Strengthening the church through connection
Spring 2022
As PCA churches are adapting ministry to a post-pandemic environment, CDM seeks to provide opportunities for leaders to pursue Word-based and relationally-driven discipleship after the “relational wilderness” of pandemic lockdowns. Visit the CDM website for a list of upcoming opportunities to gather for training and encouragement. Contact our office to schedule a training or consultation for your church or presbytery.
PEOPLE
Meet Katie Flores, CDM’s New Children’s Ministry Coordinator
At the March meeting of the CDM permanent committee, former CM Coordinator Sue Jakes passed the baton of leadership to Katie Flores. Katie has served in various roles at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Birmingham. She is a 2020 graduate of the CDM Certification program and helped plan the 2019 Established-Birmingham Regional Conference for Children’s Ministry.
Katie says, “My favorite rooms of the church have children in them. It is such a joy to listen to them share about what they enjoy and build relationships with them. Their trusting faith is such an encouragement to me.”
Katie will lead CDM’s ministry to children from Birmingham where her husband Bryan serves as an administrator for the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB). God has blessed them with two children, Caleb (16) and Grace Anne (10).
“I’m so thankful for the ways CDM seeks to encourage and equip those ministering in the local church.” — Katie
CDM Offers New Ministry to Wives of Elders
WE is a new ministry initiative under CDM to connect, serve, and strengthen the wives of PCA ruling and teaching elders.
WE is a relational hub, gathering women for encouragement and equipping them with resources to navigate their unique roles in the church. Our prayer is God’s Spirit will strengthen ministry wives (Eph. 3:16), which will strengthen ministry marriages, and in turn, strengthen the ministry of the local church.
WE cohorts provide a biblical foundation for understanding the role(s) of an elder’s wife, as well as opportunities for mutual encouragement. Amy Jung, the wife of a teaching elder, remarked, “The highlight of the cohort for me was having a taste of connection to other wives so that I am not just trying to survive, but am remembering the indicative, God’s truth, so I can better live out the imperative.”
Meet Meaghan May
PCA Elders’ Wives Liaison
Meaghan longs to help other women live in the light of the gospel in their current season of life and ministry. On the CDM Women’s Ministry Team, Meaghan was the Northeast Regional Advisor. She also has been a trainer for Parakaleo. For 20 years she has served in ministry to all generations, including those with special needs. She has been a retreat speaker, conference planner, coach, and wife of a church planter. Meaghan and her husband Paul have 5 children.
The 2022 Love Gift Legacy will fund this ministry to WIVES OF ELDERS. Join CDM in this new ministry initiative. Go to www.pcacdm.org/wm-love-gift
CDM’s Ministry Impact
Children’s Ministry Certification
“Certification has enabled me to articulate why we do children’s ministry and develop skills to communicate how to equip the next generation with the gospel. The curriculum, mentorship, and engagement with other like-minded CDM leaders help connect my ideas to the theological commitments of the PCA.”
— Irene Lee, New Life PC, Escondido, CA
Women’s Ministry
“The humility of the teachers at Leadership Training was so refreshing. I chose workshops in light of my own awareness of personal frailty and weakness. I was so encouraged and refreshed by remembering that abiding in Jesus is foundational.”
— Shannon Fields, Bethlehem, PA
Nextgen Ministry
“Student ministry is not just looking at your job description and doing it. It is looking at how God is at work in His church through a lot of people. You need to hop on that train and begin empowering and discipling those people, recognizing and celebrating them.”
— Willis Weatherford on PCA Nextgen podcast, Christ the King PC, Houston, TX
Liturgy Collective
“Through the services and seminars, I was given a better understanding of the challenges my worship leader faces, and he was given a more robust vision of worship from across our denomination. Both our church and our relationship will be blessed because we attended the Liturgy Collective together.”
— Sean Sawyers, Lead Pastor, Sycamore PC, Midlothian, VA
SPRING 2022 UPDATE
RESOURCES
PCA Summer Women’s Bible Study, June 10-July 15, 2022
Breathe: The Life-giving Oxygen of the Lord’s Prayer by Karen Hodge
CDM invites you to gather a group to study, pray, and live out the Lord’s Prayer together. How do these petitions shape our homes, work, church, and community? Join with others to explore how our position in Christ impacts our posture in prayer. This six-week study will include teaching videos, along with a study and prayer journal.
The book is available at PCA Bookstore.
Also available is a downloadable children’s curriculum
Building on the Lord’s Prayer by Heather Molendyk
This digital curriculum can be used with children at home, in church, or in small groups. It was designed to accompany the women’s Bible study, Each week highlights a portion of the Lord’s Prayer. The lessons guide the study and prayers of parent and child through a devotional thought, a Bible lesson, an activity suitable for the entire family, and a journal section for the child to record prayers during the week.
Frog’s Rainy Day Story curriculum
Based on the award-winning children’s book Frog’s Rainy Day Story and Other Fables by Michael and Sarah Dowling, this 8-week curriculum was written by Lisa Updike, Director of Children’s Ministry at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg, VA. The subscription-based digital curriculum published by CDM provides: access to videos of the fables comparing the wisdom of the world with the wisdom of God; corresponding Bible lessons; skits and crafts; and teacher “At-a-glance” guide sheets.
Published by CDM and available at FrogsRainyDayLessons.com.
More great books and Bible studies are available from pcabookstore.com
