I vividly recall a time early in my career when I was giving a presentation at a major scientific meeting and looked down to see four of the top ten guys in the world in the topic I was discussing seated in the front row. After the talk, one of the guys took me aside, asked lots of questions, made some suggestions about other presentations that I needed to see and generally made me feel welcome as a member of “the club.” As Key Ministry has sought to become part of the “Kidmin” world, Amy Dolan has been for Key Ministry what my distinguished colleague had been for me…a person of considerable stature and influence who has made our team feel welcome. Amy currently serves as Lead Consultant, Founder, Speaker and Blogger for Lemon Lime Kids located in Chicago, IL. We’re honored to have Amy join us for Inclusion Fusion 2012. The title of her presentation is The Intersection of Calling and Opportunity.

Amy brings previous children’s ministry experience from Willow Creek Community Church where she served as Promiseland’s Age 4-5 Curriculum Writer and Teacher, Willow Creek Association where she led as Executive Director of Children’s Ministries, Head Start where she worked as Lead Preschool Teacher, and The Chapel as Children’s Ministry Director.

In addition to leading Lemon Lime Kids, Amy also develops curriculum for What’s in the Bible?, Directs the What Matters Now in Children’s Ministry Project, and is listed among the top 100 Children’s Ministry Blogs. 

Amy serves as a Board Member for Pathways to Global Literacy, a not-for profit organization aimed at promoting literacy in developing countries.

Amy believes the church fully empowered, combined with the commitment of the family, and the compassion of the community has the power to inspire children’s faith for a lifetime.

Amy is thrilled to be presenting at the upcoming Inclusion Fusion on the topic of Opportunity and Calling. Here’s a guest blog from Amy in which she reflects on the idea of calling intersecting with opportunity as a powerful and crucial force in a child’s spiritual life…

For the sake of children’s spiritual formation, we must absolutely recognize our calling {that specific unique call that God gives to each of us} and then match that call with an opportunity {a place in which our calling can be lived out}. Children need us to be serving out of our calling.

And yet, discovering our calling requires that we listen to God’s voice, receive feedback from others, and take note of the patterns in our lives. For Amy, her calling is to care for church leaders who lead children in the church. She’s continually heard God’s voice on this, even on the days she most doubts herself and feels tempted to pursue a new career path. God doesn’t let this her calling go, ever, instead asking her to accept opportunities to live this out.

And yet, mtching a calling with opportunity can often be the difficult part. Finding an opportunity {whether as a paid staff member or as a volunteer} is where your calling comes to life. God calls for a reason. Your opportunity often is that reason. And for us, matching our calling with opportunity is key for the spiritual formation of children. Whether it’s teaching, leading, singing, creating, writing, administrating, or managing, your opportunity is where you affect the lives of children. Don’t miss out. Find your opportunity.

Join Amy at Inclusion Fusion 2012 to discover your unique calling and how to best match it with opportunity for the sake of the children in your church.

Here’s Amy’s presentation from last year’s Inclusion Fusion on Customizing Your Curriculum.

Join Amy and 35 other leaders serving as faculty for Inclusion Fusion, Key Ministry’s second annual Special Needs Ministry Web Summit is made available FREE OF CHARGE to pastors, church staff, volunteers and families everywhere from November 12th-16th, 2012. For an up to date list of speakers, topics, links to speaker blogs and a link for free registration, click here.