Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCA)

A new gift to Families with Children

by Stephanie Byrd

March 4, 2006

You probably know her as the talented soprano who sings at worship services and other PCPC events, often with her brother, Adam. You may own their CD, “Testimony of Grace.” More than 200 young women around the world—missionaries, legislative staff, nurses, program directors, wives, and mothers—have known her as a mentor. Now, as of February 16, Lauren Bell is extending the Kingdom of Jesus Christ as PCPC’s new Director of Preschool and Elementary Ministries.

“I’m excited about being here,” Lauren says, “I feel like I’m getting an opportunity to serve my church family in a new way.”

A young woman herself, Lauren has already demonstrated her passion for training younger generations to follow the Lord. She earned her degree in elementary education at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, thinking it would serve her well on the mission field or in family life.

Since college, Lauren has taught and discipled mostly high school and college students in her service with a local evangelical Christian ministry. She has taught every level from kindergarten through college, in subjects ranging from public speaking to aerobics. “One of the most rewarding things as a teacher,” she says, is “when you pour your heart into someone, and then you see them turn around and pour their gifts into people.”

Cathy Evans, Director of Families with Children Ministries, says, “We’re thrilled to have someone with an education background and extensive ministry experience, including working with volunteers.”

In her spare time, Lauren is working toward a Master of Arts in Religion at Westminster Theological Seminary.

With all her achievements, it’s not surprising that six years ago Lauren had a health crisis that she attributes to burning herself out in ministry. Her book based on this experience, The Blessing of Boundaries, was published last year.

Many church members might sympathize with her problem: “Being in spiritual work, I felt like I could never say no to anyone.” The solution for Lauren was “learning to see boundaries as a blessing that God’s designed for our protection and our good, rather than as a curse.”

Remarkably, the Families with Children staff chose her CD “Testimony of Grace” as a Christmas gift to their preschool and elementary volunteers this past year, before Lauren ever considered applying for this job. Cathy sees it as the Lord’s preparing the volunteers for her role in the ministry.

“I want to come alongside the teachers and the volunteers and be of any assistance and support to them,” Lauren says. As she starts her new job, she emphasizes that “My first priority is really listening and seeing how things are being done. My understanding is that things are being done well, and we have a tremendous group of volunteers.”

The Families with Children staff has been working hard the past year to develop a strong team, Cathy says. “Now we’re really excited about having a balanced team with a variety of talents, and a pastor to lead the team.”

Cathy looks forward to Lauren’s involvement as the team leads familiar events, such as Backyard Bible Clubs, and develops new dimensions to FWCM this year, including more family dinners and programs like the Family Worship Primer in January.

Lauren looks past the lines of her job description to discern the main challenge: “I really think we’re in a battle for the hearts of the kids. The biggest challenge is not one that I can see, but it’s a spiritual battle.”

She mentioned a recent ministry meeting where the team discussed the topics of March’s parenting conference. Comparing today to 30 years ago, Lauren says, “It used to be that parents’ concerns were a bad attitude, or picking up wrong language at school, and now we’re dealing with self-destructive behaviors. And we’re sitting right in the middle of the Bible Belt in a very affluent part of the country, if not the world, and our kids, the kids in this church, are dealing with all of these things.”

“It’s an enormous opportunity, but an enormous responsibility at the same time, to do whatever we can do to defend this part of the Kingdom and to prepare the children not just to exist, but to thrive spiritually and to impact the world.”