By Michelle McFadden

My husband, Curtis, and I began serving in the preschool hall four years ago. We often wondered how we were going to survive.  It was the two of us outnumbered by 20 children, ages two and three. Getting crafts done, going potty, eating snack and being able to shower them with love quickly became a creative juggling act.

Time and time again God kept showing us it was about these little people, loving them and showing them the Savior.

Our passion is to serve these beautiful little faces, to see them light up when we talk about Jesus, even when we have to make do with the limited space we have. Believe me, with 20 playful two and three year olds, the room quickly overflows with love and little ones.

With three young children of our own, we see the preschool area as parents, too. Our children love being there even if space is tight. They don’t really see all the issues but are simply happy learning and feeling the love from their teachers and friends. As parents, we want them to have the space they need to learn and grow surrounded by their friends.

Our church family has set a goal to reach young families and God has blessed our efforts. Along with that goal comes the responsibility of providing adequate space for our preschool and children’s ministry. Almost from the time we moved into our current building we had pretty much filled the early childhood areas.

Recently Pastor Cook shared God’s plan for our church to grow. He talked about the people being what matters most. He talked about buildings and such as being only tools we use to serve the people. One of those tools is an addition to our current building.

Adding the much needed new space would allow us to reach even more families. Our existing programs could expand and we could offer more new programs. When families with young children visit our church they will see first-hand our church’s commitment to the spiritual development of young lives.

On Sunday mornings our children run into church like it’s another home. We want that for other children, too. But more importantly we want children to know Jesus. That can only happen when they have a place where they feel comfortable and loved, a place where Jesus is taught and modeled, a special place, all about the little people.

“But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these’”. Luke 18:16 NIV