Jessica Springer will join the denominational team of the Evangelical Covenant Church as the new director of children and family. She will serve alongside other staff with Serve Locally, working to strategize, develop, and lead discipleship resources, programs, and initiatives to promote spiritual growth for ministry teams working with children and families in Covenant churches and ministry partners. Jessica has more than two decades of experience doing pastoral work with children and family ministries, including more than ten years serving Community Covenant Church in Lenexa, Kansas. She also has experience in publishing curriculum for children, both with Foundry Publishing as well as being a contributor to the Covenant Kids Helping Kids curriculum.
“Investing and nurturing the next generation is of vital importance,” said Jessica via email. “I’m excited about advocating and developing stronger discipleship pathways for our children and families, integrating a holistic formation that weaves together emotional, physical, social, and spiritual growth while also providing contextual opportunities that engage everyday living. I’m motivated to help children and families move beyond a cognitive, head-knowledge understanding of faith to an embodied faith where they grow in awareness of God’s grace and are equipped and empowered to be disciples who make disciples.”
Paul Robinson, executive minister of Serve Locally, said, “Jessica is a seasoned practitioner in the children and family ministries space. She is a lifelong learner, educator, trainer, and facilitator committed to growing the field and leveraging best practices for this generation of young people. As a Covenant pastor, Jessica is familiar with who we are and will hit the ground running. We’re very excited she is joining the team!”
Jessica earned a fine arts degree from the North Carolina School of the Arts and a both a master of arts in Christian education and a master of divinity degree from Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. She has served as an adjunct professor at MidAmerica Nazarene University, teaching on subjects related to children’s discipleship and Christian education. An ordained Covenant pastor, she has served regionally on the board of the Midwest Conference and locally as a speaker, workshop leader, and trainer.
Jessica and her family will be relocating to Chicago from their home in Kansas. Her start date is August 18.
