At Redeeming Grace Church, we believe the church is not a building, it’s people serving together to glorify God. We regularly highlight a volunteer or staff member who serves with RGC because they make everything we do possible!
Today we want to introduce you to David and Shannon Bastian!
What volunteer roles are you involved in within RGC?
Shannon: I teach the two-year-old Sunday school class. I started out by volunteering as a helper to learn from other teachers before I started teaching. We also host our Community Group.
David: I serve on the Finance Advisory Committee and lead a Community Group.
How did God lead you to be involved in those areas?
Shannon: Growing up I had wonderful Sunday school teachers who invested in me and took the opportunity to disciple the next generation through that small window of time on Sunday mornings. In my years helping young children, I've seen they have an amazing ability to learn Bible stories, songs, verses, and simple catechisms. When I had my second daughter, I wanted to do more to help with the discipleship of the children in the church, so I decided to start teaching my oldest daughter's class. God has continued to encourage my heart when kids get excited about the songs, stories, or activities we do.
David: I first got involved in the Finance Team while at Sojourn as I'm one of those rare people that enjoy moving numbers around in excel. One particular way I enjoyed serving was an elective class we ran at Sojourn about God & Money. I want to be able to use my interest in finances to help serve those who find it less "fun". I enjoyed being part of the financial deliberations through uniting as one church and continuing to work on ad-hoc projects for the RGC finance team.
For our Community Group, my heart is to have discussions that help unpack the sermon material and prepare our hearts to learn on Sundays. Our group discusses the upcoming sermon text to gain context ahead of the message. I also enjoy bi-weekly opportunities for the men and women to fellowship outside of our normal group times.
How did God lead you to be involved in those areas?
Shannon: Growing up I had wonderful Sunday school teachers who invested in me and took the opportunity to disciple the next generation through that small window of time on Sunday mornings. In my years helping young children, I've seen they have an amazing ability to learn Bible stories, songs, verses, and simple catechisms. When I had my second daughter, I wanted to do more to help with the discipleship of the children in the church, so I decided to start teaching my oldest daughter's class. God has continued to encourage my heart when kids get excited about the songs, stories, or activities we do.
David: I first got involved in the Finance Team while at Sojourn as I'm one of those rare people that enjoy moving numbers around in excel. One particular way I enjoyed serving was an elective class we ran at Sojourn about God & Money. I want to be able to use my interest in finances to help serve those who find it less "fun". I enjoyed being part of the financial deliberations through uniting as one church and continuing to work on ad-hoc projects for the RGC finance team.
For our Community Group, my heart is to have discussions that help unpack the sermon material and prepare our hearts to learn on Sundays. Our group discusses the upcoming sermon text to gain context ahead of the message. I also enjoy bi-weekly opportunities for the men and women to fellowship outside of our normal group times.
How have you seen God at work in our church community?
Shannon: I have been so encouraged by the congregation's enthusiasm to be in community on Sunday mornings. I love meeting new people or catching up with friends during the greeting time, and I have felt God's love through so many of these short interactions. God's love pursues us and I have literally been chased in order to be asked how I was doing and that was such a testament of God's love for me that day.
David: I have seen God working through the For The Nations' effort to bring people into the church that would otherwise never have made it there. The staff has been investing not only those hours in the families but integrating them into their efforts to serve with their whole lives. I have also loved seeing the fruit coming from the Christianity Explored group and have been encouraged to pursue neighbors that don't know the gospel.
Could you tell us some interesting facts about you?
Shannon: I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and moved to the area when I married my husband. We now have two daughters who are 3 years old and 1.5 years old, and have a son due in early June. I've enjoyed helping in childcare at For the Nations and recently gotten to use my very limited Arabic with one of the children. An interesting fact about us is that my husband and I love having people over after our kids' bedtime to play board games.
David: Shannon and I had a heart to start growing our family through adoption, and we hope to adopt again in the future. I love playing ultimate frisbee and street hockey, and I once won Super Bowl tickets from an Old Spice Facebook competition. I also post a bunch of nerdy finance stuff on Twitter @kingdomcapadv
Could you tell us some interesting facts about you?
Shannon: I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and moved to the area when I married my husband. We now have two daughters who are 3 years old and 1.5 years old, and have a son due in early June. I've enjoyed helping in childcare at For the Nations and recently gotten to use my very limited Arabic with one of the children. An interesting fact about us is that my husband and I love having people over after our kids' bedtime to play board games.
David: Shannon and I had a heart to start growing our family through adoption, and we hope to adopt again in the future. I love playing ultimate frisbee and street hockey, and I once won Super Bowl tickets from an Old Spice Facebook competition. I also post a bunch of nerdy finance stuff on Twitter @kingdomcapadv