Jason (g’98) and Nicole (Glanzer g’99) Quiring returned to Henderson, Neb., in July 2009 seeking what God had next. Having spent seven years in youth ministry at South Mountain Community Church in Salt Lake City, they processed the next steps and didn’t know if Utah would remain part of their future.
Four years after moving back to the Midwest, the Quiring family moved back to Utah and began opening Greenhouse Church in Saratoga Springs. Drew (g’15) and Allie (Jost g’16) Pankratz joined the church’s staff in 2016.
“We went to Utah for the position(s) the first time, but we fell in love with the people and the place,” Jason said.
The Quirings spoke of the church’s missional and relational model, immersing themselves in the region to bring longevity in relationships and trust. When church numbers remained relatively small, they didn’t shy away from the people God had put before them.
“We never wanted to grow faster than we could grow healthy,” Jason said. “God really took us up on that prayer because it was really slow going for the first several years and in the last two or three it has been much more noticeable growth.”
The fields were ripe and the workers were few in an area where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) were cautious of evangelical Christians.
“There are some families that first met Jason and Nicole when they first moved back and some are just now exploring our church,” Allie said. “There have been some moments where we’d wonder what’s next, but we just deeply desire a healthy church full of life change.”
God’s faithfulness was also seen before the Pankratz’s arrival. Drew shared that after moving to Saratoga Springs, they found out the church had a “3-3-3” campaign, praying for three minutes at 3 pm each day for three leaders to join the church.
The Pankratz’s arrived along with Tabor classmate Logan Whitney (g’16).
“I think we were all just so excited to say yes to where God was leading us after Tabor,” Drew said. “We didn’t know what that might mean at first, and after attending a few conferences with Multiply, we explored what it would look like to live in a new context and culture that really needs Jesus.”
Both families shared a nationwide investment into the greater Greenhouse community over the last 10-plus years. Roughly 50 Tabor graduates or students have interned/worked at the church or immersed themselves through missional work. All three Hillsboro churches, Ebenfeld, Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren, and Parkview, have been part of sending groups to lead VBS and/or Game Changers, an annual summer sports camp.
“There are so many people who began praying for our family from the moment we graduated from Tabor and moved to Fairview, Okla., and then through Henderson, Neb.,” Nicole said. “We’ve had something so special in the families that have surrounded us in prayer in each place we’ve lived.”