Meet the Shepardsville Team

From 2009-2016, here are the names of all the Shepardsville Team members and the years they were in the band...

Regina Bettys (2009-2010)

Joe Bontrager (2009)

Gina Bontrager (2009-2012)

Marty Bontrager (2009-2012)
Rose Bontrager (2009-2013 - only original team member on second album)

Julie Bontrager (2010-2016)

Lewis Bontrager (2011-2014, 2016)

William Bontrager (2014-2016)
Levi Hebert (2011 - sound man)

Heather Case (2012-2014)
Hannah Coblentz (2009)
Keturah Coblentz (2009-2010)
Rhoda Coblentz (2009-2010)
Kezia Coblentz (2009-2011)

Esther Derby (2010-2014)
Rebekah Derby (2010-2015 - served as secretary from 2013-2016)
Seth Derby (2010-2015)
Elena McCoy (2013-2014)
Dave Miller (2009-2012 - served as secretary from 2009-2012)
Joe Miller (2009)
Deborah Teusink (2010-2012)

Bethany Warnke (2011-2014)
Vincent Warnke (2016)

Amanda Yoder (2009)

Joanne Yoder (2009-2012)
Jason Yoder (2011-2016)
Rhoda Yoder (2014-2016)
Amy Yoder (2015-2016)
Kailey Burns (2015)

Farewell...God bless you.

Memories...Part V

One of my favorite memories is all of us going out to have pizza after a gig. One of our fans gave us enough cash after the gig and said we had to use it for pizza. :)

Overall, the Team was a place of refuge and security. We were a group that stuck close and had each other's backs and confidence. It was a place of encouragement and growing closer to God and building relationships with each other.

~Gina (Bontrager) Miller was a member of the Shepardsville Team from 2009-2012. 
She and her husband Joe Miller (Shepardsville Team 2009) are expecting their first child! 

Memories...Part IV

One of my favorite memories is definitely getting pizza sometimes after practice or just for anyhow. And all the times we just talked! Also the time we went to see the world's biggest ice cream sundae in Ludington; that was pretty sweet! All the road trips we did are some of my absolute favorite times spent with the Team!

~Amy Yoder was a member of the Team from 2015-2016. 

Memories...Part III

Hey there! I have a lot of great memories with the Shepardsville Team, but one of my favorites is the all-night prayer meeting after Joe 'n Bethany's wedding. It was a very moving prayer time, and I remember us even taking communion, which is something I had never done outside a church building before. My time with the Team was a place of refuge and security where we stuck close to each other and encouraged one another. I personally learned so much with and from my time there, and I still look back often on those things today. :)

~Heather (Case) Cropsey was a member of the Shepardsville Team from 2012-2014. 
She blogs about her life adventures on bettertogether4life.blogspot.com. 

Memories...Part II

I'm guessing I probably hold the record for the shortest time of being a Team member! But that's because (sadly) I had to move away so abruptly. I enjoyed my time with the Team immensely! I remember that time we went and sang Chrstmas carols for the Polar Express event. We nearly froze to death, but it was a fun evening! :) And all the hours spend practicing at the church makes me miss everyone just thinking about it! It was such a time of growth in  my life, personally and spritually. It was way out of my comfort zone at first to sing in front of others, but it pushed me in a good direction and helped me to grow where I needed to!

I enjoyed all the time we spend in prayer and growing closer to God and one another. Honestly, the prayer meetings are probably what I miss the most! I'd never before (or since) had a group of people to fellowship with who took their walk with the Lord so seriously. Although I hardly ever see any of you, I still consider y'all to be my close friends and I wish only the best for you as we each seek God's direction for the path He has laid down before us.

~Elena McCoy was a member of the Shepardsville Team from 2013-2014. 
She is living out the adventures of life as they come.  

Memories...

When the Shepardsville Team began, it was just thirteen people who grew up together hanging out and making memories over games, pizza, and music. There was always music (just like there was always pizza). We talked about life, laughed at far too many inside jokes, cried on each other's shoulders, and did life together.

Music eventually became more of a focus and as time went on, jamming sessions and hanging out turned into actual music practice and concert rehearsals. Time went on. People moved away. Others joined. The sound changed with each addition or change in the group members but the strongest factor in the best times was always the same - doing life together.

I could talk about the ability the Team gave me to develop musical talent otherwise probably never really cultivated. Or about learning how to speak in public because of the Team. But it wasn't much about the music so much as it was about a common interest that brought a bunch of teenagers and young adults together and taught us what it meant to do life together. It opened doors some of us never would have knocked on otherwise.

Shared laughter, tears, hopes, dreams, and a solid bond of friendship and love for Jesus Christ. This is what made the Shepardsville Team a memory that will never be forgotten.

Oh, and pizza. Never forget the pizza.

~Rose Bontrager was a member of the Shepardsville Team from 2009-2013.

She blogs about her missionary life in the Dominican Republic on alifewithadestination.blogspot.com. 

The Season of Singing...

With the coming of winter, we approach another season, and another change as the end of one year gives way to the beginning of another. With these seasonal changes comes a major change for us in the Team. After nearly eight years of performing, recording, and traveling, the Shepardsville Team is saying goodbye. All of us are grateful for the avenue God gave us to express ourselves in music and for the adventures had, lessons learned, and people met along the way. Now, we are excited to see what else God has in store for each of us, whether it is in music or other ways.
A bit of history...
From the first group of thirteen in 2009 to the seven in 2016, the Team has included a total of twenty-nine teenagers and young adults from many different churches and walks of life. Over the next couple of weeks, some of us will be sharing our memories of those years with you.
Thank you...
Thank you for supporting us by cheering us on in concerts, in conversations, in friendships, and by buying our merchandise. We are thankful for you, our fans and supporters. We are thankful to God for the endless ways He's blessed us via the Team. And we are thankful to our parents. You were often our biggest supporters, especially in the early years when we were just beginning to explore our musical capabilities. Each of you readily invested in us, and we thank you.