ERIC & MORGAN WILCOXSON, check-in

We began serving Sunday mornings in the pre-k area when we were in college. We both knew we wanted to stay connected to our church and serve. We moved off for a short period of time and when we came back to Jonesboro, we knew Journey was home and wanted to serve again. We began working the check-in desk and have loved every moment of it. Through serving, we have met some amazing people that we never would have had the opportunity to form relationships with otherwise. Now that we have a child of our own, we are even more grateful for the volunteers who dedicate their Sunday’s to serving our children and walking alongside us as we raise Godly children.

ADAM AND MORGAN THRASHER, PRESCHOOL journey group leaders

This will be our 4th year serving in the Kids ministry and man, have we been blessed through serving here!! We have had the unique opportunity to follow our kiddos as they moved up each year, and we love getting to see them grow and mature in their understanding of Scripture. Teaching each child that Jesus loves them and He wants to be their friend is the best part of our time serving. As we have been waiting on the Lord’s timing for having children of our own, we’ve loved that He has provided us with this ministry, allowing us to pour into the kiddos of our church. We also love the opportunity to come alongside and support each parent that trusts us with their child. We pray the Lord would continue to use us in the Kids ministry and we can’t wait to see the way He works through the new building!

RANDI FLEMING, PRESCHOOL journey group leader

For the longest time I always believed that I couldn’t work with children. I didn’t feel like I had the patience or the right tactics to positively impact a child’s life. But, just as He always does, God began to change my heart. Over the course of two years, He began to show me just how untrue my previous thoughts were. 

There was a season in my life where I had the plan for my life all sorted out; graduate college, vet school, marriage, kids, happily ever after. By default it was perfect. But my senior year of college, God showed me that my plan was not sufficient for what He had planned for me. He turned my world upside down and began moving me where He wanted me to be. It was in that season I realized how much God was in control of my life and how much I was truly okay with that. His movement in my life reassured me of His never-fleeting presence. 

Shortly after that season I felt Him calling me to teach. He had shown me enough. I was ready to follow wherever He would lead me. Within a few weeks of seeing where God was taking me, I was asked to serve in the kids ministry. Despite my previous doubts, I knew that God would equip me. Even though I had no idea where I was going, I knew God did and that He was orchestrating a beautiful plan. He began to teach me that no matter where He would call me, He would equip me and give me the needed tools to work in His will. All I had to do was obey. 

Serving in the kids ministry at Journey is one of the most rewarding places in my life. I get to tell all the children just how loved they are by a God who crafted every part of them. I get to see their lives impacted by a Forever God who has watched over them from their very existence. From every tear to every giggle the children remind me just how much God cares for us and tends to our needs. 

Though I may not have seen it in the past, I needed this connection with my church. I realized that God has given me specific gifts, and while I’m incredibly blessed with those gifts, they should not stop with me. I’m meant to share them with others. Just as the parts of one’s body work together for a common goal, I now work together with the church body for a common goal: spreading the Word of God and working towards a multiplication of His kingdom, even to the smallest of ears. 

TRACY DUNCAN, kids journey group leader

I served in the nursery for about 5 years before I made the switch to 1st graders.  That was 3 years ago and I have stayed with that group. They will be in the 4th grade this coming year!  Interestingly, some of these kids were the same babies I rocked in the nursery!  Unless God leads me elsewhere I'll continue with this group throughout the years.  By doing so, I will get to grow alongside them.  I will get to be the consistent face of someone they trust. 

Kids are intelligent!  They are perceptive and they ask amazing questions!  I’m honest with them; sometimes I don’t have the answers they are looking for.  That is an opportunity for me to search out the Bible and have conversations with their parents where we are all seeking God.  You don’t have to have all the answers to all the questions to serve with kids!  You just have to let them in on the secret that learning about God and growing in their relationship with Him is a lifelong journey. 

I will say that this particular group is large - 10-15 kids each week - and I know several other groups are as well.  We need more leaders in each group so that we can have those deep conversations with each child and make sure everyone is engaged and feels connected. 

I serve because I’m a member of the body of Christ.  I don’t believe it's an option, but a reflexive response to God’s presence in my life.  I serve where God has placed me: in my home, in my city, and within my community of believers.  I’m a mom and so I’m in the middle of this season of raising children: serving in the kids’ area and being involved with kids feels like an extension of motherhood.  These kids are my church kids!  And their families are my brothers and sisters in Christ. 

GUNNER AND KAMERIN DACUS, PRESCHOOL journey group leaders

My husband and I began serving with Journey Kids after we volunteered Easter Sunday. What started as a one time thing, turned into an every week thing that we loved! We began serving because we felt the calling to help contribute to the growth and learning of the next generation! To be a part of teaching kids more about Christ is so rewarding! We love getting to see the kids’ and their parents’ smiling faces each week!