Next Gen Volunteer Spotlight

This month for our Next Gen Volunteer Spotlight, we’d like to introduce you to Jena Meloy. Jena and her husband, Shaun, have been a part of our Gateway family for about 10 years and have 2 children, Cohen and Laurel. When she isn’t working or volunteering at church, Jena loves spending time with her family playing outside, having a family movie night, or doing just about anything together. Over the years, Jena has volunteered in many different ministries in the church, but the story of how she became a Kidway volunteer is very special.

Jena is a second grade teacher “by day,” so for several years she hesitated to jump into Sunday school teaching. We find this often with vocational teachers - they pour into their students for 5 days a week and need the weekend to rest, spend time with other adults and invest in something different. However, Jena had served for several years as a group leader during Vacation Bible School and filled in as a teacher in her son’s Sunday school class, and so he started persistently asking her to teach his class on a regular basis. Thank you for your persistence, Cohen, because it is clear by watching Jena interact with the kids in her class that God created her to be a teacher! If you stop by the Red room on a Sunday morning, you will see kids actively engaged in their Bible lesson, practicing a memory verse, or doing an activity that reinforces the bottom line of the day. Even walking down the hall to Wiggle Worship has purpose and is often used as a teaching moment.

One of Jena’s favorite things about teaching in Kidway is watching kids “get it” after weeks of repetition. And when asked what she would say to someone who has been thinking about getting involved in our Next Gen ministry but hasn’t jumped in yet, she says, “Just do it! Take a leap of faith, especially if you have kids of your own.” Jena is passionate about parents setting an example of serving for their kids, and an added bonus of serving in Kidway is that you learn ways of better communicating the Gospel to your own kids. Thank you, Jena, for serving faithfully and using the gifts God has given you to bring Him glory!