A Stark Kids Family Affair

By Blaire Johnston

In the fall of 2013, Leah Frances Eaton decided to let college students serve on Wednesday evenings. We started with 3-5 college students, but now we have 45 college students currently serving today. These college students serve every week, showing up to share the Gospel, the love of Jesus, and be a consistent presence for the kids. Each week the leaders sing and dance to fun songs, teach new Bible verses and books of the Bible, and lead a Bible study. All of these rotations have games to help our kids better retain what they are learning. The interactive Bible studies and games make it a fun and positive environment, allowing them to grow in their knowledge of the Bible. The part I love most about this ministry is that the college students love this program just as much as the kids do. Many have told me it is their favorite day, their mid-week encouragement, and what they most look forward to while in Starkville. So what makes college students keep coming back? One of the most incredible parts of this ministry for me is seeing older siblings “recruiting” their younger siblings to serve in Stark Kids. My older brother encouraged me to serve, and I did the same with my younger brother, who has served the past three years. Another family with a similar story is the Frady bunch. My sweet friend from college, Rebecca (Frady) Reeves, began serving in August of 2016. She was followed by her younger siblings Emily, Jonathan, and Stephen, who still serve in Stark Kids today. I had the Frady bunch answer a few questions about this ministry. 

Why did you choose to serve in Stark Kids?

Rebecca:
I served in Stark Kids at the beginning of my senior year of college. Many of my friends did and told me about how much fun it was. I wanted the chance to be involved, so Stephen (my then-fiancé, now-husband) and I taught the “Books of the Bible” rotation. We loved engaging the kids in games and seeing their Bible knowledge grow throughout the semester. We loved adding extra layers to the games for competition and seeing their excitement over learning the correct order of the books of the Bible. We also loved it when the kids would encourage and help each other with the questions. Leah Frances and Blaire prepared so much beforehand that we could completely focus on building relationships with the kids. Our time spent at Stark Kids was so much more than just one hour on a Wednesday night – we built special relationships with the kids and their families that we still cherish to this day. Our time in Starkville would not have been the same without the influence of these children and their families.

Emily:
When I was a freshman, I didn’t do much to get involved in a church in Starkville. I attended a couple of different churches during my first semester, but it wasn’t until my second semester that I really began attending FBC consistently. Rebecca had told me about Stark Kids before, but I wasn’t quite ready to commit to that just yet. In my sophomore year, I finally realized how important it was to get involved in a local church, and I decided to try out Stark Kids. I fell in love with it instantly. I have loved getting to know each of the girls in my group and being able to see them grow over the years. It is such a joy to be a small part of their walks with Christ and watch them mature into such incredible young ladies.

What did your siblings tell you that made you want to serve in Stark Kids?

Emily:
I remember Rebecca telling me to try it out. She told me Stark Kids was a lot of fun and a great way to get to know the families of FBC, but I kind of dismissed the idea when I was a freshman. I wanted to do things my way and not follow the pack (my parents also attended and served at FBC when they were in school here). Boy, was I wrong! The community and service opportunities FBC offers is exactly the reason my entire family has attended church and served here over the years. I realized going into my sophomore year how important it was to be involved in a church while in school, so I made every effort to get Jonathan and Stephen involved with Stark Kids as early as possible. With Jonathan, I let him have a semester to adjust to being in college, but when Stephen came along, I just told him there’s no time like the present.

Jonathan:
If I can be honest, my sister Emily did not give me much of a choice to at least try serving in Stark Kids. She knew I would love it because of how much I love working with kids and that I just needed an extra push. Emily and Rebecca had both told me how much they loved and enjoyed serving in Stark Kids and encouraged me greatly to start serving the spring semester of my freshman year.

Stephen:
My siblings convinced me to join Stark Kids by talking about how much fun it is to teach the kids about God and building relationships with them. I was definitely unsure about joining at first because I did not know how my school schedule would look, but it has worked out for the best, and I have really enjoyed it.

Why have you continued to serve in Stark Kids?

Jonathan:
I have continued to serve in Stark Kids because of how much I enjoy teaching and being able to lead my kids closer and closer towards God. Not only that, but I enjoy the ability to develop a relationship with each one of my kids and just have fun playing games and teaching them more about Christ. When I first came to college, I knew I wanted to get involved in a local church, and Stark Kids has been an excellent way to do so.

Did Stark Kids impact your desire to serve in ministry? Did it help you realize the importance of being involved in the church?

Rebecca:
Stark Kids played a big factor in helping us realize how important the community of the church is. While in college, Nathan Taylor always provided amazing opportunities for college students to get involved in several different areas of the church. One of these was getting to know the families - Stark Kids was the embodiment of that advice for us. We saw the impact of having dedicated people serve consistently, and to us, that made Wednesday nights so much more fun because we knew who the kids were, their backstories, and what they love to do. So many families poured into Stephen and me while we lived in Starkville, and those families profoundly influenced our lives and marriage today. 

Emily:
Stark Kids has definitely opened my eyes to what it truly looks like to be involved in the church as an adult. My parents have taught Sunday School for as long as I can remember, but I don’t think I really grasped the concept of what that meant until I served in Stark Kids. It is so important to find that community and serve in a church wherever you are, and I only wish I had learned that sooner. Being a part of my girls’ lives and walks with Christ has been such a joy, and I cannot imagine my college years without it. 

Where are they now?

Rebecca:
Stephen and I live in Birmingham, AL, and have been married for almost four years. We have a two-year-old daughter named Mary Claire, who keeps our life exciting and adventurous! Stephen works as an Automation Engineer while I stay at home with Mary Claire. We are involved in Shades Mountain Baptist Church here in Birmingham, and we love getting to know the young college students who serve in the preschool ministry and babysit for us. I truly do not think we would understand the value of being as involved in a local church if it were not for FBC Starkville and Stark Kids.

Emily:
Currently, I am attending graduate school at Mississippi State, earning my Master of Professional Accountancy, and I am studying to take the CPA exam. I will be moving to Birmingham after graduation to begin working at a public accounting firm. I have also just adopted a puppy named Toby! I am so excited to have this little guy go with me wherever life takes us.