Authors

Joey currently lives in Allendale, SC, with his wife of 12 years, and their three children (ages 10, 8, and 5). He works with an after school program in Allendale County, which is the most impoverished area in the state.

The journey to Allendale was a strange path for Joey. He studied chemistry in college (and graduate school), and worked in that field for almost 10 years. Then, after years of he and his wife leading as volunteers in the Children’s Ministry at Grace Church, he came on staff as a full-time Pastor of Children & Families. It was during this time that he discovered his love for writing, as he launched a parenting blog for the church, that is still updated by the children’s ministry staff.

In 2010, Joey transitioned off of the church staff, and wound up being led to Allendale, where his church had been building relationships and doing ministry for several years. His family enjoys living in this community, and being a part of what God is doing. They want to see long-term, gospel-oriented life change, and Joey writes about their observations and experiences on Mission: Allendale.

Joey also writes about parenting (both personal stories and key principles) on A Different Way. He would love for you to be a part of the community — whether by commenting on either blog, or by stopping by Allendale, SC (if you’re ever in the area!).

Tammy is the children’s pastor at Lees Summit First Assembly of God in Lees, Summit, MO (a suburb of the east side of Kansas City)  She has been married to Mark, a conductor for BNSF Railway, since May 1989.  She is the mother of 3 blessings:  Jake, age 20, Missy, age 16, and Dee, age 13.  She is very fortunate be able to not only nurture her children, but also be their primary educator, as they homeschool all 3 children.  Jake graduated in 2009 & is now studying graphic digital arts in college (and making straight A’s!)  Both girls are still continuing their studies at home.

Tammy is currently doing a complete make-over on the children’s ministry department at her church:  new name, new rooms, new paint, new lighting, new everything.  It’s fun but big task for sure!

When not homeschooling or working in children’s ministries, Tammy can be found coaching baton twirling (both of her daughters compete & perform) as well as coaching a human video team.  She also enjoys reading & music.  You can learn more about her on Facebook or on CMConnect

Lynda has been married to Dave for 30 years . . . they met on a volcano in Northern California! Lynda took one look at Dave and thought, “We will get married!” And so they did! They have two grown children, Tiffany (26) and Dave (25), a daughter-in-law, Jackie (26) and two grandsons; Josiah (3) and the newly arrived Caleb – they are the delight of her life! Lynda lives in West Michigan and has served in children’s ministry for 40 years . . . she started with a Wednesday night class for four year olds when she was 10 . . . and has led ministries in churches with 100 people, 1600 people and several in-between.  Children’s ministry is the passion of Lynda’s heart – she wants volunteers to love serving and children to love being there so they can learn to know and walk with Jesus all their lives!

Lynda worked as a consultant for Gospel Light, Group and Zonderkidz/Big Idea/Willow Creek and worked as the Church Resource Consultant for Kregel Bookstores for 13 years providing training and answering questions for churches throughout West Michigan. She has written for Children’s Ministry Magazine and Your Church Magazine.

Eight years ago Lynda was diagnosed with MS, Lupus and a few other auto-immune illnesses and can no longer work “hands-on” with children . . . the stairs at her church are best avoided. However, Lynda consults with and advises her church and writes their curriculum, kidz Connection. She also writes a blog – About the Children’s Department and is developing a series of children’s books and a resource on praying the Scripture!

For fun, Lynda writes a blog for grandmas- grandma’s cookie jar…well, grandpas, moms and dads are welcome to read it, too! You will find her on Twitter (About Children and gramacookiejar), Facebook  and CM Connect.

Sarah is married to Steve and has two children: Hannah, 11, and Owen, 8.  She volunteers in children’s ministry at First Baptist Church in Williamstown, WV, at the mid-week program UpStreet 24/7.  She’s also one of the storytellers in the Sunday morning children’s environment, UpStreet.  This year Sarah took a leave of absence from teaching 11th grade English to slow her family’s busy life.  She has a heart for children of all ages and avidly reads books about ministry and theology.  Sarah also loves coordinating her church’spacking of shipping containers for Honduras, where she’s been twice as a missionary. You can connect with Sarah on Facebook, Twitter, or through her blog Making Much of HIm 365.

