Staff
Dick and Sibyl Towner - Directors
Dick and Sibyl bring over 50 years of combined vocational ministry experience in the areas of church leadership and administration, Christian camping, marriage, children and youth ministry, spiritual direction and life stewardship. Major portions of their ministry experience have been with College Hill Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati and Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago. They are frequently asked to speak and lead workshops for churches and para-church organizations. The fruit of Sibyl’s work in spiritual direction and Dick’s in biblical stewardship can be found at OneLifeMaps.com and GoodSenseMinistry.com respectively. Dick and Sibyl have felt called to extended household living and have welcomed over 80 folks to share their home over the 50 years of their marriage. They have 2 sons by birth, one son adopted in love, 11 grandchildren, and two great grandchildren!
Skip and Linda Holmes - Directors
As a retired Procter and Gamble Global Engineering Associate Director, Skip brings vision and energy for creating a place where Christian leaders can find rest and be blessed while receiving mentoring and encouragement. Linda's long time involvement in leading silent retreats with Time of Refreshment and providing Spiritual Direction and training through The School of Sustainable Faith blend well with her husband's gifting and experiences as together they dream of developing retreat encounters with God in the healing beauty of nature and the unhurried pace of time away in the country. Parents to four married children they enjoy the blessing of being grandparents to ten wonderful girls. Their commitment to serving God, family and community has been their joint priority for over 42 years, from California to Ohio to Thailand and now in Indiana.
John and Joan Kelley - Directors
Joan and John both grew up in rural Illinois. They are very familiar with wide open spaces and the joys of country living. Their friendship with the Towner’s is what brought them to The Springs. They share common passions for financial stewardship, spiritual formation and story. But mostly they love helping others find spaces to meet God and experience peace in the midst of everyday life. They have served as volunteers at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois for over 25 years in a variety of ministries – financial stewardship, neighborhood, marital restoration, women’s, spiritual formation. John is an electrical engineer with Case New Holland. Joan is a spiritual director, works with the facilitators of oneLife Maps and co-leads guided solitude retreats with her new ministry Sacred (mylifeissacred.com). They live in Palatine, Illinois where they do their most joyous work of raising their 4 children. They are privileged to walk, serve and pray alongside The Springs team as board members.
Jerry and Nancy Smith - Staff: Operations Managers
Jerry and Nancy Smith came to The Springs, March of 2016, with 24 yeas of retreat ministry experience serving at Intervarsity's Cedar Campus located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They have three grown children and are enjoying their six grandchildren.
Nancy enjoys long walks as weather permits and doing puzzles by the wood stove during the winter. Jerry enjoys walking too, and he provides plenty of firewood for the wood stove, and for the guests’ campfires.
They are well gifted in the ministry of hospitality to the guests of The Springs; welcoming them as they arrive and going the extra mile as needs arise. As members of the Community Church of Batesville, Indiana, they lead a Community Group Bible study, and Nancy serves in the Kid Connection as one of the staff of the Pre-school class and Jerry serves on the Tech team.
Nancy enjoys long walks as weather permits and doing puzzles by the wood stove during the winter. Jerry enjoys walking too, and he provides plenty of firewood for the wood stove, and for the guests’ campfires.
They are well gifted in the ministry of hospitality to the guests of The Springs; welcoming them as they arrive and going the extra mile as needs arise. As members of the Community Church of Batesville, Indiana, they lead a Community Group Bible study, and Nancy serves in the Kid Connection as one of the staff of the Pre-school class and Jerry serves on the Tech team.