Charles & Darlene Coulston

Charles and Darlene Coulston were married in 1964; their daughter Brenda is married, and they have twin daughters aged 5 and another girl who is 3. Charles has taught at Eastern New Mexico University (2 years) and in an extension program for Pepperdine University (2 years). He preached 21 years in Redwood City, California, and his duties included youth ministry, directing summer camps, directing recreation programs and coaching basketball. He served as Administrator for Kenya Christian Industrial Training Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, for 4 years, as the school grew from a startup computer, electronics and Bible college to 1200+ students. Since 1996 he has raised funds and worked closely with Kenyans in developing Made in the Streets, a ministry serving teenagers who are sleeping on the streets in the Eastleigh and Mathare Valley slums.

Darlene has opened two cradle roll programs in churches; she taught Bible classes for primarily non-Christian mothers of small children for 16 years. During the 80's she operated a small photocopying business. She taught secondary school (English and Latin) for one year and taught Bible courses at Kenya Christian Industrial Training Institute for 4 years, primarily Acts. At Made in the Streets she serves as curricula director for the English and Bible programs and she acts as an advisor to the Team members.

Their personal interests are reading fantasy literature, talking about street kids and grandchildren, drinking gourmet coffee together in as many interesting places as they can visit, sitting in front of a softly burning fireplace, listening to rain patter on the roof and encouraging growth of the church -- not necessarily in that order.

Charles and Darlene are very grateful to people and congregations who have richly blessed them over the years -- their homes churches in Temple and Duncan, OK, Minter Lane Church in Abilene, Redwood Church in Redwood City, CA, Simi Church in Simi Valley, CA, Golf Course Road Church in Midland, TX, and Otter Creek Church in Brentwood, TN, among others. The people are too many to name -- from Oklahoma and Abilene and Redwood City and Fort Worth and Dallas and Brentwood and Tucson and Nairobi, among others. When God begins to bless people, he does a thorough job.