Brenna Phillips earned her Master of Arts in Christian Education with a specialization in childhood education degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and her Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Florida Southern College. She is married to David Phillips, who is pastor of Mission Fellowship Church in Smyrna, Delaware, where she serves as volunteer Children’s-Family Minister.

She teaches preschool full-time at an early childhood learning center in Middletown, Delaware, and regularly writes and posts lesson ideas and helps on her blog: www.brennaphillips.com.

Brenna has been involved in children’s ministry for many years in Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, and Delaware. She has done all aspects of preschool and children’s ministry from planning to staffing to children’s sermons to special events and much more.

Her ideas have been published in Group Publishing’s Children’s Ministry Magazine.

She has written an article for the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware’s state mission paper.

She has participated in an expert interview with Children’s Ministry Academy to help teach and train their students in the program.

She has taught as adjunct faculty and is currently consulting with Southeastern Bible College in Birmingham, Alabama, on a re-design of their children’s ministry minor program.

Brenna has authored three illustrated children’s books: Savannah Goes to Children’s Worship and The Multi-Colored Promise and a third book yet to be published on the Fruit of the Spirit.

Brenna’s goal is to combine her love of teaching with her love of children’s ministry by sharing lessons and ideas from the classroom to be incorporated into the church. You can read more of her work at brennaphillips.com.

Wayne is married to a wonderful woman (whom he calls Tricia) and has four kids (who call her “Mom”). They are Joshua (18), Jacob (10), Lyndsey (8) and Nathan (4).   In addition to spending time with his wife and kids, Wayne is an avid reader.  He volunteers in the children’s ministry at the non-denominational New Life Church of Gahanna in Gahanna, Ohio where he teaches a wonderful group of five to seven year olds (that’s Kindergarten and First Grade if you don’t feel like doing the math) every Sunday morning and runs games for the midweek AWANA program for kids from kindergarten through sixth grade.  He also enjoys helping with the VBS program as well other programs for kids.  Wayne is fast approaching his 40’s, though he’s not quite there yet.  Wayne did not grow up in church, and God did not draw him into his Kingdom until he was 30 years old following the birth of his third child.  He discovered shortly thereafter that God intended him to spend the rest of his life working with kids and teaching them about Jesus.  Recently, Wayne has started a new ministry to children of divorce. He writes regularly on the ministry blog at Divorce Ministry 4 Kids. In addition to starting Kidmin1124 and Divorce Ministry 4 Kids, Wayne also has another blog called Dad in the Middle and regularly publishes articles on Ministry-to-Children.com.  You can also find him on twitter at @stocksohio, on Facebook, and on CMConnect.  When Wayne isn’t working with kids or writing about children’s ministry, he spends his days working as an accountant and litigation consultant.

Wendy is blessed to be a warrior’s wife and mom to 3 incredible boys. She has been married for 18 years and her boys range in age from 8 to 13. She volunteers in KidzPlace at The Gathering Church in Sevierville, TN.  She has a heart not only for impacting the lives of children by sharing the love of Jesus and the Word of God, but also a passion to partner with parents in their journey as the spiritual leaders of their children. Wendy’s day job is in a business office, but every free moment you will find her reading anything she can get her hands on. You can connect with Wendy on Twitter and Facebook. You should also check out her blog at Saved Sister.

Jared is the associate pastor at Warsaw Assembly of God in Warsaw, IL. His primary responsibilities include children’s and youth ministries. Jared loves to use creative methods to minister to the youth of today including magic, juggling, and characters for the children and creative, practical sermons for the teens. Thus far, Jared represents the youth element for our site. He is married with one young son. When he isn’t giving his time to the church and kids, he spends his days working at a bank. In addition to his musings on this site, you can find more of Jared’s insightful thoughts at Small Town Kidmin. He can also be reached on Twitter and Facebook.

