Kids Word
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Father Discovers Opportunity to Serve His Son at Kids Word
About one year ago, when Ethan Gregory’s young son, Baxter, was a little reluctant to go to Kids Word on Sunday by himself, he joined a few times to make sure that Baxter was comfortable. That is when he saw how dedicated Jakki Penn, the then sole Kids Word leader, was. Inspired by her dedication, he offered to help out and is now leading one week out of the month along with other parent volunteers Crystal Kelley, Kim Ortiz and Shelly Jones.
Ethan, a resident of Jacksonville since he was five years old, has been a member of Our Saviour since he was a kid. Now, he and his wife Melissa are raising their son, Baxter, and daughter, Lenora, at Our Saviour too.
Without any specialized teaching training, Ethan found that spending 15 to 20 minutes each month with Our Saviour’s children could be a blast. “We do a lesson, our prayers, we’ll sing a couple of songs. We may have them do a drawing or craft that can be easily cleaned up.” The kids really seem to love Prayers of the People. “Usually I can get most kids to respond to ‘Who do you want to pray for’? Every kid likes to answer something - it could be for their dog or their grandma who is sick.”
What does Ethan love about teaching at Kids Word? ”When we do our lesson I try to ask some questions to make it relatable to them in their lives because these are still elementary school kids. Some of the responses they give are funny.”
A local real estate expert for the past 19 years, Ethan said “I never really saw myself as a teacher but if I can teach something for 15 or 20 minutes and I can make it fun and relatable to the kids then it’s relatively easy to do.”
Next year, when daughter Lenora is old enough for Kids Word, Ethan will have another Sunday pupil.
To learn more about the Kids Word Ministry, contact ministries@oursaviourjax.org.