Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
From Annette:
Geni Brooks—for taking a chance on an awkward eleven-year-old who loved Jesus and wanted to learn to teach kids how great he is. Your ministry reaches far beyond the walls of your own church.
My parents, John and Cheryl Grey—for teaching me to love church and the God who loves us, and for being my unabashed cheerleaders.
My husband, Kevin—for supporting me and believing in me through the difficult times and making space for me grow into the woman you knew I could become. For seeing a bright future that I couldn’t. And for making sure the kids got some real food while I finished this project.
Shari Boyd—for walking through the fire with me and trusting me enough to try again after our burns had healed. I love and admire you more than you know. You are a rock star.
Mark DeVries—for moving outside of the youth ministry world by saying yes to churches who asked for a systems approach for their children’s ministries. Thank you for allowing me to partner in this project.
Jeff Dunn-Rankin—for your ear, your prayers, and sharing your unique and wise perspective over and over again.
Debbie Freeman—for your feedback and support from the infancy of this project, and for your grace-filled honesty and friendship.
From Mark:
I am acutely grateful for my pastors, George and Trish Holland, who were relentlessly with me and for me as I grew up under the shelter of their incomparable kindness.
Adam, Debbie, and Leigh, you let me practice children’s ministry on you and keep giving me grace as I stumble into the delights of being your dad.
I can only pray that my four grandchildren, Parish, Nealy, Liam, and Jack, will be shaped and formed in Christ by communities of faith wise enough to disproportionately invest in the next generation.
To the saints at First Presbyterian Church, Nashville, Tennessee—I do not have enough years left to say thank you enough for what you have done for my children.
Annette, thanks for diving into this project with your heart wide open, even if you’re eyes weren’t. You never gave up and kept nudging us forward every time we got stuck. It’s that quality that makes you a one-of-a-kind consultant.