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Ronda McPherson – A Jump into Serving

For Ronda McPherson, the path to her volunteer role as a children’s small-group leader is a humorous one. It began with a Strategic Service sign-up card and an assumption that proved to be slightly off.

10390906_655444157863319_4507633666910434913_nRonda enjoys a fulfilling career in a successful company, but after attending Access for several months, she longed for a way to plug into serving at Access. Ronda got her chance during a sign-up event for Strategic Service opportunities. As she perused the options, one entitled “Leadership Room” stood out to her. Ronda was confident in her management skills and felt that something with “leadership” in the title would probably be a good fit. However, Ronda was unaware that this area of service pertained to children’s ministry. Ronda’s role would be to set up the Leadership Room before Waumba Land and check in children as they arrived.

Imagine Ronda’s surprise when she showed up for her first weekend and found out she had signed up for something she did not feel equipped to do. “It was a comedy of errors,” she said about her first weekend in this role. But as time progressed, Ronda found that she was comfortable in the children’s environment and even began looking forward to seeing the kids’ familiar faces each week.

Eventually Ronda was asked to lead a children’s small group. She said, “Yes!” and began leading a small group of two-year-olds. Ronda has stayed with this group from year to year and moved with them out of Waumba Land and into UpStreet, where they are currently first graders!

As Ronda looks back at the thoughts she had during the sign-up event for Strategic Service, she laughs. “I would have never seen myself working with children. I’ve been a professional my whole life. I have dogs, not kids,” she said. But God saw her untapped potential and led her to the exact ministry He knew she would be most effective in.

Ronda is confident that God has ignited a passion in her to make an eternal impact in the lives of Access kids. Her story is a great reminder of the saying, “If you want to make God laugh, just tell Him your plans.” It’s wonderful to know that God cares so deeply about the details that He will pull us out of our comfort zone and equip us to do His work.

If you’re ready to follow Ronda’s lead and jump into serving at Access, take a moment to visit our Strategic Service page!