Bill is the Associate Pastor of Children & Youth at Hanover Fellowship in Hanover, Pennsylvania where his responsibilities include caring for children and youth from birth through high school. Along with his responsibilities in the local church, Bill is very involved in the Awana ministry, serving on the ministry teams of local Awana missionaries, providing training, leading workshops and helping run regional events. By his contributions on the Awana Forums, he became known as “Commander Bill” and desiring to help Awana clubs work together, he developed CommanderBill.net, a site designed to help network those serving in Awana and provide resources to assist them in ministry. Bill married his wife, Peg, in 1984 and they have two children who have grown into wonderful young adults. Bill commutes over an hour each way to his FT job as a Project Manager at a small manufacturing facility. You can follow Bill on Twitter, FaceBook, and his CommanderBill.net blog. If you are interested in seeing what is happening in his local church ministry you can check out the ministry blogs for Hanover Fellowship’s KidZone and “Renewed” (youth ministry).

Barbara is married to Chris and is the mother to Stephen, 25, Stephanie, 22, Stacie, 22, and Stuart, 19.  She is the volunteer Children’s Pastor at Momentum Church in Woodstock, GA where she oversees kids from birth to 5^th grade.  Momentum Church is part of the Assemblies of God and just this Easter moved from a theater to their own facility.  In addition to her time spent as a volunteer Children’s Pastor, Barbara is spending her time running the kitchen at summer camps during the week and drinking lots of coffee.  She is one of the hardest working people in Kidmin that you will ever meet!  You can read more from Barbara at her blog Caffeinated Adventures.  She is also available on Twitter and CMconnect.

Matt is married to his high school sweetheart Kim and together they have two wonderful kids, Trey 8 and Jayden 19 months. Matt is 35 years old and is a part time children’s pastor at The Rock of Winter Haven, in Winter Haven, Florida. While he hopes to be in a full-time ministry position in the not too distant future, he currently works full time as an RN/Clinical Systems Analyst in the emergency department where he has worked for the last 14 years. During that time, Matt has held a number of positions. Matt is passionate about serving God throughout the church and especially in the children’s ministry that he leads (http://www.kidsrockcm.org). Matt draws on his experience in caring for the physical and emotional needs of patients in the ER as he minsters to children and adults alike. He also uses the leadership experience gained while working in the ER to help this ministry. In his spare time Matt is an avid automotive enthusiast and a self confessed computer nerd and tech junkie. You can find out more about Matt on CMConnect and on his children’s ministry blog.

Tonya has been married to her amazing husband John since November 1980, and together they have three children; Jonathan 25, Trevor 19 and Elizabeth 12. They enjoy getting together with extended family, going camping, hiking and the desert. Tonya currently is spear heading The Agape Connections (special needs ministry), teaches the 4^th & 5^th grader Sunday school class and leads a support group for parents who have children with A.D.H.D. and Behavioral Disorders at Skyline Church in La Mesa, Ca. Tonya started her journey, working with children and teens with special needs, in high school where she was able to come along side and mentor them. After adopting Jonathan, she found that there was a huge need for reliable, accurate information and support for the parents of children who have behavioral or developmental challenges. In addition she found that most churches were not equipped to work with families which meant parents could not attend church services themselves. The Agape Connections work with families who have special needs children so the entire family is able to attend church services and age appropriate church activities (Awana’s Mud Run, Kidz Night Out, VBS, etc.). For more information on Tonya’s journey with special needs children visit www.specialneedskidz.com , www.skylinechurch.org, or on Facebook. In Tonya’s “free time” she is studying for ordination, writes articles and co-owns an office products business with her brother.

John is a husband to the love of his life, Esther and is the father to two wonderful, energetic, world changing kids: Isaiah 3 and Eden 9 months. He is the volunteer Children’s Pastor at Common Ground Church in Tulsa, OK where he teaches kids from 2nd to 5^th grade. During the work week you will find John at a local credit union but inside he is dreaming of ways to impact a kid’s life and of course all the cool gadgets that are about to be released. He loves iPhones but can’t stand AT&T so he packs around a Blackberry dreaming of the day that AT&T will lose their exclusivity contract. You find out more about John on Twitter, Facebook, and CMconnect.

