Will and Emily are a married couple who serve on the Next Steps team, greeting people at the table on Sunday mornings and helping them figure out what’s next in their walk with God. Between the two of them, they’ve also found their way into the production, IBCKids, and worship teams, but Next Steps is where their story starts.
What Serving Looks Like for Will and Emily
At the Next Steps Station, Will and Emily greet people who are new to Immanuel and build relationships with the folks they already know. They help people find their next step, whether that’s joining a serve team, registering for an upcoming event, signing up for a mission trip, or asking questions about salvation and baptism.
Will also serve on the production team, and Emily leads volunteers in kids ministry and plays piano on the worship team. Their reason for jumping into all of it comes back to something simple.
“We are owners, not members. Members have rights, but owners have responsibilities.”
That mindset shapes how they see their time at Immanuel. They saw needs around them and stepped in, trusting that God had given them the abilities to help their church family in specific ways.
A Moment That Made It Worth It
One Sunday, a former student from Appalachian Ministries, a parachurch ministry through the University of the Cumberlands that serves families in our region, walked up to the Next Steps table. Will and Emily hadn’t seen her in four years. She told them she’d visited once or twice before, but they had missed her those times. This time, she came straight to them.
She and her mom were in a better place than the last time Will and Emily had seen them, and the conversation turned toward things like Group 99, Lucid, 1451, and other ways to get connected at Immanuel.
“This moment allowed us to see how a seed we planted during Appalachian Ministries grew and blossomed into a mature, solid woman of faith.”
Moments like that don’t come often in ministry work. Oftentimes, you plant a seed and never get to see what grows from it. Getting to witness the result firsthand made the years of faithful, ordinary serving feel worth it.
Growing Through Serving
For Will, serving has meant becoming a better listener and being more intentional in the relationships he builds, both with people he meets at the Next Steps Station and beyond his scheduled serving times.
Emily has felt something similar. Serving has shown her how God works through His people, and it’s given her a front-row seat to watching others grow in their faith.
“Seeing people grow in their walk is encouraging and reminds me how important it is to invest in others.”
Whether it’s a volunteer she’s leading or a stranger who walks up to the Next Steps Station, Emily has learned that investing in people pays off in ways you don’t always get to see right away.
Their Advice for Anyone Considering Serving
Will and Emily know firsthand that serving can push you outside your comfort zone. Emily describes herself as reserved, and talking to people she doesn’t know still challenges her. But that challenge has become part of how she’s grown.
Their advice for someone on the fence about serving is straightforward: there’s a place for everyone, and you’re needed. Get to know the people you serve alongside, let the experience stretch you in ways you didn’t expect, and use it as an opportunity to glorify God.