Though Pastor Appreciation Month is technically over, we still want to take time to appreciate and get to know our church staff. Today we get to know Lindsay de Gastyne!
What do you do at Northstar?
At Northstar I help the staff in a supporting role and do general office tasks like supply checks. I get to use my writing ability and interest in design to put together newsletters, bulletins, and occasional blog posts. I also brainstorm and help out on events for college students.
What is your major/minor?
I am pursuing a major in Sociology, with a focus on Social Inequality, and a minor in Professional & Technical Writing.
What is something very few people know about you?
Few people know I am absolutely terrified of frogs.
Tell me about your family/Share a story from childhood.
I have loving and supporting parents who have served in leadership roles at my home church for more than 10 years. I also have three great, but very unique, siblings and it is incredible to see how God is working so strongly but very differently in the lives of Joshua, in Washington, D.C., Aaron, at Liberty University, and Anne, at Christiansburg High School.
How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
I would describe myself as passionate, creative, and articulate.
What is your favorite book?
My favorite book until this week was Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Now it is Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst. Both are incredibly intriguing, convicting, and encouraging.
Describe Northstar in 3 words.
Northstar is a lot of awesome things, but some that come to mind are relevant, prayerful, and spiritual-growth-promoting.
What brought you to Northstar?
3 years ago, during my freshman year at Tech, I made friends on the Women’s Club Ultimate Frisbee team and they invited me to Northstar. The biblical teachings on Sunday mornings, in addition to feeling welcomed by the church body for the first couple months and then the staff after I met some of them, is what kept me coming back.
From what Bible verse or passage do you draw inspiration?
I draw inspiration from Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
Other than Jesus, who is your favorite biblical character and why?
My favorite biblical character is Esther because she was a young, beautiful woman who cared about far more than herself. I not only admire her courage to go to the king uninvited, and her wisdom in the plan with the banquets, but also her commitment to fear and follow God and protect her people when her personal life was going very well. Rather than being consumed with attending to her new and glamorous position as queen, or accepting any glory for herself, she remembered what was important and acted on it.
What is something that God has been teaching or showing you lately?
Recently, God has been showing me a lot through 1 John and through the Uninvited book I previously mentioned. He’s been teaching me about my incredible worth to Him, not in the way that makes me prideful but in the way that humbles me at His feet.