SUNDAY SCHOOL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Contributor for Ministry - to - Children
Bethany Darwin is our lead curriculum developer. Bethany Darwin spent 20 years working full time in children's ministry before recently coming home to raise her son.
During her years in children's ministry, Bethany discovered gaps in available curriculum and often struggled to find curriculum that worked in her church setting. It was this discovery that awakened a passion in her for writing children's ministry curriculum.
Bethany is a regular contributor for Ministry-to-children and you can find many resources of hers there. You can connect with Bethany through Facebook at ‘Treasure Trunk Books' or on IG at ‘Treasure_Trunk_Kids.' On these pages she shares articles and resources for families as well as what she is doing to point her little one to Christ. You can also find other resources of hers there.
Bethany is a graduate of Samford University (B.A. 1997) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.A. in Christian Education, 2000). Bethany is a member of Faith Bible Church in Naples, Florida where she serves in children's ministry.
Estherline Dessime is our fulfillment director and wife to our editor, Tony Kummer. She was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Even with a difficult life, she maintained a desire to help others - especially children. She is the mother of one daughter. Creole is her native language, but she is also fluent in French. She immigrated to America in 2018 and has founded a private Christian daycare.
Jessa McClure is a curriculum writer, who serves as the Children's Ministry Coordinator at The Well church in Moody, TX. She is married to the Executive Pastor of the church and they have three children and are also foster parents. She is passionate about making Biblical knowledge fun and accessible to children and making Sunday school a fun, impactful experience.
Jessa's professional background is in Journalism and early education. She is a graduate of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, TX and holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. She grew up in Arlington, TX and has spent the last 15 years in Central Texas. Jessa and her family love to travel and spend each summer or spring break on week-long road trips. They are hoping to visit all 50 states by the time their oldest daughter goes to college.
Kristin Schmidt is a curriculum writer, who serves at the Epiphany Lutheran Church in Castle Rock, CO. She has shared her teaching gifts through Ministry-To-Children since 2014 and now serves as our lead curriculum writer.
Kristin is passionate about creatively communicating Christ's love to people of all ages. She wants to help others understand how powerful and exciting God's Word is.
Kristin has a professional background in elementary and pre-school education. A graduate of Biola University, she holds a Master of Education and will receive the Master of Theology degree from Concordia University, Irvine, California, in May 2020. Kristin grew up in southern California and lived the past 10 years in Georgia. She is a long-distance runner and voracious reader.
Mandy Groce provides our coloring pages. She's a full-time mom, home school parent, and visual artist from Kentucky. We're still working on writing the nice paragraph for her. Check back soon.
Tara Tegard writes Sunday School curriculum. She lives in sunny New Mexico, where she enjoys homeschooling two young boys, baking for her husband's coworkers, and occasionally going on runs. She has worked in children's ministry for about fifteen years, from preschool age through the youth group. Tara started writing Sunday school curriculum out of a need she saw for relevant, age-appropriate lessons on deep, Biblical topics. She has been writing since the age of six, and writing for Ministry-To-Children since 2009.
Tony is a graduate of Boyce Bible College (B.A. 2003) and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.A. in Children Education, 2008). He served as full-time children's pastor in a smaller church for 10 years before following a call to mission work in Haiti.