In Matthew 19:14, "Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Each week, hundreds of children come through Parkside's doors and the faithful volunteers of the Children's Ministry stand prepared to receive each one of them with the love and grace they themselves have received from Jesus Christ. According to Children's Ministry volunteers, Heather and Andy Davis, the experience is rewarding beyond words.
"It's almost indescribable," says Heather, "I'm not the type of person that would want to be in charge of anything like this," says Heather. "I'm kind of shy and normally just sit back and watch. But working with the Children's Ministry just makes me feel good that I can be part of something."
Heather's husband, Andy, agrees, "Working with children does make you a lot more outgoing. I was also very shy before and I feel like I just blossomed. You can't be a wallflower in a classroom full of kids. You've got to lead them and it does kind of force you to come out of your shell."
Baby Steps
About five years ago, Heather and Andy, along with their kids, Haley, 12, and Matt, 10, started coming to Parkside as guests of Andy's parents, Kathy and Tom Davis. "We used to come to the Christmas and Easter concerts, but we weren't very serious in our Christian faith for a long time. With our kids, though, we knew we wanted to raise them in a church environment," explains Andy. "We ended up moving to the area and it seemed like Parkside had a good solid foundation."
The Davis' began attending Parkside on a regular basis for a little over a year. After hearing the oft-repeated mantra, "make a big place feel smaller," Heather volunteered for the Children's Ministry while Andy joined Pastor Matt McAlvey's Sunday LIFE group. This summer, Andy also volunteered for Vacation Bible School (VBS). "I found that with VBS, to see these children grow, and to think that I had a small role in planting that seed — that's an unreal feeling."
"It touches your life in ways that you don't even realize. There's a feeling of awe that I don't even know how to explain," beams Heather. "Plus, I really like little kids--they're so cute! How can you not love them? So with volunteering, I get my 'little kid fix' each week. It's also a great way to find people and build relationships. It really helps you grow."
"You'll find that when you do get involved with the Children's Ministry, you develop a love for children," says Andy. "Even though I do love kids, I never saw myself doing this kind of thing, but I'll tell you what, it humbles you. You'll find that you're capable of so much more love and compassion. It teaches you about relationships and gives you a great foundation in learning how to deal, not only with children, but with other people, too. And how to open up your life and share with others. It's a wonderful thing." For their daughter, Haley, volunteering with Heather in the 2-year-old classroom has also been a blessing. "It's helped her confidence tons and she just loves to come to church now," says Heather. "Before she was like, 'I don't really want to go to church.' Now she wants to go to church and loves helping. It's been amazing for her."
The Davis' feel blessed by their involvement with the Children's Ministry on many levels. "This past year, I looked forward to every Sunday that I came to church to teach or help in the classroom. It made my week better just seeing the little kids," says Heather.Learning by Doing
Benefits of Serving
"If you find that your life is stressful, serving is something you can do to get away from it all and focus on something so positive. I love serving because it allows me to focus my energy and attention on other things which is a good thing," says Andy. "Not only as humans, but also as Christians, we have a desire within us to nurture, to teach, to help others. This is what Christ did for us, so we have that desire, too. You'll find an emotional connection not only to the children, but also to your fellow helpers. If you want to make this big place feel smaller, I would encourage people to become involved," says Andy.
If you would like to find out more about volunteering for the Children's Ministry, please visit our website,
www.parksidechurch.com/children/, or email our Children's Ministry coordinator, Kelly Coy at kcoy@parksidechurch.com.
