CHILDREN’S MINISTRY LEADERSHIP
The CDM Children’s Ministry Team brings a scope of godly, diverse servants with unity and love for one another. The vision that drives them as a team is to continue to maintain and grow a biblical strategy for encouraging and equipping teachers and volunteers.
Katie Flores
Children’s Ministry Coordinator
Katie Flores is Children’s Ministry Coordinator for the PCA’s Committee on Discipleship Ministries. Katie oversees the effort of CDM to connect and equip those who serve in discipleship ministry to children. She develops and reviews resources to help those who work with children and youth and conducts training for church leaders, staff, and volunteers.
Email: kflores@pcanet.org
Phone: 678-825-1140
Laney Stayton
Teach Us To Worship Coordinator
In one way or another, children’s ministry has always been a part of Laney Stayton’s life–starting as the child of a pastor and missionary, then through volunteering at her local church as a young adult, and now as a mom of three. After taking a quick detour as a certified shorthand reporter in Texas, the Lord called her to serve as the children’s ministry director of her church in Chattanooga, TN. After serving her church for almost 8 years, the Lord provided an opportunity for her to serve the PCA by becoming the program director for a new grant-funded program, Teach Us To Worship. She is excited about the opportunities her new role gives her to support churches and help them consider the Biblical call to worship as a covenant family!
Email: lstayton@pcanet.org
678-825-1154
Heather Dirkse
Teach Us To Worship Creative Assistant
Heather Dirkse is the Teach Me to Worship creative assistant. She will be working alongside other team members to enhance and create Teach Me to Worship resources that will equip church leaders and their families as they work to intentionally engage children in worship. She is excited to be a part of supporting and growing churches as they endeavor to give their children a lifelong connection to the covenant community of believers.
Email: hdirkse@pcanet.org
Bethany Belue
Children’s Ministry Communications
Bethany Belue is on staff with CDM serving in various roles within Children’s Ministry. Before coming on staff at CDM, she served as the Children’s Director at Redeemer PCA in New York City and Oak Mountain PCA in Birmingham, AL. She currently lives in Mobile, AL with her husband, Dustin, who is the assistant pastor at Grace Community Church PCA. Bethany and Dustin love investing in the next generation from small children to young adults. Life is full with their 2 young children, Patterson and Neely.
Email: bbelue@pcanet.org
Children’s Ministry Team
Jimmy Brock has been involved in children’s ministry since he was a child himself, serving churches in Virginia, California, Missouri, and Georgia as a Sunday school teacher, camp counselor, camp director, nursery coordinator, and Pastor of Family Ministry. In 2017, he added church planting to his children’s ministry portfolio and now serves as pastor of Resurrection Community Church in Virginia Beach, VA.
Email: jimmy@resurrectionvb.org
Current Residence: Virginia Beach, VA
Justin Huensch is serving as the Pastor of Next Generation Ministries at Chesterfield Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, MO. He is passionate about reaching the next generations with the amazing grace of God, the relational connection of the body of Christ, and the purposeful calling of the gospel in their lives. Justin and his wife Emily have three wonderful children.
Email: justinh@chespres.org
Current Residence: St. Louis, MO
Sherry Kendrick serves as the Family Ministry Director of Covenant Church of Naples in Naples, FL where she has been for 15 years. She has a degree in elementary education from East Tennessee State University and over 40 years of experience in children’s ministry as well as homeschool, private school and public-school education. She loves children’s curriculums and tends to collect them. Sherry was married to her pastor husband, Mike, for 36 years serving in both small and large churches. As a widow, she continues to serve the church and has three grown children and three grandchildren.
Email: sherry.kendrick@covenantnaples.com
Current Residence: Naples, FL
Joe Parker is serving as Family Pastor at Atlanta Westside Presbyterian Church. For the past 30 years he has served in church plants to large size churches, from inner city to suburban settings. He has a passion for relationally engaging both our covenant as well as our community families with the gospel, equipping adults to disciple our next generation in such a way they grow to become Christ-changed, hope-filled, productive adults. Joe is head over heels in love with his wife Kelly for over 20 years, and are parents of their adopted boys Jacob and Makiah.
