Whoever receives one such child
in My name receives Me...
Blessed is he who comes
in the Name of the Lord!
Matt.18:5; 21:9

When I first met Dave, he was play-acting as a paratrooper. He had just “parachuted” into a plane made out of plywood and chairs. I had to run down the aisle yelling that I had another prize for one of the kids!  I did so, clumsily, but Dave didn’t miss a beat. He had all the kids, me included, involved and enthralled in watching him teach. I soon learned that he had a tremendous gift in his ability to connect with kids.

I was fortunate when I started assisting him with our Sunday Children’s Church.  He always came in cheerful and enthusiastic, and the kids really related to that.  It was amazing to watch him as he created drawings on the board.  Or the way he told stories from the Bible or from his childhood with such a passion, and how he just downright became a kid himself.  I found myself wanting to teach the way he did. 

I now teach a Sunday School class, and that is because of Dave.  Without even realizing it, he taught me how to serve and relate to the kids in a way they understand. I owe God many thanks for the gifts that He gave through Dave’s enthusiasm. He’s a valuable vessel in children’s ministry because it is his passion for kids that is inspiring.

I so enjoyed our teacher training times (we called them Coach’s Cafés) that Dave would do once a quarter.  He always encouraged us as teachers to be imaginative in our teaching styles, and he modeled it well. 

I remember one of the sessions in particular when, as an example of how to incorporate puppets into our lessons, Dave got each teacher to introduce themselves using a puppet. One of our teachers is very quiet and reserved, but she came alive with that puppet on her hand!  We saw a reflective and fun side to her we had never seen before. And the next Sunday some of the teachers had their kids using puppets to introduce themselves!  A simple idea, but the fun was contagious!

Our preteens and I have had a blast as Dave and I did skits for them, and with them!  Dave was always encouraging us to think “outside of the box” and to grow in being creative for Jesus. It’s cool how God uses Dave to bring that out of teachers, and kids too! My ministry to the kids I love has been refreshed because of Dave, for which I’m thankful to God.

I’ve known Dave for about a year.  I met him in my search to find where I fit into the body of Christ. I felt I was being led into children’s ministry but I didn’t know how to jump in. That is where Dave stepped in.

I’d watch him as a leader or in doing children’s church and wonder how a man that big could do what he did and have that much energy!  And bigger than that, the kids loved him so much!  I saw this man of God impacting kids left and right.  I saw a big heart of gold.  The love for kids that God has put in him just seems to flow through him and into anyone who was near him.  And He always put God and His Word first in everything he taught the kids.

I soon knew this was the place for me to learn how to move kids for Christ.  Dave’s leadership was very needed in my venture into children’s ministry.  God used him to teach me how to reach kids individually and to teach kids collectively in a children’s church setting.  He has been a wonderful gift from God to me and to the children of New Hope.  I love Dave with all my heart and I know anywhere he goes will make a huge impact for Christ.