Local Minister Splits Time as High School Coach and Military Chaplain (VIEW VIDEO HERE)

April 24, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Sam Ordung has a busy life.

Not only is he the pastor at the Dowelltown, Fullers Chapel, and Mount Pisgah United Methodist Churches, he is also a strength and conditioning coach at Hillsboro High School and serves as Chaplain for his unit in the US Army Reserves.

Ordung, the focus of the latest WJLE “Preacher Feature” came to DeKalb County almost two years ago to pastor the local churches. It’s his first pastorate assignment.

A native of South Florida, Ordung and his family relocated to Franklin, Tennessee when he was a child . “We moved there around 1996. That is where my mom’s family is from and we have been in Franklin pretty much ever since. I was home schooled and got interested in gymnastics. After my high school education I went to the University of Nebraska and earned my BA degree. I was also a gymnast for the Corn Huskers in 2008 and 2009. I then came home and went to the Vanderbilt Divinity School where I earned my Masters degree in Divinity and then went through the ordination process in the Methodist Church. I became the strength coach and coached football at Franklin High School before moving on to be the head strength coach at Hillsboro High School in 2014.  I am overall our sports strength and conditioning coach for football, boys track, boys basketball and girls volleyball,  girls basketball, and girls softball. In the midst of all that I have been in the military now for 11 years and function currently as a Chaplain in the US Army Reserves. I guess you could say I juggle quite a few hats,” said Ordung.

Ordung met his wife Karissa while they were students at Nebraska . They have been married for a little over a year now and have no children. She is employed as a data scientist for the Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation in Nashville.

Although he enjoys being a coach and his military service, Ordung said the ministry is his first love and it came at an early age.

“I was born and raised in church and from a young age my grandma told me that (ministry) is what I was meant to do. I am named Sam because my mom struggled trying to have kids and prayed to have a child. She latched on to Hannah in 1^st Samuel  of the Bible and prayed to God saying you give me a son I will name him Samuel and give him back to your service. It’s (becoming a minister) is kind of been part of how I was raised and I have tried to follow that call,” he said.

Ordung, who lives in the church parsonage at Dowelltown, said he and his wife like it here and plan to stay around a while.

“After seeing Franklin and Nashville grow and having to struggle to get anywhere because of the traffic, it’s nice to be out here in the country with the hills and greenery. I’m trying to get more of my friends to come out here this summer whether it’s on the river or lake or just being outdoors because so many things here remind me of what Franklin used to be before it became Nashville South,” said Ordung.

If you are in search of a church home, Ordung invites you to visit the Dowelltown, Fullers Chapel, and Mount Pisgah United Methodist Churches.

“At Dowelltown we have about 40 people including young families. The narrative about rural churches is that they are older and dying but you don’t see that at our churches. We have young families with kids in middle and high school. It’s an awesome thing to see and we plan to do a lot of things this summer including activities with our youth,” said Ordung.

“Fullers Chapel is an older crowd. You have heard of comfort food. I like to call it our comfort church made up of a great group of folks”.

“Mount Pisgah is a mini version of Dowelltown with young families. We have about six kids just learning to walk. Some couples are just married or about to get married. Again it’s a church with a lot of great people,” he said.

“On Sunday morning we have a service at 9:00 a.m. at Dowelltown and then I drive to the worship service at Fullers Chapel which is about 10:15 a.m. and then go to Mount Pisgah for another service at around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday we have our traditional Bible study night at Dowelltown at 6:30 p.m. preceded by our youth choir at 6:00 p.m. We have a women’s Bible Study on the 1^st & 3^rd Sunday nights and there are a lot of youth activities on Sunday nights. We’re also starting an open boot camp and yoga for the community on the 2nd and 4^th Sundays.  One Sunday a month we rotate a prayer service among the three churches for a time to reflect, contemplate, and testify,” added Ordung.

April 24, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The month of May is recognized nationally as Older Americans Month, a time when the vast contributions older adults make to their families, communities, and nation is acknowledged.

(VIEW VIDEO BELOW OF WILLIAMSON BRANCH)

Justin Potter Library will partner with the Alexandria and Smithville Senior Centers in participating in the national celebration by hosting Older Americans Day. The event will be held at the DeKalb County Complex Theater area located at 712 South Congress Boulevard in Smithville on Wednesday, May 8 at 11 a.m.

This year’s theme is “Connect, Create, Contribute”. The featured entertainment will be Williamson Branch, a bluegrass family band. There will be displays that open at 10:30 a.m., door prizes, goody bags, and sack lunches for the older adults to enjoy.

Everyone who is an older American is invited to this free event. For more information call the library at 615-597-4359 or visit on Facebook.

April 24, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Dogs at the DeKalb Animal Shelter now have a place to play outdoors unleashed.

A brand new chain link pen was completed on the grounds behind the shelter Monday by the Security Fence Company of Cookeville. It was made possible through fundraising efforts of the DeKalb Animal Coalition and a grant from the Roger T. Moore Revocable Trust Foundation.

“We are thankful to have it,” said Shelter Director Megan Moore.

“It’s 30’ x 60’ in size and 8 feet tall, divided into two pens of 30’ x 30’ each,” she said.

“We can probably fit four dogs on each side as long as they are compatible with each other. We’ll have volunteers to manage them on each side to make sure they have a safe time playing.”

“It’s a good off-leash area where they can play and burn off a little energy when they come out of the kennel especially before we leash walk them. We have balls, toys, and other stuff in there for them to play with,” added Moore.

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