Life is so dynamic, and every day opens and closes a new chapter of experiences in our lives. A new year also brings it’s own fresh pages — pages God gives us to create new stories, pages we can erase and overwrite old mistakes because of His grace and faithfulness to us.

I have just finished my year as Children’s Ministry Leader at Hellshire Seventh day Adventist Church and I am truly humbled and grateful that God chose me to watch over his children for the past 12 months. I will miss my Primary Sabbath School group as well. I’ve decided not to teach a class in 2015 but the memories we made together downstairs the Hellshire Church in our tiny Children’s room, me and my bundle of the smartest, sweetest set of children ever will bring a smile to my face in days to come.

I will never forget Jordan, Jonathan, JDen, Malik, Brianna, Kyle and Britannyea. We had a whale of a time praising and learning of God this year. I will also miss my kindergarteners and my energetic, super talented group of juniors and earliteens who come to seek God’s word every Sabbath, who willingly honour God through their singing ministry and participation on the Children’s choir and in the various activities and adventures we shared in 2014: Children Ministries Devotions, Children’s Prayer and Fasting Service, Thirteenth Sabbath Memory Verse Recitals, Children’s Story Time, our Sunbeam Home Mission Trip, Children Sabbaths and Children’s Week of Prayer. You shone as brightly as the stars because you let Jesus’ into your hearts. Continue to shine your lights.

This year, I have been invited to take on broader responsibilities as Children Ministries Zone Leader with oversight of nine churches in my home city of Portmore, St Catherine. I will also serve on the Children Ministries Advisory Council chaired by Sis Claudia Bailey, Children and Adolescent Ministries Director of Central Jamaica Conference of Seventh Day Adventists. I am excited about the work to be done in the field and working with a equally enthusiastic team of leaders in the Portmore based churches, namely Tent City SDA, Braeton, Hellshire, Portmore, Newlands, Greater Portmore, Gregory Park, Waterford and Clifton.

I love children. I have a burden to help them know Jesus and live like Christ. I really believe that ministry leaders must give 100 percent to the Lord, and challenge myself to do this daily, so much that I have been called a perfectionist. Nevertheless, I thank God for His grace that I can fall short and He still loves me.

Because it is so important to our young charges, as a children ministry leader, I am always aware of the need to walk in righteousness,  and not just talk the the talk. Over the last year, I have learned how important it is to lead and follow at the same time, understanding that being called to serve is not about me, but about God working His perfect plan for souls through me. I am proud to be that vessel which God wants to use to get his children to glorify His name. It is my pledge to remain undaunted in the face of the the many frustrations, stresses, discouragement that inevitably comes along with the job of serving others in the church, and to finish the work that He has started in me.

Children Ministries blogger, Karen Taylor Bennett

When I am not doing church work, I am a trained English teacher by profession, and have worked as a print journalist in the past. I am also a newbie blogger. My dream is to devote more time to writing usable and inspiring faith-based information products, the type that reignites faith, passion and enthusiasm to tackle church ministry.What else can I say about me? I have an inquiring mind and am a voracious reader. The Internet has become my  new book shelf. I would spend every waking minute reading if I could. There is so much to learn.

In case you haven’t yet figured it out, I am a Jamaican. I reside in Portmore, St Catherine. I am married with one daughter, Gabrielle.

To contact me, send an email to

• taylor-karen@hotmail.com, or
• gee4214@gmail.com

For more information on how you can share your ministry’s story on my blog,  see this page