Theresa Haskins is married to a man gifted with the patience of a Saint (Christopher)!  Together, they have been blessed with three amazing children:  Peter (age 27), daughters-Brooke (age 12-almost 13) and Kristina (age 11).  All three children love and serve the Lord in their daily walk.  Theresa has served in numerous ministries at her Church, Northside Christian Church in Yorktown, Virginia, since 1992 (when she was baptized as an adult believer).  She was taught first by her mother, then by her Northside family, about living the life of a genuine Christian.  Theresa was adopted by her parents at 5 months; her mother always telling her she was special due to being “picked” and wanted/loved by her parents – she always believed it!   She was raised in the Church and taught to love and serve God.  When Theresa was 18 years old, she lost both of her parents (mother to a heart attack and 10 months later her father to cancer).  God used the intense pain and LONG journey of wandering and growth, to create a never ending passion in Theresa to share her faith with everyone she comes in contact with (children and teen-aged girls in particular – especially those who have lost their mother).  She loves to read (and claims there is no such thing as owning too many books!).  She spends most of her spare time (when she’s not having fun with her girls) reading Christian non-fiction books, in an effort to learn and apply the teachings of Christ in her own life as well as the life of her children!  She is honored to serve on the Kidmin Team!  You can find Theresa on CMConnect, on Twitter, on Facebook and on her blog called Passionate Children’s Servant.

Tammy is married to her tolerant husband, Tommy. She is the mother of two grown children, Jason and Jennifer, and has 5 grandchildren and counting. Tammy volunteers as the Children’s Minister at Cove Creek Baptist Church in Glencoe, Alabama, where she ministers to children from preschool age through sixth grade. She teaches children’s church (along with a wonderful team) and a Wednesday night children’s class. One of her favorite parts of children’s ministry is Vacation Bible School. Tammy also enjoys going on mission trips each year with other friends from church. She loves to read books about children’s ministry, teaching/learning, storytelling, and even some Christian fiction. You can connect with Tammy on Twitter at @vbscrazy or on Facebook and CMconnect. Although somewhat out of date, you can check out her blog at Tammy’s Tiny Thoughts.

Lindsey is the Children’s Ministry Director at East Lake Road Alliance Church in Erie, PA. She manages the Children’s Church program, mid-week Kids for Christ program as well as special events and mentoring programs. She has an excellent volunteer team and is grateful for all the support and encouragement the church members provide. Lindsey has been married to her wonderful husband for four years and they have a lovely daughter, Abigail who is eight months old. She operates a family home day care and loves the interaction with kids she has both in the home and at church. She operates Growing Kids Ministry, a Children’s Ministry blog and also serves as Erie’s Attachment Parenting Examiner. In her spare time, she loves to see the sites in Erie, watch the Steelers with her husband, read books and magazines, visit with family and sneak in a few stops at the local coffee shop. She’s very excited to be writing for KidMin1124 and looks forward to collaborating with the other authors!

Doug is the dad of 4 cool kids. The oldest three are boys and the youngest is a princess. He is married to his bride of 18+ years. Doug and his family live in northern Michigan where the weather changes even faster than in Wayne’s neck of the woods. We experience lots of snow in the winter but in the summer have the most beautiful crystal clear lakes to enjoy. Doug was the children’s director at a church in his hometown. There, he lead a team of nearly 40 volunteers that helped kids know Jesus and love Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. Doug was called to lead this group for 4 years as a bi-vocational, part-time director until God called him to take some time to minister to his family and study/experience family ministry first hand. The other side of the bi-voc was (and still is) teaching special education to Moderately Cognitively Impaired kids. Since his church ministry departure Doug has completed the Kidology Coaching program, taken a few classes at Children’s Ministry University Online and had the opportunity to speak at conferences and camps. The newest adventure is that God plugged Doug and his family in at a large church (1500 attendee’s 300 kids birth-6^th grade) where Doug volunteers and leads/teaches both the k-3^rd grade group and 4^th -6^th grade group on Sunday mornings. Oh, when he isn’t thinking about his family and ministry he teaches special education to 18-26 year olds. He has been teaching special education for 19 years. He is looking for a fulltime ministry position in the church God has chosen for his family to serve.

Kenny Acock is the volunteer Children’s Pastor at West High Baptist Church. Prior to serving at West High Baptist he volunteered in the Children’s Ministry at Faith Bible Church for over 14 years. Kenny is single with no children. When not serving God through Children’s Ministry he enjoys Sci-Fi, the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks, the New York Yankees, and chocolate. Kenny has a brother who is a member of the Dancin Dads and a twin brother who is a missionary at Agua Viva Ministries in Mexico.

