At Redeeming Grace Church, we believe the church is not a building, it’s people serving together to glorify God. Every month, we will highlight a volunteer or staff member who serves with RGC because they make everything we do possible!
Today we want to introduce you to Kevin and Sarah Cooner!
What volunteer roles are you involved in within RGC?
Kevin: "Co-coordinator for Hypothermia Prevention Week (HYPO)"
Sarah: "HYPO co-coordinator and Deacon of Mercy (benevolence requests)"
How did God lead you to be involved in those areas?
Kevin: "Commuting into DC for work exposed me to the homeless population in the area and the Lord used that to convict me. The Lord opened the door for me to join a brother at Sojourn for our first year of HYPO. I've been continually blessed every year and continue to help coordinate for our involvement with the program."
Sarah: "God placed the homeless on my heart when I lived in Florida post college. When I moved to Fairfax in 2016 I looked for a church that had an active homeless ministry. Sojourn was taking a break from HYPO that year so I volunteered with another church's group at the Lamb Center. I was invited to join the Mercy Team at Sojourn in 2017 and started helping plan 2018 HYPO shortly thereafter. The benevolence requests kind of fell to me after the Kruzceks left Sojourn last year. I enjoy how the benevolence requests generally involve longer term relationships. People are genuinely so thankful. One woman who received assistance actually came to our wedding :)"
How have you been blessed by our church community?
Kevin: "It's always great to see community groups and individuals come and serve at HYPO week. The guests are always very appreciative of how our church shows love for them and volunteers come away from their shifts with new perspectives to grow from."
Sarah: "I feel like I have been the most blessed by our church community through the Grief Share program. Even though I participated in Grief Share at RGC before the merger, I felt very blessed by the caring people there. The friendships I formed there 3.5 years ago still mean a lot to me. A more recent example is I see God at work every year during HYPO. Every year there are enough meals and volunteers. This year we actually had more than two times as many volunteers than guests most evenings. "
Could you tell us some interesting facts about you?
Kevin: "I'm a martial arts enthusiast as well as an avid video gamer. Fun fact: I'm still driving the same truck I learned to drive in when I was 15. It has over 241K miles on it and I intend to at least get to 300K on it."
Sarah: "I like to balance reading fiction and nonfiction books (hit me up for recommendations), play tennis, and play with our puppy Ginny. Interesting facts: Kevin and I just got married! Ice cream and brownies are my favorite desserts. I have 3 siblings and we're all super close in age. We are spread out across the country from California to Virginia and in the middle (Michigan and Indiana)."
How have you been blessed by our church community?
Kevin: "It's always great to see community groups and individuals come and serve at HYPO week. The guests are always very appreciative of how our church shows love for them and volunteers come away from their shifts with new perspectives to grow from."
Sarah: "I feel like I have been the most blessed by our church community through the Grief Share program. Even though I participated in Grief Share at RGC before the merger, I felt very blessed by the caring people there. The friendships I formed there 3.5 years ago still mean a lot to me. A more recent example is I see God at work every year during HYPO. Every year there are enough meals and volunteers. This year we actually had more than two times as many volunteers than guests most evenings. "
Could you tell us some interesting facts about you?
Kevin: "I'm a martial arts enthusiast as well as an avid video gamer. Fun fact: I'm still driving the same truck I learned to drive in when I was 15. It has over 241K miles on it and I intend to at least get to 300K on it."
Sarah: "I like to balance reading fiction and nonfiction books (hit me up for recommendations), play tennis, and play with our puppy Ginny. Interesting facts: Kevin and I just got married! Ice cream and brownies are my favorite desserts. I have 3 siblings and we're all super close in age. We are spread out across the country from California to Virginia and in the middle (Michigan and Indiana)."