Why Should I Volunteer in Kidway?

Today, we are thrilled to highlight one of our faithful Kidway volunteers, Jodie DiRe.  Jodie shares with us how she decided to start serving with Kidway and why she continues almost 20 years later.

My family and I began attending Gateway in 2002, when I was pregnant with our son, Nathaniel. I’m married to Dave and we have two children, McKenna and Nathaniel. We started attending Gateway the summer that our church was held at Wilson Vance School. We were so embraced with love from the congregation and learned so much from biblical teaching that we have remained for the past 18 years! 

I’ve been volunteering in children’s ministry for about 20 years (including our previous church) and have loved being a group leader on Sunday mornings in the kindergarten classroom at Gateway. I started teaching Sunday School years ago, because I love the Lord and I love kids!

Children’s ministry is definitely where my heart belongs. There are so many things I enjoy about serving with kids. It’s a privilege to teach Bible stories each week, build relationships with the kids, and watch them grow in their faith. I believe spending that time together learning God’s Word is the most important hour of our week. One of my favorite parts of our morning together is an activity called “popcorn prayer” where I encourage each child to say a short prayer aloud. Most of the kids participate, and I’m always amazed to hear how they trust in the Lord at such a young age. 

I taught at Liberty Benton Elementary and am currently a substitute teacher there. I see a lot of our Gateway kids at school every week. It’s fun to see my Sunday School kids face’s light up at school when we see each other during our school week. When not at school or church, I enjoy getting outside every day for a morning run, volunteering in our son’s sports programs, and spending time with my family. 

If you have felt a tug to volunteer to serve, you should definitely give it a try! One of the best ways to learn the Bible is to teach a Bible story every week to young children. I have learned so much by preparing my lessons over the years. I have been totally blessed by serving the students at Gateway and look forward to many more years together.