Central Church is such a fantastic springboard for outreach, but it takes commitment, dedication and hard work from individual church members to make everything come together as we endeavor to show Jesus to the world.
Using their God-given talents along with their education background, Central members Dana Duke Whitworth and Rhea Douglas are making a difference in the lives of some of the most precious people in our society: the children.
Dana and Rhea both grew up at Central Church. They participated in the youth programs and went on the trips just like so many other young people have done. They both attended the University of Memphis and received their respective degrees in elementary education. When Central was located in Hickory Hill, Dana and Rhea each taught at the Central Learning Center and participated in the day camps. They also taught school in the Memphis City School system. Today, God still has them working together as they teach a pre-school class in Central's Parent's Day Out program.
"We're here because we love these kids," Dana said while cutting little grass skirts out of green tissue paper for the kids to wear. Rhea agreed.
"We can teach them the fundamentals of learning and we can teach them about the Lord, too," she said.
Rhea and her husband, Chad, met on a Central Church trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. They have been married for six years and have two children: Kelsey, 4, and Will, 2. Dana is engaged to Jason Whitworth and will be married in August. She has one son, Connor, 4, from a previous marriage.
"Dana and I both stayed home with our children until last Fall," Rhea said, "then Ellen Olford, who does all of the hiring for the PDO program, said she was looking for some licensed teachers. For us it's the best of both worlds because we're here with our children but we're also able to do what we love to do: teach."
Ellen Olford, director of the Women's Ministries at Central Church who pastorally oversees PDO, said she considers herself extremely blessed to have Dana and Rhea on staff.
"They are Godly young women who love children and are excellent in terms of educating children," Ellen said. "Their love for the Lord and their love for children shines in what they do."
Dana and Rhea taught in the four-year-old room on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the 2003-2004 school year, and this Fall they will begin teaching the Parent's Day Out transition class, the first of its kind at Central. The transition class will provide a one-year academic link between children completing the four-year-old class and starting kindergarten. Rhea said
she and Dana make such a great team because they balance each other out. "Our team teaching works because Dana is very organized," Rhea said smiling. "I come up with an idea and she makes it work!"
"And Rhea is the one who is so good at nurturing the kids," Dana added. Pam Dykes has two children who attend Central's PDO program, Braelen,5, and Brysen, 3. Braelen, who will be moving on to kindergarten this Fall, was a student in Miss Dana's and Miss Rhea's room last year.
"Dana and Rhea are both very honest, hardworking, patient, God-fearing women, and they really have taken a genuine interest in my child and every other child in their classroom," Pam said. "I am glad they are using their gift of teaching in the PDO!"
Dana said that the PDO program at Central Church is very special to her as a teacher because it provides her with friendships and accountability.
"And I love Central Church because God's here," she said.
Rhea added that Central has been a huge part of her life.
"I want my kids to go on the same trips I went on as a kid," she said, "and my being able to teach in the Parent's Day Out program is one way I can serve my church."
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