"I am not a person who particularly enjoys being up front. I hosted the Sunday morning announcements a few times in the early days of Harvest and honestly, I dreaded it. Being up on stage is not my thing.

But I soon realized that doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways I can serve. Growing up, I watched my parents form deep friendships by serving others. They constantly opened their home for small group, neighbors, youth group, missionaries and anyone passing through town who needed a bed. They’ve blessed hundreds of people with kindness and hospitality or by connecting them with someone who could meet their needs. I’ve always admired how they used their gifts to serve others. It’s not flashy and they don’t see their names in lights, but the list of people they’ve served is very long.

When we started attending Harvest, the church was just getting ready to launch small groups. Since we live so close by, our house seemed like a natural place to meet, so Matt and I offered to host a group. Five years later, we’re still going and some of the best friendships we’ve made have come through this group. To this day, it amazes me that so many people would spend their Thursday nights hanging out with us instead of all the other things there are to do around DC. We get complimented for our hospitality even though I feel like our house is a mess half the time. God keeps doing great things in our group and trust me, it’s not because the bathrooms are so clean!

I also use my gifts to help manage the church finances. I’m a CPA by vocation, so it’s nice to use my skills to serve in that way. We’ve had some tough stretches as a church family, but I can tell you first-hand that God has been faithful and continues to bless us. Lastly, I seem to have developed a knack for connecting people to opportunities within our church. One young couple joined our small group a few years ago and the wife mentioned she was looking for a job. When I learned she was interested in health care, I connected her with a friend who runs a business in that field. She ended up working there for two years.

You likely won’t see me on stage very often but that doesn’t mean I’m not serving. I just like it better behind the scenes. Thankfully, there are lots of opportunities there, too."