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Amy Gaters: Growing in God
By Leah Stanley
There is a little known nugget of gold tucked away amid the various Sunday School classes offered by Central Church. It's new, it's for ladies of all ages and its lessons deal with the very character of God Himself. Establishing her "Ladies One" class on the grounds of Faith, Hope and Love, Amy Gaters wants to emphasize that God is just as good in the book of Exodus as He is in the book of Matthew.
"We want to study the whole Bible," Amy said, "tying the Old and New Testaments together. We're not specifically focused in any one place."
Born and raised in Brownsville, Tennessee, Amy came to Memphis in 1982 to go to college. Today, she works for Federal Express in airline scheduling and she's been at Central since 1986. Besides teaching her Sunday School class, Amy has taken an active role in the church choir as a member of the praise team at the 11 o'clock contemporary service.
"I'm having so much fun studying for the class," Amy said, "I spread out the Bible and the concordance on the table and before I know it three hours have passed."
At present the class is small, but Amy is encouraged because the size of the group has allowed the ladies to open up and minister to one another.
"The class lends itself to a discussion format," Amy said, "so the women are not only sharing prayer requests, but they're actively involved in the lesson as well."
Class members agree that their interaction enhances the study.
"Amy is an excellent teacher," said Nancy Earls, a Ladies One class member, "and her research benefits everyone, but she also lets us have input and I like that."
Beginning in March, Amy's lessons will center around displaying God's character in our own lives. She said she wants to encourage people to read God's Word every day of the week, not just on Sunday, and that any woman in any stage of life is invited to attend her class which meets on Sunday mornings at 11:00 in Room 207.
"I want to stir people up," Amy said. "It's my goal for them to want to
know God more."
Below are some pictures of a Ladies One service outreach. They prepared a meal, served it, cleaned up, and provided special music for Kairos Outside which is a weekend retreat that ministers to those who have been in prison or who have family in prison. It was conducted at the Olford Ministries campus on November 10, 2007.
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