“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV)
Hello, church! I am so excited to be worshiping with you. This morning we are honoring our Leadership Training for Christ (LTC) participants by acknowledging them in front of you, their church family. This year we had 40 participants, 23 events, and 14 coaches. LTC requires lots of participation from the students, their parents, and volunteers. A lot of hard work, sweat and yes, even tears go into LTC!
Some might ask why we pour so much energy into an event that happens once a year. It is all for the Glory of the Kingdom. LTC trains students to teach in classrooms, volunteer, speak, lead songs, read scripture, commit scripture to heart, write Christian material and make Christian art. It challenges our students to think a little differently than they might have before. LTC is not a once a year event but occurs year round.
Children’s Ministry requires a lot of volunteers on Sunday & Wednesday. For Bible classes, we try to maintain 90 volunteers a week. We do not always meet our goal. This year we trained 11 students to begin helping and teaching in classrooms, 5 of which had never participated in this activity before. Allison Bowsman does a fantastic job coaching this event. She trains students then puts them in classrooms to be trained further. Each of our students has done a phenomenal job in the classroom. Kiley Frost has excelled in teaching. She trained in the one-year-old class while we had some teachers out. Carol Randle can now count on Kiley anytime we have a teacher who is gone. We are so thankful for Kiley and her parents who realize the importance of training their children to serve in the Lord’s Kingdom.
We have many students with stories like Kiley who have learned about talents or developed skills. Some adults, such as Nick Clemmons and myself, have stories of our own. Please, take the time to ask us about our stories and to encourage our kids in their participation and achievements. You, church, are a blessing to these kids and an encouragement to me.
In Him,
Sierra Gustafson