Partners in Ministry
B Y   B A R B A R A   T O L L

ine-year-old Julia Spohrer sat in an ice cream shop somewhere in Colorado, listening as her father and a friend discussed their dreams of a different kind of seminary to serve the East Coast. “Having such a seminary in the east will take a miracle as big as the Red Sea,” the friend said. She will never forget his words, because that very miracle happened when Seminary of the East (now Bethel Seminary of the East) was born.

Indeed, Spohrer thinks of that encounter as the beginning of her own miracle story. Not only was her father, Andy Spohrer, a founding board member of the innovative, church-based, “take theological education to the students” seminary, but now she is slated to teach an online family ministry course next spring for Bethel Seminary’s Master of Arts in Children’s and Family Ministry program.

“Theological knowledge is needed, not to have all the answers, but to help people find the answers,” Spohrer says. “A church’s ministry staff must equip leaders to teach the children. A theological education gives staff members the confidence to go to Scripture and help leaders think things through for themselves.” As director of family and children’s ministries at Valley Community Baptist Church (VCBC) in Avon, Connecticut, Spohrer has much to offer her future students from her experience and expertise. “I want to paint a vision of what family can look like,” she explains.

Partnering with parents

Spohrer sees her job at VCBC as one of empowering and training people to do what God has called them to do. She emphasizes that it is not the church’s job merely to teach children about spirituality. Rather, the church should partner with parents in teaching their children. “The doctrine of the ‘priesthood of believers’ is important to me,” she says. “God gifts each person to serve in the body of Christ for the purpose of building up His church and glorifying Him.”

But for Spohrer it’s not just about formal meetings and training sessions for teachers and leaders. “The informal process is very important too!” she says. Leading small group brainstorming sessions over coffee, encouraging workers with personal visits to their homes, photocopying an article that affirms what someone is already doing in ministry—all are examples of what Spohrer considers essential to the ongoing equipping process.

Julia’s kids Children at Valley Community Baptist Church benefit from Spohrer’s “partnering with parents” philosophy.

Spohrer wants the church to “see children as part of today, not just tomorrow.” “Children don’t get a junior-sized Holy Spirit,” she heard one conference speaker observe. “They get the same Holy Spirit we do.” One way she involves children in today’s church is to have each class adopt a church missionary. Children correspond with their missionaries regularly and get to know them as real people. In addition, a three-day “missions camp” lets children experience different cultures, food, and languages. They learn that they, too, can be missionaries.

Other facets of the children’s ministry at VCBC include Sunday morning classes and a Tuesday night club, all designed to connect students with God, His Word, their teachers, and with each other—and ultimately to apply scriptural truths to their lives. The church’s annual Summer Bible Club is widely known throughout the surrounding community; often the event provides a first contact for families who are new to VCBC. In fact, many families have become active at VCBC as a direct result of Summer Bible Club.

Making room for ministry

Spohrer considers it one of her greatest challenges to help families make room to actively partner with the church in the spiritual nurturing of their children. “I see people frazzled and worn out trying to do so many good things, but somehow they still appear to be overwhelmed with life in general,” she says. “The children sense this, of course. The challenge is to create a place for people to serve one another and serve the children by teaching and loving them, and by helping and encouraging the moms and dads to choose what is best for them and their families.”

Bethel Seminary of the East began holding some of its classes at VCBC in 2001. Soon, Spohrer will teach in conjunction with the very seminary about which she heard so much as a child. “I grew up watching faith work to dream big dreams for God,” she says, “and I want to pass that faith on to children.” •

A student at Bethel Seminary of the East, Barbara Toll plans to enroll in Bethel’s Master of Arts in Children’s and Family Ministry program in the fall of 2003. Having attended VCBC when she lived in Connecticut, Toll is familiar with Julia Spohrer’s ministry there. “Julia has been a great encouragement to me as I look forward to future classes,” Toll says. “I will be excited to have her as one of my teachers.”