Thank You Mrs. Kristi

Kristi Cooper is stepping down from her role as Children's Ministries Director at KGF as of the end of June.  Below, she shares the experience of the last 14 months.  

Dear KGF Church Family,

Thank you so much for loving me and my family the way you do. It truly is such a pleasure to work, serve and attend at KGF. On the journey to stepping down from the position of Children's Director here I have gone through many different emotions. Through this journey God has taken me on He has reminded me of so many things.

First and foremost He has reminded me that this is HIS church and these are His children. Every time I have gone to Him with a concern I have felt an incredible amount of peace from Him, as though He was saying "I've got this".

Second, our children at this church and their families are a gift and blessing not to be taken for granted. Being a good steward of this gift is incredibly important. Jesus asks us to serve each other and He makes it so clear the importance of children, not just in what we can teach them but in what they can teach us.

Volunteers in our Children's Ministry are what makes this ministry run so well. Loving on our children is truly an extension of who Jesus created us to be. I am so incredibly grateful to the wonderful volunteers in this Ministry, without you we wouldn't have this growing ministry. I have no doubt that this will continue and I am so excited to be a part of this ministry in a volunteer capacity. With the upcoming two services (starting September 11, 2011) our need for more volunteers is essential and I am excited to see this ministry continue to grow.

This past 14 months has been such an incredible journey. We have seen an unprecedented growth in our young families at KGF. We have chosen and implemented new curriculums, developed a Children's Worship team, introduced Family Sundays, done a complete children's wing renovation and added 50 new volunteers to our volunteer team. Our numbers have grown from a dozen children under 12 in 2008 to an average of just under a hundred children attending each Sunday and almost two hundred children who have attended more than twice in the past year. We are continuing to experience growth and have an average of two new families visiting each week.  Many of these families continue and are now calling KGF their home.

Serving with such incredible leadership team (our board and our staff) has been a gift. I feel incredibly fortunate to be involved in a church where Jesus is the focus and creating a sense of belonging our Mission. Mike, Jinger, Josh, Judy and Laura all are gifted individuals and have helped make coming to work a joy. Their passion for their jobs and our church is infectious and I will miss working with them on a regular basis.

Our Family at KGF is truly what I believe makes our church special. Our children and families are incredible and working with you each Sunday has been such a blessing. I adore your children and am so amazed by all that God is doing in their lives. I often get emotional thinking about the culture of Jesus we are introducing to our kids. I look at them and see future Pastors, Worship leaders, Youth workers, Sunday School Teachers, Evangelists, Missionaries and Children's Pastors.  I know I was forever changed being introduced to Jesus at KGF and am excited to see our children change the face of their generation for Jesus.

So, after all the emotions that God has taken me through in this journey I am left with a profound sense of excitement. I am excited to see what God has in store for our church and for our children. I am excited to see the new volunteers come forth and our ministry continue to grow. I am excited to volunteer in a ministry that I know is so important for our future. I am excited to see a generation of children grow up following Jesus, and to have my own children be a part of this. Finally, I am beyond excited to get to serve and be in church beside my own family and have some more time to get to spend time with my children.

Thank you for being a church that I am so proud to belong to and that I am excited to introduce others to. I am looking forward to watching all that God has in store for us in the upcoming months and years. Thank you for serving with me as the Children's Ministry Director and I look forward to serving along side you in the future.

Serving Him Together,

Kristi Cooper

(If you have been impacted by Kristi’s ministry at KGF, encourage you to leave a comment of encouragement below for her!)