Tag: grace of God

Marcy-Child
Blog

The Kid VBS Was Made For

By: Marcy Serby

When I was a child my father was an alcoholic, so things were rather chaotic in my home. We didn’t experience much love or kindness. God was certainly never a part of our young lives. My brothers and I loved Sunday mornings though, because on Sundays our family did something fun like bowling or putter golf. My Lutheran friend Christi didn’t get to do anything fun because she had to go to church – every Sunday!

When I was 8 or 9 years old Christi brought me to Vacation Bible School at her church. I cannot tell you one thing that we talked about, one craft we made, or one song that we sang; but I remember feeling “different” and “safe” when I was with this group of Christians, and I remember loving to hear stories about Jesus. I was so disappointed when the week was over because VBS was like a flashlight in my dark world.

“I was the kid VBS was made for.”

Fall came and Christi invited me to Pioneer Girls at her church on Wednesday nights. Yes, over 50 years ago a Lutheran church had Wednesday night programs. I guess some things never change. I was excited to hear the Bible stories and again felt different when I was at church.

Fast forward another year or two, and I asked my parents if they would drive me to church on Sundays. They enrolled me in a Sunday School at a church I had never been to, and I went to church and Sunday School by myself. They never walked inside that church.

Vacation Bible School and Pioneer Clubs played a major role in introducing me to Jesus – and for that I will forever be grateful. I will also always be grateful to Christi, whose initials are on the Ripple Effect banner in our sanctuary. 

I am a life that was changed by the grace of God through prayer, VBS and Pioneer Clubs; and I am so thankful there were people to shine their light on Jesus so I could see Him.”

Blog

Soon-to-be DCE Intern!

By: Payton DeVencenty

Holy Cross Family,

My name is Payton DeVencenty, and I am your soon-to-be Director of Christian Education (or DCE) Intern! I will be joining the family in mid-August of this year, and I am thrilled to be hopping right into a congregation that demonstrates God’s love and mercy. Your ministry is known here for its faithfulness to God and in its approach to the community, so thank you for continuing in God’s ways and making an example that is known all the way out in Nebraska.

I am a Colorado boy, born in Pueblo and raised in Denver until the ripe age of 17 when I moved out to Nebraska to begin my education towards ministry. I am a child of divorce, I have tasted and seen the love of God. His mercies dawn each morning as we need them to cover our sins and mess-ups.

Thankfully, our stories are not that simple—even when our stories are way more complicated than we would like them to be. My story is no exception to the messiness, heartbreak, and the struggles that all of us know—yet in the wonder and grace of God I have experienced the redemption and love that sets stories apart into the story of Jesus. I was not raised in a Christian home, and the faith that we now share was shown to me through faithful Christians like you.

For years, my closest ties to the church were disciples of Jesus making disciples in the world (me). People who lived their Christian faith in the way they went to work, bought groceries, made dinner, played with their kids, called me when things were hard, and all the rest of the mundane tasks we engage in day after day. There is much to be shared, so I hope to share the details of this story of grace with you someday soon.

I have been led into DCE ministry through my extensive camp experience. I worked at a summer camp in a variety of positions, from being a counselor for boys in grades 4-12 to coordinating high school volunteers and programmatic needs to (currently) facilitating the camp program in Idaho. The DCE ministry is related to these positions I had the blessing of filling for four summers as the position seeks to equip others to do ministry in their own lives.

The combination of living a life which has experienced the goodness of God as well as having the experience through my time at summer camps and at Concordia Nebraska has shown me the immense blessing and mission I have been called to through the DCE position. I believe we are all on mission together, living the call of Christ to reach out with loving hands to our brothers and sisters in Christ and to those in the community. This is our call, this is our life, and this is the mission of Jesus. I cannot wait to join you side-by-side in a few weeks.

In Christ,
Payton