Children’s Ministry Director – Early Childhood
Born and raised: Flint, Michigan, raised in Davison, Michigan
Education: Central Michigan University (Bachelor’s of Science in Education)
Ministry Experience: I served as the children’s director for a church plant in St. Cloud, Florida from 2019 to 2021. Prior to that, I served in the children’s ministry at the main campus from which the plant was launched for 5 years. I began serving at the check-in desk, and slowly moved into volunteering in the nursery and preschool, followed by teaching in the first grade classroom for three years. I also helped to create a park outreach curriculum, which we used during the pandemic to connect unchurched children and families to God.
Spouse: Jordan Lyons (married since July 2014)
Kids: Olivia and Luke Lyons
Testimony: I was baptised on a chilly morning in Florida in March of 2018, though I accepted Christ prior to that day. My journey was a slow one, and I can’t pinpoint the exact moment that I was saved. It was a gradual unveiling of the truth and a slow acceptance of that truth. God had been pursuing me slowly since high school, but I had a lot of reservations as I grew toward college age. My family never attended church and I knew very little about God. I met my now spouse, Jordan, just before I left to attend college. He was raised in a Christian family and he invited me to attend some Cru gatherings with him at MSU. I went reluctantly, but I was not ready to accept Jesus at that time. Jordan didn’t give up, though! After many years of continual invites to attend church gatherings and services with him, I slowly started attending services at Celebration Community Church in Florida. I loved to volunteer and desperately wanted to meet friends, as we had just moved across the country for work and we had no friends or family there. So, when I met with the administrative assistant at the church and she expressed a need for check-in desk workers I readily jumped into the role. God used my love of children and my talkative nature to get me in the door, but His Word kept me there. I often say children’s ministry was the source of my conversion, as God used that time sitting at the check-in desk to expose me to his Word for the first time. As I sat listening to the children’s bible lessons in the adjacent rooms, God’s Word began to penetrate my heart. That, coupled with amazing expositional preaching during the services, gave me enough confidence to say that I wanted to learn and connect more. We joined a small group around that time, and the two couples leading the group became a source of wisdom and provided discipleship that I desperately needed. After three years of serving, learning, and being discipled, I finally felt ready to be baptized.