What People are Saying about Equipping Ministry

Here are a few comments from some of those who attended the regular Spring 2001 Exploring Your Spiritual Design class, led by Jerry Cooper:

"I've been through other Spiritual Design classes that don't take in the whole person. This course is different. It helps you to discover the total person that God created you to be."
~Rhonda Herman, Director of Children's Ministry

"I liked it so much, I'm taking it again with session."
~Kathy Vaselkiv, Elder Representative on Staff

" As interim pastor I can think of nothing more beneficial to Central Church at this time in its history than for members and friends of the Church to take advantage of the Spiritual Design Class being offered this Fall and throughout the year. I have personally benefited from taking this course with the rest of the staff and see it as one of the most significant means of advancing Central's health and growth in the next decade."
~George Antonakos, Senior Pastor

"I was so excited to go through the spiritual design class and see where God is growing me and molding my gifts for his service. I know that if everyone in the church takes this class, we will be a church where people joyfully serve in their area of giftedness, and WE WILL accomplish all that God has in store for us here at Central."
~Bill Pitts, Director of Student Ministries

EM Connecting with a Member...
How One Woman Found Her Niche

My husband and I started attending Central almost five years ago. In these years, our family has grown and time has quickly passed. Despite the many blessings of these years, however, I did not find even one true friend at Central in this five year period. I really tried to "do my part" to open myself up to new friendships, i.e. the mom's group, women's retreat, fellowshipping over dinner in our home, working in the children's classrooms to name a few. Yet the bond I was yearning for was just not happening. By last spring, my husband and I both felt that if we left Central right then, no one would ever miss us.

We began looking around for another church. We had a check list of things we were looking for, such as a location a bit closer to home, a fair amount of home-schooling support, the possibility of getting into a small group, maybe even a softball team. But no one at Central knew we were looking.

One morning, a fellow Centralite came up to me and said, "Hey, Laura I had a dream about you last night!"

"Wow!" I thought. I don't even talk to this person on a regular basis. She told me about the dream and then proceeded to interpret it. I was curious, to say the least, and I began to get a little weak in the knees. I leaned up against a wall as she began. She told me that the dream demonstrated that I wasn't a quitter, that I got what I was going after no matter what the circumstances, and that I don't give up.

Let me tell you, I was now truly using the wall for support. I felt as though I had been hit by a direct word from the Lord in a way I had NEVER experienced before. We said goodbye, and I was left bracing myself with weak knees. When I got into the car to leave, I told my husband, "You won't believe what just happened to me...". I was completely convinced that this was God's unmistakable way of telling us we were not to say goodbye to Central. I felt such peace with this message.

The very next day, another acquaintance called me up and said that I had been on her mind. She wanted to know if my husband and I were in a small group. I just sat shaking my head as she spoke. She couldn't have known that this was one of the items on our checklist. I said we might be interested in hosting a small group in our home. Within weeks, we were connected with other couples for a small group. She also suggested I attend the Spiritual Design Class, to explore how I could find a place to get involved that would really fit me. I began attending that week.

The very next Sunday, another woman approached me. By then I was smiling with wonder at what the Lord would do next. This woman proceeded to ask me if I would be willing to lead a new support group for home-schoolers. She volunteered to come along-side me and help me co-lead this new group for a year. Without a second of hesitation I said YES!

Since that time, I have completed the Spiritual Design Class. The class was instrumental in helping me see the strengths I didn't realize I had. The teaching and self-assessment tools we used in that class opened my eyes to how God made me and why I function the way I do. That understanding has given me the confidence to step into these new roles and to do them with greater conviction and peace.

One of the outcomes of my follow-up consultation was the launch of a new Central softball team, which I helped coordinate. We are now hosting a small group in our home. I am the leader of Eternal Blessings, a new home-schooling support group in Perry Hall, and six of the families in our group are from Central! The Lord is so good. He is SO good.

Without a doubt Central is going to be our home for as long as the Lord would have us here. And I trust him to supply all my needs according to his riches in glory. He has done exceedingly abundantly so far! Thank you Heavenly Father!

Eternal Blessings,
Laura Espey