MEET OUR STAFF
Executive Director
Rev. Dwayne P. Mills
Dwayne and his wife Bethany, his sons Ethan, Evan, and Eli, and his daughter Emily. Dwayne moved back to Martin County with his family in June 2012 after serving as Associate Dean of Students at Olivet Nazarene University and Bethany was the Director of Counseling and Health Services. Dwayne has served in full-time ministry since 1995. He has served in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and now Kentucky. He says, “There is no better calling and place to be than in the center of God’s will. I am excited to serve the people of Martin County and the surrounding areas. There is no better place than living in heart of Appalachia.”
Director of Operations
Greg Wells
Greg and his wife Andrea have two sons, Tanner and his wife Grayce, and Jaggerd.
Greg and Andrea had been married for one year when they moved to South Central Kentucky to serve in youth ministry in a local church. They immediately knew they were home. They spent the next 17 years serving in this community and raising their family. In 2014, Greg received a call to serve as a staff pastor in another part of the country, and they spent seven years away from “home". After this time away, they sensed a divine call to return home to minister to the underserved in the community where they had previously worked in a local church setting. Greg says, “Our call was undeniable, and God’s purpose is far greater than our plan or agenda. It is a privilege to be serving in our home community in such a unique capacity. We now have the opportunity to partner with ARO to continue and expand the ministry to which God called us. It’s amazing to see His plan continue to unfold.”
Campus Director/Thrift Store & Food Pantry Manager
Bill Zuidema
Bill and his wife, Jana, are blessed with three children, Rachel, Johnny and Isaiah. They joined the ARO team in August of 2011.
Bill is a graduate from Dordt College, Iowa. Jana is a graduate from Calvin College, Michigan. Their desire is to follow God’s leading through their work at the thrift store and their involvement with the food pantry.
Academic Director & Campus Assistant
Salena Lehman
Salena and her husband Jacob are from Mount Vernon, Ohio. They began dating in Martin County, KY, when Jacob visited Salena during her first summer internship at ARO in the summer of 2019. After their engagement Salena returned as ARO's summer intern in 2020, and they were married that November. In May 2022, after a season of change, they responded to the gentle pressure of God's thumb on their hearts for the people of Martin County. They now call Inez "home" and are blessed beyond measure to simply be a neighbor to the great people whose lives cross paths with the ministry of ARO.
Salena is excited to return to ARO as full-time staff this time to grow and continue the relationships between ARO and the Martin County schools.
West Virginia Work & Witness Site Coordinator
Rich & Thelma Mills
First & foremost, we both love our Savior, Jesus Christ and enjoy our journey together. We dedicate our lives to His service daily, and are excited and humbled for this privilege to serve with ARO-WV. We are coming up on our 49th year of marriage. We make our home in Weirton and Weirton Nazarene is our home church.
Rich retired from Weirton Steel after 43 years, and Thelma is a retired, Registered Nurse. We raised 3 children in a Christian home, and now love on 8 grandchildren. Since retirement, we love spending time “On the Road” traveling the US in our RV. The Nazarene Campground in Summersville, WV is our home camp & Happy Place. We are finding WV is one of the most beautiful places in the whole world. We are looking forward to serving Nicholas County and the people of WV.
Work & Witness Site Coordinator
Bob & Marilyn DeJong
Ever since Marilyn heard about ARO at the age of 12 she dreamed of being apart of ARO's work. In 1976 she became a summer volunteer. She then moved to ARO as a full time employee. In the summer of ‘78, God, through His providence, brought us 500 miles from our West Michigan homes to meet in Inez, Kentucky at ARO’s vacation Bible school program. It was love at first sight and the rest is history! Since that first meeting, God has blessed us with 41 years of marriage, 4 children who are also married, 4 beautiful granddaughters, and one more on the way. During most of these years, God called us to spend our time living in the small town of Lake Odessa, Michigan where we raised our family, attended Harvest Community Church, and were used by God to serve in the surrounding community. We own a gravel company called Great Lakes Gravel and Sand, and we smile at the thought that God has brought us from the mountains of Kentucky to literally put us in the pit (gravel pit) of Lake Odessa for 30 plus years. God, through His divine timing and wisdom, has brought us full circle and is returning us to where we started. We are both honored and humbled to be called back to Kentucky & ARO to serve in a larger commitment of time and energy.
Administrative Assistant
Jennifer Caplinger
Jennifer and her husband Josh live in Southern Indiana with their three sweet girls, where they serve on staff at Parkview Church of the Nazarene. They have been in ministry together for 10 years. Jennifer is a graduate of Olivet Nazarene University with her Bachelor's in Psychology. Even though Jennifer and her family do not live in the Appalachian area, she has strong family roots in the heart of Eastern Kentucky.
She is excited for the opportunity to work with Appalachia Reach Out to serve the wonderful people of Martin County and surrounding areas, and prays that God will use her skills to further His work in this capacity.
Summer Intern
Heather Perry
Heather Perry is from Bailey, North Carolina and is a recent college graduate from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. While at Olivet, she majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Philanthropy/Not-for-Profit and a minor in Marketing. She first discovered ARO on a mission’s trip with Olivet during Spring Break in March and loved it so much that she decided to come back and be their summer intern for Summer ’23.