For the last twenty years, my family and I have been members of Plainfield Christian Church. Within those twenty years, a lot has happened. Priorities weren’t always Christ-driven and our church attendance wasn’t always the best. But within this time period, it is neat to reflect and see how God has used our circumstances to take us from a family with flaky church attendance to a family integrated within the church; how our priorities went from being served to serving others. I was fourteen years old when I decided to get baptized and dive into my faith. What brought me to that decision was the love and grace I had received from people at church and their dedication to show me who Jesus is. At the time, I was heavily involved in sports, primarily softball and basketball. It had been a goal of mine to play softball at the college level. However, that dream changed the more I went to church. The kinds of interactions were not something I was used to, seeing that love and grace don’t often find their way onto a softball diamond or a basketball court. It was then I made what felt like the biggest decision of my life: I chose to quit softball. I had been playing since I was five, so it was a difficult decision, but something was pulling me away from softball and pushing me and my family back into church. Looking back, I know this was God showing us that he had bigger and better plans for our lives than the sport that was draining our family. The members of PCC, volunteers and pastors alike, had made an impact on my life. My family and I started to attend church regularly and slowly began to volunteer. My mom and I began to volunteer in the nursery later that year, and that was an experience that kick started my desire to become more involved in church. Since then, with a small gap while I was away at college, I have been a volunteer in the nursery. And while it seems like a small gesture on my part to serve the Kingdom, it has been a blessing to see the ways in which spending my Sunday mornings with the future generations of our church has impacted my spiritual wellbeing and my relationship with the Lord. It has also led me to seek other opportunities within the church to serve. Along with serving in the nursery, I also have the privilege of being a D-Group leader to some amazing young women.
It is incredible to see how God has brought me full circle, now serving in the place where I grew up and built the foundation for my faith. It has been a blessing in my life to serve alongside other volunteers to help nurture and grow the next generation.
I know that the love and grace that was showered on me as a young girl attending church is what ignited the desire in my heart to serve in the church and show others the love of Christ. My mom continues to serve in the nursery, my husband serves as a 2nd grade Sunday school teacher, and now my dad works and serves as the Director of Operations at Plainfield Christian Church. We have been blessed with the unique experience to serve in the same church where we started out as quiet attendees.
Now that I am pregnant with my first child, I am even more grateful for the NextGen Ministry and how it serves the young people in our community. As my husband and I raise our daughter, we hope to continue to serve and show her what it means to be an ambassador for Christ. We live in a broken and fallen world and it is so easy to lose sight of what our purpose is as followers of Christ and become distracted. And to say that I no longer struggle with distraction would be a lie, but I know that serving in PCC has helped me to limit the distractions and keep my focus on the Lord and what he has in store for me and my family as we continue to show his love and character to members in our community.
- Kaitey Walker, long-term attendee and volunteer.