Leadership Team | History of WEMO | Free Methodist Church History | What We Believe | Vision

About Our Church > Leadership Team

Mike Conkle | Georgia O'Connor |Nicolas Estrella

Mike Conkle - Senior Pastor
lotsalures@aol.com

I came to faith in Jesus Christ as a teenager.  That personal experience of God that began so many years ago, is still the foundational and formational center of my life.  Discovering and following God’s will takes you to some lofty places, and I am thankful for the heights from which God has allowed me to live.  Among God’s greatest blessings to me are my wife, Deborah, who is the principal at Westside Christian School, and our two children, Edward and Sarah.

I am a graduate of Greenville College (B.A.), Western Evangelical Seminary (M.Div.), and Asbury Theological Seminary (D.Min.).  My greatest learning experiences, however, have not taken place in classrooms, but in heart-felt conversations with people and in my quiet times with God.

In 1998 I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  I stepped down as Senior Pastor in January of 2000 and for six and a half years underwent several different treatments for the cancer.  The Lord touched me.  I have been cancer free since April of 2006.  I was appointed Senior Pastor of the West Morris St. Free Methodist Church on July 1, 2009.

Life is a gift from God.  I celebrate that gift every day, and enjoy God’s presence in each one.

Return to the top

Georgia O'Connor - Associate Pastor in Youth Ministries
ggbl82@gmail.com

Georgia O'Connor became our Youth Pastor in 2005. Prior to this, Georgia and her husband Gale served our youth as volunteers for a number of years. They are parents of two WEMO youth who are now out of college. Gale and Georgia have "stepped up" to serve in this official capacity, overseeing our Jr. & Sr. High youth ministries. The O'Connors share a high commitment and genuine sensitivity to youth. They live in the neighborhood in which WEMO is located and host a weekly youth drop-in ministry called "The Underground" in the basement of their home. The O'Connors also host a series of small groups for youth that meet weekly for encouragement, accountability, and growth. Georgia's a runner and she and Gale are into kayaking.

Return to the top

Nicolas Estrella -- Pastor, Comunidad Cristiana
Nicoestrella@juno.com

Beginning in 2001, Pastor Nicolas Estrella planted a Spanish-speaking congregation within West Morris Street Free Methodist Church. Now fully organized as a Free Methodist Church, Comunidad Cristiana meets in WEMO's Chapel for worship on Sunday mornings at 10:30 am. Comunidad Cristiana reaches out to new Latino neighbors who are finding residence in Indianapolis' near Westside neighborhoods.

Pastor Nicolas Estrella is from the Dominican Republic and is now an American citizen. Nicolas is married to Gidelka and they have three sons -- Jeromi, Jaaronick, and Joash.

In addition to his church-planting work with Comunidad Cristiana, Pastor Nicolas Estrella encourages other Spanish-speaking Pastors and congregations of the Wabash Conference of the Free Methodist Church in their development.

Return to the top
Return to main page