Kelly’s first experience in an SRE classroom left her feeling quite daunted by the thought of teaching a classroom of students herself. But her passion to see all students be given the opportunity to question, explore, and discover who Jesus is, over time, outweighed the overwhelmed feeling.
Kelly grew up attending Epping Presbyterian Church, with a steady faith throughout her schooling. However, it wasn’t until her early 20’s where God grew in her a desire to serve others. Her vocation at the time was in social work and special education, which created a helpful and valued perspective on her work when she became the Children’s Ministry Worker at Epping in 2008 and only recently finished up.
When reflecting on her desire to teach SRE, Kelly shares, “I moved out to Wagga Wagga a short while before beginning my role at Epping, and I really just became convinced that God wanted me to serve in kids ministry, with a particular passion for kids with special needs and I knew part of that would be SRE, so I got trained up.”
So, she proceeded to study at Sydney Missionary & Bible College in Sydney, and specifically for SRE get thoroughly trained up by the deaconess at her church with all the training material and ongoing support from her as Kelly began teaching.
“The training materials are a really helpful foundation of principles for SRE teaching. I think a large part of the concrete learning happens when you step into the classroom and really try to apply what you’ve learnt and then reflect on how you could do it differently next time. So, it was extremely valuable to me to have our deaconess supporting me as I begun”
Kelly later took on the role of SRE Coordinator for the schools in her region. As part of this Kelly “communicates with the schools to understand how SRE is set up, how many classes and students, negotiates the time for classes and then finds teachers for the classes.”
Kelly’s particular passion to see all students, regardless of their physical, intellectual, social or other needs, have the opportunity to learn about God, has led her to the unique opportunity of teaching SRE at a school for students with special needs.
“I love to see these students having the same opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus that all students should have. There is a lot of joy in the small things – seeing the students respond to the truth that Jesus loves them, the excitement that music, bubbles and ribbons can bring, and the building of relationship where the student can sense the care and concern of their Lord through the care and concern that the SRE teachers have for them.
“In one of my classes, there was a student who required some extra support. At the beginning of the year, he sat at the back of the room playing with toys with a support worker. About halfway through the year, he was sitting with us and starting to join in the group activities and songs. During the activity book time one week, I said, ‘Jesus loves _____’ and he looked at me with the biggest smile I had ever seen from him.”
When considering the recent threats to the tax-deductibility status of SRE in NSW schools, Kelly shares, “It is sad, as this could reduce many people’s incentive to support SRE in schools. SRE can and does make an impact. There are children who may not be able to go to church regularly, but they can have the opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus in the classroom. For Christian children it gives them the opportunity to further explore and investigate who Jesus is with other students. I have taught SRE for over 15 years and I don’t think there has been one year where I haven’t had at least one student from a non-Christian family in my class. SRE is one way that God is using his people to help students question, explore and discover who Jesus is. It’s worth it!”
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