Rebecca Hamilton has been our longest-serving staff member at Key Ministry. Rebecca came on board as our second Executive Director eight years ago, and since that time she’s truly served as the “relational glue” of our ministry.

With very mixed emotions, the Board and staff of Key Ministry would like to congratulate Rebecca as she moves on later this month to a full-time position with the Northern Ohio Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Rebecca’s time with us coincides with the period in which Key Ministry became a presence among churches in Northeast Ohio and assumed a more prominent role in the worldwide disability ministry movement. Her exceptional people skills clearly helped to open doors for us in churches both locally and nationally, and were indispensible in building relationships with other ministry leaders and organizations.

When she first came to us, her background and experience were in fund development. I know it wasn’t easy for her to come into an organization made up of people considered to be experts in their respective fields, but she very quickly established her credibility. From my perspective as Board President/Chair, it was especially gratifying to watch as she grew to be an expert in the field of disability ministry. She represented Key Ministry well, regardless of whether she was working with staff and volunteers at a local church, participating in our regional “JAM Session” trainings, or speaking at a national ministry conference. She’s very humble.

There’s one moment in particular that comes to mind when I think about Rebecca’s ministry with us…I wish I had a picture. I think it was 2009…Rebecca’s church was doing their first “Breathe” respite outreach event…she was serving on the team that put Breathe together, and I was up at the church volunteering with the medical team. At the end of the night when the parents were returning to the church to pick up their kids, I glanced over at Rebecca and she had this look of wonder about the scene unfolding in front of her and what God had accomplished that night in Chagrin Falls.

While we’ll miss Rebecca’s presence day in and day out as a member of our team, we can’t help but admire her motivations for moving on. Family ministry is a very high priority in our organization, and Rebecca’s most impactful ministry work has taken place at home, together with her husband, Doug. Doug does great work at a independent school serving kids with special educational needs. We’ve previously introduced you to the Hamilton’s younger daughter (Abby), who will be heading off to college in pursuit of an education that will allow her to help care for kids with special needs. Their older daughter (Tate) is already off at school, considering a career in educational psychology. Rebecca’s new job will enable their family to offer more support to their girls as they pursue the necessary education so they might serve other kids. Her new job also affords her greater flexibility so that she might do more to help care for her parents as they grow older. We can’t very well fault Rebecca and her husband for giving highest priority to the people God has uniquely positioned the two of them to serve…their family.

I’d like to make a request of our readers…if you know Rebecca, or serve at a church where you’ve seen God use her service to be a blessing to others, please leave a comment below!

Here’s a brief video of Rebecca talking about the respite ministry at her home church…

On behalf of the Board and staff of Key Ministry…Thanks Rebecca! Or, more appropriately, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”