My Passion

Passion: strong and barely controllable emotion; the suffering and death of Jesus Christ

I love asking people what they are passionate about. I love watching people's eyes light up as they talk about what makes them tick. I get so excited when I hear people excited about something. Listening to someone share their passions is an honor and privilege, and I am always grateful when someone opens up about those things to me. 

As a child of God, I am passionate about helping others see that they are adopted in Christ. I am passionate about seeing Jesus change lives in the way He changed mine, especially kids. 

I love playing with kids, listening to their stories, and telling them Bible stories. I love making weird creations out of Playdoh, laughing and silly jokes, and playing tag with giggling kids. I love watching a child's eyes light up as he or she begins to make sense of the Big God Story. I love listening to their questions as they ponder what it means when I say that Christ died for them. I get crazy excited when children ask questions that most adults don't think they're capable of asking. I am filled with joy at the sight of a child worshipping God through songs, and I love listening to the tender-hearted prayers of little children. 

I love families. I love talking to parents and hearing their stories. I love telling parents how great their kids are, and seeing how comfortable parents are with leaving their kids in my Sunday school classes. I love encouraging parents, providing them with helpful hints and tips for parenting, and just listening to their joys and struggles. 

I value life, love, family, and the faith community. I love seeing all of these things collide in the local church. I am passionate about being a woman of Christ in every area of my life, whether it be at work or at home. 

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, I am passionate about Jesus. I found it interesting that when I looked up the definition of passion, Jesus' death showed up as a definition. The Passion of Christ, His death and resurrection, was all about saving us. It was about extending grace to us, taking on the punishment for our sins, and granting me what I do not deserve: a relationship with God.

I am passionate about the Passion of Christ. I am passionate about making sure that everyone knows the good news of Christ's resurrection. 

My Vision

Vision: An experience of seeing something in a dream or trance, or as a supernatural apparition. 

I do not believe in the idea of a supernatural apparition, and my vision for the future has not come together in some sort of trance. It has not come in a dream either, but rather it is my dream. If I sit and think about everything that I hope to one day see in my ministry, what comes about is my vision. 

I believe that it is unhealthy to try to measure success in ministry. There are certainly ways to make sure that you are being effective in your ministry, but to measure success by numbers of attenders or numbers of baptisms or altar calls or anything else becomes extremely dangerous. Many church leaders end up making numbers their idol, focusing so hard on seeing their ministry grow in size, and neglecting to see if those in the church are growing themselves. With that being said, my vision does not have to do with success in the normal sense of the word. 

If I lived ten years in the future and looked back on my ministry thus far, this is what I would like to see:

• A consistent set of volunteers who have been serving steadily for years because they feel supported, equipped, and appreciated
• Kids who grew up in my ministry living out a relationship with God
• Kids who grew up in my ministry starting to serve in ministry themselves
• Kids excited to come to church and sad to leave
• Parents who feel confident in their role as spiritual nurturers of their family, and supported by the church in all their needs 

I am constantly in the process of growing in Christ and becoming more like Him, so I know in ten years I will not be the same. I am praying that I will be closer to God and more connected to His vision for children's ministry.

My vision is that I can look back in ten years and see how God has used me to reach others. I hope I can look back and see how my quirks, weaknesses, and strengths have worked together to glorify God. 

My Mission

Mission: the vocation or calling of a religious organization, especially a Christian one, to go out into the world and spread its faith

My mission is to go out into the world and spread my faith in Jesus Christ. My mission is to see others come to this same saving faith. My mission is to mentor and disciple families. 

The Local Church

Right now, God is calling me to the local church. There is a trend right now that says the church is not cool. People are saying that they left the church and found God, that they do church in the mountains or from their bed or anywhere else but an actual church. A lot of this comes from the fact that people in churches are broken, and some people cannot stand to admit that they too contribute to the brokenness of the church. Jesus was religious, though. He went to the synagogues, He participated in the traditions, He celebrated the religious holidays. He was religious. Yes, there is a time and place for solitude in the mountains. However, there is also a time for fellowship with other believers, for formal teaching and taking of the sacraments. 

I grew up in the church, but I grew up in a broken home with mom living in a different house than dad. I switched houses on the weekends, and split my time between my parents. I grew up knowing that God loved me but struggling to actually see the evidence sometimes in my life. It was the local church that came alongside me here. My children's ministry director and my youth pastor intervened in my life. They wrapped me in prayer and support, and were always there for me when I had questions or doubts. They celebrated victorious moments with me, and grieved with me in tough times. 

I love the local church because God used the people there to shape me into who I am today. My mission is found in the local church. 

My Calling

Calling: a strong urge to a particular way of life; a vocation

First and foremost, I am called to love others as Christ has loved me. That, in and of itself, is a hefty calling. See, Jesus died for us because of how much He loved us. He lived the life of a servant even though His true identity is a King. Loving as Christ loved me is no easy task, but it is in the power of the Holy Spirit that I am able to love at all, and I am excited to see how He works through me in ministry.

Vocational Calling

My vocational calling is in ministry. I am called to serve God by loving His little ones and teaching them about Him. I am compelled to move because of what Christ did for me on that cross. I am drawn to His heart, and His heart is for children. Christ pursued me when I was just four years old, so I am thoroughly convinced that He wants children to know His heart, know His love, and know salvation. 

My strong urge is to live in a way that helps kids come alive with the power of Christ. We are all born into sin, and all dead in our transgressions. We all need to be brought to life. I want to help kids realize this new life, and I want them to understand that God loves us no matter how old we are.

Community and Family

Outside of my vocational calling, I believe I am called to live in community and to raise a spiritually strong family.

I love community. I love friendships. Life is better when I am surrounded by those I love. I love drinking coffee, but the coffee seems to taste better if I am drinking it with friends. I love Disneyland, but my smile is bigger when I am with friends. I love dancing and laughing and goofing off, and I love doing these things with my friends. I would not be who I am if it were not for my friends. I am called to live in this community, to be vulnerable, loving, and honest with those God has placed in my life.

I also love family. I love my family specifically, but I also love the idea of family. I love that God can be seen when the family functions as God planned it. I want to serve families. I feel this urgency to help parents raise their kids spiritually. I believe that God can be so glorified through the family, and I feel that God is calling me to share this urgency with others. I want to see this realized in my own family. I am not married, but I am already praying for the family I will have. I want to raise a family that is so focused on Christ, it makes other people notice. I want to lead my children alongside my husband as we love and forgive as Christ did for us. 

My calling is to serve God through serving His children and families, and I can't wait to see where this takes me.