Tell us about a volunteer or mentor who impacted your life when you were younger.

Pastor Steven Grant
Among my mentors were two gentlemen who faithfully taught the senior citizens’ Bible class on Sunday mornings at Richmond Heights Presbyterian Church outside of St. Louis. George Doerbaum and Jim Godwin took me under their wings and impressed upon me their love of God’s Word. Their contagious passion for the Bible directly resulted in what has now been over 30 years of pastoral ministry. I remember the way my church celebrated my last Sunday before I went off to seminary. Mr. Doerbaum gave me a Bible and broke down crying as he wished me well on “my great adventure with the Lord Jesus.” These two men inspired in me a love of the Lord and a passion for His Word that fills my heart to this day!

Pastor Brad Rogers
In third grade, Becky Schroer was my “table parent” at our church’s Wednesday evening program; her responsibility was to model the family dinner experience. Though we met when I was just 9 years old, Becky’s tangible love and care for me and many others continued long after her formal responsibility concluded. She and her husband, Phil, became champions for me along my faith journey. She was a living embodiment of the promises a church makes to God during baptism to guide and nurture a child by word, deed, love, and prayer so that the child might follow Christ all their days. The promises of God sealed upon my life in baptism and supported by the embodied promises of Becky have enabled me to see God’s power at work through Christ’s church.

Pastor June Barrow
I know first-hand the lasting impact a children’s Sunday school teacher can have. Mrs. Rawdon, a war-bride from London, was my teacher during my elementary school years. Her own faith in God became a model for me. She taught, she listened, she loved, and she cared. I still thank God for her today.

Pastor Su Kim
When I was 9 years old, I attended my church’s summer camp. One of the new volunteers at our church was my group leader. I was having a wonderful time until dinner the last night when a batch of spaghetti resulted in several of us coming down with food poisoning. It was so severe that we were rushed by ambulance to the emergency room. My group leader stayed in the hospital with me all night and I remember him praying for me. At that point in my life, I still didn’t know Who Jesus was personally, but I certainly saw Him through my group leader.

Pastor Allen Walworth
In the first church I pastored while a seminary student in Kentucky, Joe Borges became a follower of Christ as an adult. Joe was from Hawaii and had a personality bigger than life. Through his child-like wonder about the gospel and his zeal to be a fully devoted Christ- follower, my own faith was renewed and strengthened. He couldn’t understand how we kept from crying for joy when we sang the hymns of our faith—it was all so new and over- whelmingly wonderful to him! Joe was a new Christian, and I a new pastor, but I learned far more from him about the gospel and why it matters, than he ever learned from me.

Another Perspective
The Epistle also asked Volunteer & Membership Coordinator Rebecca Harley to recall someone from her past who gave above and beyond. Here is what she said:

“When I first embarked on playing competitive golf, I was blessed to have a well-know Canadian Amateur by the name of Ed Ervasti volunteer his time and talents to mentor me. Because of that experience, both my husband and I developed a lifelong love of the sport and have served as golf coaches for our son’s high school golf team for the past five years.

“Ed is now with the Lord, but not before his 101st birthday. Even well into his 90s, Ed was known to play more than 100 rounds each season. He had an impeccable short game, a great sense of humor, and insisted his longevity was due to his love of golf.”

– Rebecca Harley
Volunteer & Membership Coordinator