Email: joseph@atlantawestside.org
Current Residence: Atlanta, GA
Dana Russell has been a member of Christ the King Church in Cambridge, MA for 25 years and has volunteered in the children’s ministry since its beginnings when the first children were born into the congregation. Her early years of service were spent on the nursery committee and teaching Sunday School at multiple grade levels. Dana has served as the Children’s Ministry Director since 2013 and is passionate about equipping teachers and parents in guiding and growing children in faith. She and her husband, Greg, an elder at CTK, have raised three daughters now in college and beyond.
Email: dana@ctkcambridge.org
Current Residence: Boston, MA
Jeanette C. Simpson serves as the Director of Children’s Ministry at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC, and is also a member of the PCA CDM Children’s Ministry Leadership Team. Jeanette has led preschool and children’s ministries for over two decades. She has an MDiv from LAMP Theological Seminary and is a CDM Children’s Ministry Certification Program alum (2019). She is blessed to be married to her best friend and life-long ministry partner, Roger. Jeanette loves and lives by Colossians 3:17!
Email: jeanette@sapc.net
Current Residence: Gilbert, SC
B.A. Snider has more than 20 years’ experience as a children’s director in PCA churches ranging in size from 200 to 4,000 but finds her passion is the same no matter how many children she’s serving or teaching about Jesus. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee and taught college until the Lord called her to seminary and full-time ministry. She graduated with a master’s degree in Christian Education from Columbia International University. Speaking at conferences, consulting with leadership, and training teachers brought her to Great Commission Publications in 2014 as the Children’s Ministry Consultant and Marketing Director.
Email: ba.snider@gcp.org
Current Residence: Buford, GA
Laura Tucker is the Children’s Ministry Director at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, AL. Laura grew up in the church and spent many summers there and at camp preparing her for a children’s ministry full of fun activities and time in God’s Word. Laura served as the nursery director before her role over preschool and elementary students. She is married and has three children who keep her involved in volunteer ministry to the youth as well. She enjoys time at the lake, playing tennis and cheering on the Dawgs.
Email: ltucker@covpres.com
Current Residence: Birmingham, AL
Saralyn Tyler currently serves as the Director of Children’s Ministry at Christ Church Toronto in Ontario, Canada. God has given Saralyn a passion for sharing the gospel with children, encouraging and supporting families, and in helping to encourage others serving in Children’s Ministry. She has served in established churches, a church revitalization, and a church plant, in urban, inner-city, suburban, and remote rural areas. Saralyn has led Sunday school, mid-week clubs, summer camps and conferences. Saralyn is a CDM Alumnus from the Class of 2019.
Email: saralyn@christchurchtoronto.ca
Current Residence: Toronto, Canada
Lisa Updike is the Director of Children’s Ministries at Covenant in Harrisonburg, VA and doesn’t remember a day when she didn’t love Jesus. Her ministry experience includes teaching, special education, leading children’s choirs, and writing. Several of her books and curriculum are available through the PCA bookstore. She and her husband, Kevin, have been married since 1989 and are blessed with 4 adult children, 3 of whom joined their family through adoption. Lisa and Kevin stay busy with church activities, creating art, and best of all, doting on their two grandsons.
Email: lisa@cov-pres.org
Current Residence: Harrisonburg, VA
Christy Villhauer became the Director of Children’s Ministry at Grace Community Presbyterian Church in 2017, and she started as the Administrator in 2022. Before that she served as the Nursery Director for a few years as well. Christy loves to come alongside parents in discipling their children and equipping them to lead their children to love and know Jesus. Prior to having children, Christy was a high school Spanish teacher for five years. Christy and her husband, Dan, live in Mechanicsville, VA with their three daughters. In her spare time, Christy enjoys traveling, cooking, running, and spending time with family and friends.
Email: christy@gcpres.org
Current Residence: Mechanicsville, VA