John and Lori Dunham
John grew up in Plains, Kansas, where his family owns a farm. His dad was also an industrial arts teacher and his mom was a homemaker. John attended the Christian Church in Plains, where his father was an elder, and spent most of his youth playing any sport he could find.
Lori grew up in Halstead with her dad working as a salesman and her mom as a hairdresser. She attended the Halstead Church of Christ for most of her younger years and was very involved in sports, band, and other school activities.
John and Lori met through a mutual friend while attending Wichita State and rowing on the crew team. They were married in 1998 and have three children. Their oldest, Emma, is married to Riley Roper, and has two daughters. They live in Edmond, OK. Grant, also in Edmond, is in Physical Therapy school at OU and is married to Mary Ellen. All four attended Oklahoma Christian for their undergraduate degrees. Macy, their youngest, is a senior at Central Christian Academy and enjoys playing volleyball for her school and club team almost all year round.
The Dunham family has made Silver Maple Camp their family mission since before there was a “Dunham Family.” Lori started attending the camp at age 11 and became a counselor once she was in college. John joined her in 1999 and all their kids attended the camp in a stroller, as a camper, or on staff every year of their lives, including Macy, who went to camp for the first time when she was two days old. John has served on the board at Silver Maple Camp and is now the director of the third session, which takes place during the last full week of July every year.
John and Lori began attending Northside in 2010 and have been involved with the Loft class, youth group class, teaching adult classes, the golf tournament, Teen Camp, Family Camp, Wednesday night meals, funeral meals, Guest Lunches, BLAST, and the men’s ministry. Lori loves making food for others and John enjoys eating Lori's food. Their favorite part of Northside is the Christian family, a huge network of friends they can lean on and be leaned on by. Serving the people they love is easy.
John has a strong desire to see healthier, stronger families everywhere, especially in the church. In addition to many new responsibilities that come with being an elder, John wants to continue advocating for marriage seminars, marriage retreats, parenting classes, and mentoring from those who have walked these paths before.