lincoln Christian College on a ministerial program. He held a variety of jobs to put himself through college, and graduated from LCC in 1968. He had already started preaching by the middle of his junior year of college at a little church in central Illinois, and has been preaching ever since.

Doug and Cheryl were married in December of 1966, and he thinks of her as his best friend and partner.

Doug and Cheryl came to MCC on Easter Sunday, 1994, and have thoroughly enjoyed serving here. The church in those days was small and struggling, but the people really wanted to do something for the Kingdom. In order for this to happen, a lot of changes had to take place -- the church was open to change, and grew rapidly as a result. Now we have a wide variety of worship services and study opportunities, to bless a wide variety of people.

Part of Doug’s dreams has been fulfilled now that we’ve moved into our beautiful new building. But, the dream is far larger than that: our next mission is to fill it up with people who are eager to worship our Lord and King. Each weekend, we enjoy 3 worship services and two Bible Studies, and there are studies for all ages throughout the weekdays, too. In addition, we have a first-rate Christian School that meets every school day – what a joy!

MCC is committed to becoming a powerful influence in our community for Christ. Our goal to become ever more effective at drawing people of every age group to a closer walk with Christ. And, we need to do it fast...because we believe our Lord could return at any moment.

Associate Teaching Pastor

Brent Bickhart

Brent (known as Bick) came on staff at MCC  on January 4, 2010. He serves as an associate teaching pastor, with particular responsibilities in the areas of MCC’s Celebrate Recovery ministry and the ministry of Life Groups.  He also teaches English in the middle school at Adventure Christian Academy.

Bick graduated from Ashland (Ohio) University in 1975. Following graduation, he took a position as English teacher and assistant football coach at Mt. Vernon High School in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. In 1977, he moved to Florida to begin teaching and coaching at Eustis High School, serving as head football coach from 1979-1981. The move to Florida also brought an unexpected benefit – Bick met his wife, Kathy, who was the one who witnessed to him and led him to Christ. They were married on August 11, 1978. They have three boys:  Kennon,  who works in computers and web design for evangelist Reinhard Bonnke in Orlando; Tyler, who is an assistant golf course superintendent at Eagle Dunes in Eustis; and Ryan, who is in ninth grade at Adventure Christian Academy. Bick and Kathy also have two daughters in law, Charis (married to Kennon), and Abbey (married to Tyler).  They have two grandchildren: Caleb and Ana Joy.

Bick has served in ministry as a youth pastor at Bay Street Baptist Church in Eustis from 1989-1996, and most recently as lead pastor for New Covenant Community Church in Tavares, from 1996-2010. His passion in ministry is teaching the Word of God.

His interests include spending time with his family, watching NCIS whenever it comes on TV, and following the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Office Manager

Cheryl Dykstra

Cheryl Dykstra is the wife of our MCC's preaching minister, Doug Dykstra, and serves MCC as the Office Manager, Teacher, and coordinating the events of Mid-Lakes activities.

She grew up in Indiana, near Chicago, and attended Lincoln Christian College. She loves serving the church alongside of Doug. Since Cheryl has a passion of music, she has taken the awesome responsibility of organizing the music ministry at the church.

Cheryl really enjoys all that she does and looks forward to going to "work." Her attitude is: "It's a privilege to have a job that makes us a partner with God, and that all I do has a chance to effect someone for eternity."

Cheryl remembers when she and Doug first came to Mid-Lakes. The elders knew that she had a musical background. In fact, she used to teach it in a Christian school. So they told her, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to bring our church into a mode that would be attractive to younger families raising children." It proved to be a real challenge, but Cheryl adds, "It's been lots of fun to see the great attitudes in the church folk as we have gradually added youth and family-friendly aspects to the worship services and music."

Cheryl writes, "We've all had to make a few concessions here and there. At Mid-Lakes, we take the attitude that if there isn't something in one of the weekend services that isn't our preference, we probably aren't presenting the balance in our services that we should. Our desire is to have a point of connection for every age group, while still keeping the dignity and power of worship. Our leaders have the wisdom to know that the kingdom of God is bigger than the personal preferences of anyone of us. So Christ is being honored in many ways today at Mid-Lakes Christian Church."
 

Sports and Young Adults Minister

Brent Elliott

MCC is committed to seeing people come to know Christ and build relationships. One way we seek to do that is through our Sports Ministry and Young Adult Ministry. Brent Elliott leads both of these ministries. Brent was originally called to MCC to serve as Youth Minister in 1997, but now is serving as the Sports Minister.

Brent was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. When he was two, his family decided to move to Eustis, Florida. Brent graduated from Eustis High School in 1995. He then went on to Florida Christian College in Kissimmee, FL. His interests include spending time with his family, fishing, playing sports and watching the Miami Hurricanes beat the Seminoles and Gators.

Brent married his wife, Michelle, on December 18, 1999. They now live in Eustis with their two kids, Wes and Caylyn. Brent and Michelle have a passion to see the church grow and people come to Christ. The Sports Ministry offers opportunities for people of every skill level. There are also a wide variety of sports and activities, including: basketball, softball, volleyball, martial arts, aerobics, fishing tournaments, golf tournaments, soccer, football and many other things.

