Staff
Pastor Dennis Aud
Dennis Aud is the founding and Senior Pastor of Westside Community Church. Ordained to the gospel ministry in 1973, Dennis completed his Bachelor of Arts in Ministry from Oakland City College, and his Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Married to Karen for 43 years, the couple has three grown and married children, and six grandchildren. He and Karen are avid motorcyclists and Dennis also enjoys an occasional float down the river fishing for smallmouth.
He states, “It has been among my greatest joys in ministry to be used by God to plant this church. Every day I am living the dream.” His life verse is Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
Pastor Robert Vester
Pastor Robert is a native of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. He grew up working in the family’s chain of shoe stores and on their small livestock farm. After accepting God’s call to ministry, he moved to Indiana where he met his wife Gena. Robert holds Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and Master of Divinity degrees from Oakland City University and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Asbury Theological Seminary.
Robert and Gena have been married 24 years and have two children, Braden, 15, and Rylee, 12.
The Vester family enjoys playing all sort of games. Robert also has a wide variety of other interests such as camping, hiking, and playing golf (it is all about the 1 good shot, not the other 99+ bad ones), trains/railroading and reading presidential histories or fantasy fiction. He is also a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Taekwon-Do and enjoys sharing that interest with his children.
Jennie Jackson, Relational Ministries Director
Jennie Jackson joined the Westside Community Church staff as Relational Ministries Director full-time in July of 2016, but has been an active member of the church since its launch in 2003. Her position involves a little bit of everything and gives her the opportunity to work alongside people of all ages and interests. Connecting people with Christ and each other are her passions and she believes that having a supportive church family makes life better.
Jennie loves that Westside is multi-generational and that it embraces the motto of Keeping Faith Simple. She writes, “When I accepted Christ as a young girl, I wasn’t an expert in theology and didn’t have it all figured out. (Still don’t, by the way.) I knew that God loved me and that I needed Jesus; that was enough. God meets each person where they are and moves them in the direction of a mature faith. At Westside, young and old are encouraged to ask questions and grow so they can Share Jesus with others in worship, relationship and service.”
Jennie met her husband, Kevin, at the 7th grade Christmas dance. They became best friends and were married eight years later during an ice storm on January 2, 1999. God has blessed them with two fantastic sons and a 1958 bedford stone ranch in a country neighborhood. Nate (9th grade) and Will (4th grade) both attend Greenwood Christian Academy where Kevin teaches a variety of high school social studies classes and is generally awesome.
Before joining the staff at WCC, Jennie taught middle and high school science for 15 years and was a full-time youth minister for three. She loves music, going on bike rides, watching the NFL, and turning trash into treasure. She enjoys a day at the lake and loves Indiana.
Kevin Jackson, Music Team Leader
Kevin Jackson began serving as the Music Team Leader at Westside Community Church in 2003. He currently works at Greenwood Christian Academy as a High School Social Studies teacher. He also mentors the high school chapel band. He was the music team leader at St. John UMC in Prospect KY for 3 years and has played guitar for many youth worship events and retreats. He has also given guitar lessons to much of Southern Indiana!
Kevin and Jennie have been married since 1999. Jennie taught with him at Greenwood Christian Academy for 10 years before taking a job on staff at WCC. They have 2 children in middle school and elementary school.
Kevin loves listening to music and finding new bands, reading about all things historical, musical, and spiritual, spending time with family, biking and watching Survivor! He follows the Louisville Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and St. Louis Cardinals and loves chips and salsa, cheeseburgers, and Spaghetti Factory.
Kevin writes, “Jennie and I moved to the Indianapolis area the same summer that Westside Community Church began. We committed to staying for one year and helping get the music team off the ground. We have loved every minute of our time here, and our year of commitment just never seems to end! We love the openness and friendliness of the church and its commitment to living out the example of Jesus. The people of WCC have been so accepting and gracious as we introduce many of them to new styles of music and new songs. I think it’s because at the end of the day, we keep the main thing the main thing.”
Lisa Reuter, Assistant to the Pastor
Lisa Reuter began as the Assistant to the Pastor at Westside Community Church in September, 2008. Before her position at WCC, she worked for the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation and at IUPUC.
Lisa and her husband, Ed have been married for 43 years. They have lived in Columbus since 1977, when they moved here from Evansville, Indiana so that Ed could begin his career with the Indiana State Police. Ed has since retired from the ISP and is the Executive Director of the Indiana 911 Board. Lisa and Ed have two grown daughters and three grandchildren.
Lisa writes, “I am thrilled to be serving in this position where I work closely with Pastor Dennis Aud, Associate Pastor Robert Vester, and all the wonderful staff and volunteers here at Westside. Ed and I have worshiped at WCC since the church opened in 2003 and volunteer in many areas of the church.
As a young girl, I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home and be a part of a wonderful church family and youth group. I accepted Christ for myself as a young teenager and have been richly blessed by the Lord throughout my life.
I am thankful for the many blessings that the Lord has poured out on me and that I am able to serve others through my work here at Westside Community Church. It is one of the greatest blessings that the Lord has given me!”