Today for “Tomorrow’s Teachers & Preachers” hear from Cynthia Twillman who serves as Director of Christian Education (DCE) at King of Kings in Kansas City. A Concordia University, St. Paul alum, she has been in the ministry for 28 years! What a blessing! Here is her story:
Upon graduating from high school, I was all set to be an accountant. After completing a Masters of Accountancy degree I worked as an Auditor for the State of Missouri for 6 years. During this time, I was active with the youth of my home congregation and was encouraged by DCE Ken Bakalyar to take leadership of the youth ministry when he accepted a call to another congregation. This ultimately led to me answering God's call to become a DCE.
My favorite part of ministry is seeing young people serve God with smiles on their faces and the "aha" moments of young people learning more about the depth of God's love for them. It also brings joy to my heart when congregation members demonstrate an interest in our young people through service as Confirmation prayer partners and small group leaders, or by accompanying them on youth events.
One of my favorite youth events is YouthLead. Through the years I have seen many deep friendships formed at this event and many participants who have gone on to be church workers and leaders at their church. One young lady from our congregation, Caroline Hinrichs, has gone from her participation in YouthLead to become a DCE student at Concordia Irvine. As she made her way to Irvine from Kansas City, she experienced several physical challenges. Her family and I were comforted to know that among her friends from YouthLead was Isaiah, the son of the DCE Program Director, Rebecca Duport. She was well taken care of. Caroline has a true heart for ministry, whether it be as "the girl in orange" at the 2022 LCMS Youth Gathering (she served as a Young Adult Volunteer) or as a summer counselor at one of our Lutheran camps. I know God has great plans for her future service as a DCE. And, I can't help but think that God used her years at YouthLead to call her to full-time ministry as a DCE and provide the Duport family as a family away from home.