Check out our Sports Ministry website.

 
Youth Ministry

Brian Palmer

Brian Palmer has been teaching Teens since 1997, and he’s really good at it! His passion is to participate in the process of building teens up in Christ.

Brian graduated from Florida Christian College, where he met his wonderful wife Jennie. They were married on May 5th, 2001, and have been blessed with two beautiful girls. Hallie was Born Dec 17th, 2003, and Ava came to the family on Sept 30th, 2004.

When Brian is not with his family or working with the middle or high school youth, you can find him fishing or playing some type of sport. He has been on staff with MCC since Jan 1st, 2005.

Check out our Youth Ministry website.

Minister of Creative Arts

Tim Wanless

Tim was born in Madison, Wisconsin and lived there for almost thirty years
before coming to Florida in 1996. He worked in many different jobs before entering ministry full-time. In his twenties and early thirties he worked as a banker, construction worker, produce clerk, security guard, and even sold cars for a while. But none of these jobs ever gave him complete satisfaction. He helped with the worship team at Mid-Lakes Christian Church and found it fulfilling. So at the age of 32 he decided to attend Florida Christian College and earn a B.S. in Music Ministry. While in college he worked for a local church in Kissimmee, Florida and gained even more experience leading worship. After graduation in 2005, Tim was called to ministry in Naples, Florida and worked almost four years helping to create a Contemporary worship service from scratch. In February of 2007 he finally returned to his home church here at Mid-Lakes and is leading worship, creating videos, and adding excitement to the worship services! Tim is married to Tammy and they have two children, Justin and Savannah.

Click here to visit our Praise Team website.

Children's Director

Tammy Wanless

Tammy grew up in Valparaiso, Indiana and Madison, Wisconsin. She attended both Florida Christian College and Lincoln Christian College. While in college she was majoring in Christian Business Administration, not realizing that God had plans to use her in Children’s Ministry someday. In 1993 she and Tim Wanless were married. A few years later they moved to Florida. In 1997 their first child, Justin, was born. Savannah followed in 2002. Tammy has been on staff as a Children’s Director at churches in Kissimmee, FL, Naples, FL, and now here at Mid-Lakes Christian in Tavares. She has a passion for both God and kids!

Click here to visit our Children's Ministry website.

Church Secretary

Cyndi English

Cyndi came to MCC after having a varied career as a doctor’s assistant, a lab tech, and middle management in retail. Now, Cyndi is busy every minute of her day at Mid-Lakes, and she can use all her skills…. Multi-tasking, computer, and phone skills come into play every day. She has one son, Jeremy.

Associate Ministers

Minister of Administration

Wyburn Osborn

Wyburn was born and raised in Indiana where he graduated from Purdue University in 1962. Following his graduation from Purdue Wyburn worked in the computer services industry. Wyburn was baptized into Christ in 1965 and became a leader in South Haven Christian Church in Valparaiso, Indiana. After moving to Florida in 1979 Wyburn also served as a Church Leader in Sunny Isle Christian Church and Community Christian Church in south Florida.

In 1985 Wyburn left industry to attend Florida Christian College where he graduated in 1989 majoring in Bible and Philosophy. He served as the Senior Minister and Elder at Miami Shores Christian Church until the year 2000 when he moved to Lake County. Wyb and Dee were married in 1956, and have four sons who are all involved in various aspects of ministry. While at Miami Shores he founded the Missionary Assistance Program, (MAP), which has given special assistance to over 15 different Missions in the Caribbean and South America. Wyburn is also the “Stateside” Director of Dessalines Christian Development, a Mission in Haiti that supports 18 Haitian Ministers in 16 different churches in central Haiti.

Wyburn says, “The Lord has been blessing us with steady growth over the years. With our new facilities here in Tavares, all areas of Christian Service and Christian Education will be able to thrive when we have the space that we need.”

Visitation and Shut-In Minister

Kerry Kellermeyer

Kerry was born in Troy, Ohio, but soon after moved to nearby Indianapolis where he graduated high school and entered the Air Force in 1962. In 1964 he married Joanna and after completing 5 years with the Air Force (including time in Vietnam), he moved to Indianapolis where he worked for A-M International, servicing duplicators and copiers.

In 1975, Kerry moved his family to Madison, Wisconsin where he continued his employment with A-M. In 1985, after much prayer and encouragement, Kerry moved his family to Kissimmee, Florida to begin his ministry studies at Florida Christian College.

In May, 1990, Kerry graduated cum laude with a BA in Ministry and moved to Port St. Lucie, Florida to work with the Port St. Lucie Christian Church in starting a new church. Kerry ministered at the Westport Christian Church in Port St. Lucie for 8 years. While there he also served as the chaplain for the Air Force Sergeants.

In October 1998, Kerry accepted the call to serve as Minister for the Lake Community Christian Church in Uniontown, Ohio and served there until called to MCC, in May of 2003.

Kerry & Joanna have three daughters and 5 grandchildren. All three daughters and the grandchildren live in Florida.