This week we took time to chat and check in with Maddy to hear about how her year as Voluntary Pastoral Assistant is going!
Click the button below to find out more about what a year as a VPA could look like!
How is it going?
My VPA is going really well. I can’t believe that I’m already nearing the end of my time. Due to the pandemic and my VPA being broken up into two chunks, I’ve gotten to experience everything from how to do distant church and working from home to how to re-establish our kids and youth for in-person meetings. The VPA has been great for trying lots of new things and getting opportunities to lead different projects. I have truly loved my time, and I’m sad that I’ve only got a few months left!
What are you really enjoying?
I’ve really enjoyed the diversity of the work. Throughout a month, I’m likely to be involved in planning and researching things for the church, prepping kids materials (aka crafts!), running events, and lots of learning opportunities. I love the mixture of doing and thinking, especially since I had come from a research masters where all I did was the thinking.
What is a standout highlight?
One of the standout highlights has been the youth group. We have had a great couple of years for our KV Youth Group and especially now we are meeting regularly again. Every time I serve on the youth team it has been such great fun and a blessing. The overall highlight was taking our youth group to the Dreaming the Impossible festival in the summer. The festival was really good fun and several of the young people had a real meeting with Jesus - woop!
What have you learned about Jesus so far?
One of the things that I’ve learned about Jesus is a deeper understanding of what Paul says in his letter to the Phillipians, “I can do all things through he who strengthens me.” I have learned how to look to Jesus and how to praise God in all circumstances. Throughout my VPA, I’ve tried things that were outside my comfort zone and I’ve done things that didn’t work out to plan. I’ve also led things that went better than expected and have gotten to do things that I really love and enjoy. In both the good and the difficult, I’ve had Jesus and I’ve tried my best to keep my eyes on him and thanking him along the way.
What are you looking forward to in the final few months of your VPA?
In my final few months I’m really looking forward to two things. First, we have a handful of conferences planned, and I’m really excited to gather again to worship and learn with believers from around the country. Second, I’m going to do outreach projects to connect with new people and hopefully introduce them to Jesus. I’m excited to see what God is going to do through this!