Kenny has worked in many industries including insurance and banking. He also fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a computer programmer, but God had other plans for him. He served in the Children’s Ministry for one summer “to be nice”. Even as he was working during the week as a computer programmer, he found himself looking forward to Sundays. Over time he began to realize that he was being called to full time ministry to children. Kenny has recently completed his Bachelor’s Degree for Christian Leadership at Grand Canyon University. His hope is to serve full time as a Children’s Pastor.  As a volunteer at Faith Bible Church he served as the chair for the Children’s Ministry team at his church, as a Sparks Director (AWANA), and as co-director of VBS.  Kenny’s passion is not to simply have fun with kids. He wants every child to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior and to help parents in their struggle to raise Christ-like children. He believes that ministry is first and foremost about relationships.  You can find more from Kenny in the Kidology.org forums where he serves on the Kidology CP Team.

Lisa began her adventure into kids’ ministry after becoming guardian of two elementary-aged kids a few years ago.  She and Cameron, her husband of fifteen years, are now the legal parents of Tim (13) and Sarah (12).  They enjoy traveling, playing games, watching movies and acting silly together!  In addition to managing her crazy family, Lisa works part-time as webmaster/graphic designer/jill-of-all-trades at a non-profit organization.  She also attends classes part-time at Masters’ College and Seminary in Ontario, where she is working on her Bachelor of Religious Education degree.  Lisa volunteers in the children’s and youth ministry departments at Bethel Gospel Tabernacle in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, leading a team of volunteers and teaching in children’s church, directing drama teams, and doing whatever else she can to help out.  While she’s loving what she does now, she’s really looking forward to eventually entering full-time ministry!  In her “free” time, Lisa loves to bake, read, photograph and scrapbook her family’s journey, make videos and eat chocolate, cheesecake and chocolate cheesecake.

Leisa Jenkins is a wife of 11 years, and her marriage continues to grow and get better each day.  She is also the mother of 3 great kids- Dalton (11), Emma (8), and Abby (5).  She is a member of Meadowbrook Christian Church, a non denominational church, in Fenton, Mo.  Leisa volunteers full-time as the Children’s Ministry Director responsible for kids from birth through fifth grade.  Her goal on Sunday mornings is to create an incredible Godly experience for each child and to give kids the confidence to understand that God fights for them each day.    She has an incrediable love for each family that she comes in contact with and is more excited each day to share the love of our amazing God with them!  God has given Leisa the incredible opportunity to encourage and impact every life around Her, and she will serve God each day by reaching one family at a time.

Leisa decided a year-and-a-half ago to fully surrender her life to God – to serve him and teach others with the gifts that he has blessed her with.  3 years ago they Leisa and her family were like so many families on Sunday morning making every excuse not to go to church.  The  turning point came when they realized as a family that their priorities were upside down.  They resolved that nothing was going to stop them from giving back to God who had made there life what it was!   Leisa is currently a thriving Family Manager Coach and wants to reach out to families teaching them that finding balance in the home is key.  She wants to give parents the tools to bring God into the home all week long and help them to engage in spiritual conversations that can have a life time of impact.   Leisa has a strong desire to teach others by using her life as an example, and she trusts that she has a future full of amazing stories to write with God by her side.

You can find Leisa Jenkins on Facebook, Twitter, and CMConnect.org.   Leisa is very excited to be part of the Kidmin1124 community.

Julie Snyder has been married to her husband Rob for 12 years. Rob has been called to ministry and is currently serving as and adult Sunday School leader and as an associate minister. Julie and Rob have two great kids – Beth (9) and Auston (6). Julie currently serves as the volunteer children’s ministry coordinator at their small but active church in Mosheim, TN. Julie knows the importance of having a quality children’s ministry with innovative ideas for teaching children despite a very tight small church budget. Julie is responsible for children through 3rd grade during Sunday service and will be leading a Wednesday night program for children through 5th grade. Julie has a heart for those who are hurting especially kids.

Julie lives in Morristown, TN, and holds a full time job in social services. Julie’s interests beyond the children’s ministry are dance, music, and reading. Julie is excited to be part of the Kidmin1124.