The Greatest Adventure

That's the name for our children's retreat this August. Its also the name of a favorite Steven Curtis Chapman song of mine. And I think it sums up my feelings after my first week as a children's intern at First Baptist Simpsonville.

I first learned about this position from Anna Kate, who served it last summer. She told me it was a blast, and that she loved being able to work with the children in all of our different activities. So I definitely have her to thank for helping inspire me to go after it. She has been invaluable in offering her advice, answering all of my questions, and just being so supportive and encouraging. Thanks, sweetie!

So ... my first week on the job. We haven't really begun to tackle the major events like Creative Arts Camp and Vacation Bible School yet. Those will come later. Most of my work so far has been preliminary stuff like writing skits, preparing lesson plans for Wednesday nights, staff meetings, worship planning, making signs, etc. But it has been lots of fun. I know pretty much everyone on staff in our church, and it's amazing to have the opportunity to go inside and see what goes into our worship services. Always love to have the inside scoop! We have prayer meeting every morning at 8:30, staff meetings Monday mornings at 9:30 (we're reading a book by John Maxwell called The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, an excellent teaching tool for sharing the workload with your partners on staff), and worship planning Tuesday afternoons at 2:00. It's been great fun, learning opportunities to sit in on these meetings. Perhaps what I love the most is the lack of any hint of dominance by any one member of our staff; even Pastor Randy barely takes up half the meeting with his remarks. Each person has a voice, and his or her opinions are treated with equal weight and respect, from the associate ministers to the interns. We've had plenty of laughs, mostly over sermon titles and the things that bother us the most about our worship experiences.

One thing that I got to do this week that I never thought I'd be good at was calling prospects, or visitors, to our church. Anna Kate said she'd never had to do that, and so I wasn't sure what it would be like, but I just prayed and asked God to give me the words to say. I had a couple of nice phone conversations. One was with a single mother who has four kids ages 7 and 11; another was with an older woman who said she loved our church and was definitely interested in helping out in a field of ministry. I made sure to send response letters, enclosed with any packets of information that would best meet their interests. Writing and mailing out "prayer grams" (basically telegrams in response to prayer requests) has been another blessed experience. I even received one myself from a family that simply said that they prayed for God's peace and love in my work this summer. Wasn't that nice?

Oh, we did get to participate in one 'minor' children's activity this past week. On Wednesday mornings, we have Paint With Me, Mommy for pre-school kids and their mothers in the classroom of our Family Life Center. So I got to help set up the tables, crayons, markers, glue, and decorations for the day. The children listened to Gerri, the woman in charge of the event, read a cute story called Edward the Emu and then they got to trace out their footsprints on construction paper, their mom's prints, and put little decorations on it to turn it into a tote bag. The kids all did a fantastic job and were generally well-behaved. Most of them were easy to talk to and not at all shy about smiling - always a positive sign. I helped serve goldfish to the kids and ice water to the adults; I'm amazed at how quickly that goldfish disappears; it's no wonder that we have at least 10 cartons stockpiled in the pantry!

Annie Ruth Yelton, our minister of children and my 'boss,' is just about the sweetest lady you will ever meet. And I've met quite a few of them. From just sitting down and talking to her, you can immediately see the passion that God has given her for these kids, how much she loves them and how determined she is to make sure they get the message of the Gospel in the best way possible. She is always bubbling with ideas, and you can't help but laugh when the "lightbulb" look spreads over her face; the joy is just that infectious. Her patience borders on the infinite and I don't believe that I've ever seen her get flustered. I thank God for guiding me to her and for enabling me to work alongside her. And Craig Holtzclaw, my partner, has shown himself to be a dependable worker and strong confidant. I had never had the chance to meet him before, but he has done a remarkable job helping out with our signs, shopping for supplies in blazing hot weather, working the computer, and doing whatever needs to be done.

I will post more updates on my position as the summer goes on, but I'm having a great time and I know without a doubt that this is where God wants me to be! Really, I just can't put into words the thrill it gives you of having the chance to impact kids' lives for Jesus. That kind of perspective makes you appreciate even the menial details of a job because you know what it's all about. Truly, this is what it means to make investments in eternity! God bless!