After much prayer, and in response to the young families with children God was sending Hillcrest, the church launched a Children’s Ministry Exploratory committee to determine how best to meet this expanding ministry need.  Made up of parents from the church, the group visited and consulted with colleges, children ’s pastors, and churches from a number of denominations, from Minnesota to Georgia over the course of almost two years, regarding what raising Hillcrest’s already active children’s ministry programs to a new level might look like. 

Seeking to supplement Hillcrest Christian Preschool, midweek AWANA  and Vacation Bible School programs, the church decided to search for a full time children’s pastor. The months long process included reviewing several dozen applications from around the country, and interviewing a score of candidates and their references, prior to bringing several candidates to Jamestown for “look- see” visits.  Such weekends provided the candidates the opportunity to tour the greater Jamestown area and get a feel for both the church and the challenge of the position, while the search group assessed their skills in developing and implementing a lesson plan as well as watched them interact with children. 

Calling it “a step of faith toward Hillcrest’s fulfilling its vision of providing hope to our community”, Deacon John Watkins announced that the church has called Ms. Sarah Anderson to the newly created position of Associate Pastor of Family Ministry – Children.  A graduate of Cedarville University, Anderson holds a degree in youth ministry and has considerable experience in having worked with children of all ages at Lake Ann Camp (Michigan), one of the country’s largest, nationally recognized nondenominational, year round youth camps.  “Sarah’s ministry will be to come alongside parents in helping them to raise their children to make right choices in an increasingly materialistic world,” said Search Committee member Paula Beach.  “Our culture offers a lot of temptations and we’re confident parents will feel comfortable with entrusting their children to Sarah’s care for helping them to learn healthy character qualities.“

An accomplished pianist and vocalist, Anderson met her husband Tyler while both toured with Cedarville University’s traveling music team, “Heart Song”.  Senior Pastor, Jerry McCann shared how after the church vote to call Ms. Anderson, one of the church’s senior members commented, “I’m proud to be a part of Hillcrest. Kids today need every break they can get and God will bless us for this.”

Hillcrest is located at the corner of Hallock Street and Newland Avenue and offers both Traditional and Contemporary Sunday morning worship services and middle and high school youth ministry programs under the direction of Justin Joyner, Associate Pastor of Family Ministry – Youth.  Call the church at 483-3331  for more details.