Heroes Gate is a ministry designed for kids to experience Jesus’ love and to carry that into the rest of their lives. This ministry is possible because of the dedication of volunteers like Ciara and Adam, who told us about their experience serving in Heroes Gate.
What’s your Woodland Hills story?
We moved to the Twin Cities the summer before the pandemic and found a wonderful community in Southwest Minneapolis where we attended Sunday services. The pandemic halted our ability to church shop further since attending services in-person was limited, but we knew our original “church” wasn’t our church home. We had heard amazing things about Woodland from friends of ours who grew up in White Bear Lake and are regular podrishioners. The moment we attended our first service in-person, about a year and a half ago, we knew that this was where we were called to be.
Why did you choose to volunteer with Heroes Gate?
Woodland is quite large and it can be difficult to navigate how to develop stronger relationships. Given we’re in the season of having two young children that attended Heroes Gate, we figured it would be a blessing for us to not only do church with our littles but also to form connections with others who love to engage with youth.
What was your own childhood church experience like, and how does that compare to Heroes Gate?
Ciara: I grew up Catholic so my memories are full of going to mass and attending Catholicism classes. While I personally loved the rituals, I recall rote memorization and “tests” being a large part of my childhood church experience. With Heroes Gate, my lens is no longer that of a child but I feel like I can be one again. Every time we get to volunteer, we are excited knowing we will get the opportunity to worship, learn and play like a child but more importantly to be loved like a child.
Adam: I did not grow up consistently going to church or being involved in a church community. As a parent, I highly value and appreciate the community of faith that my children are part of. It has carried over into our rituals at home and our children’s desire to know Jesus.
What are some highlights of volunteering?
Ciara: While all our live musicians are incredibly talented, I personally enjoy all the worship videos where we get to sing and dance being prompted by the moves in the videos. The kids certainly have their favorites and participating in worship in this way is very rewarding…plus, it’s quite the workout!
Adam: The moments that stand out to me are the relationships I have developed with a lot of the kids that attend Heroes Gate weekly. The kids are really sincere and kind and want to share about what’s going on in their lives.
Thank you Ciara and Adam for blessing our children!
Heroes Gate is looking for volunteers to serve this next generation of Jesus followers! If you’re interested, you can fill out this form here.
I love this story of service and connection! I hope our paths cross sometime in Heroes Gate!
For those considering this ministry, it is an easy lift. You can sign up for one or two Sundays a month, you don’t have to teach a lesson ( you just facilitate a small group discussion) and you simply follow leader Instructions for games and activities. An email preps you the week before as to the lesson content and activities. My husband and I have enjoyed getting to know the “next generation” and the dedicated Heroes Gate team!