Our church staff is unique in that many on our church staff have a passion for developing future generations of leaders through mentoring. Because we recognize that our kingdom reach goes further when we develop leaders, a portion of our church ministry budget and a portion of our daily ministry activities involves mentoring young leaders. This summer we had two interns (undergraduates or graduates) who are desiring ministry experience and one resident (a graduate who is seeking to further their education to serve in a future ministry endeavor) who served alongside our ministry staff. Here is a look at their summer Entrust experience with Rocky Creek:

Rainey Dinkins:

“This past summer, I had the opportunity of serving as the music intern under Pastor Donald Shockley. I officially joined Rocky Creek as a member in January 2021. Growing up as a missionary kid from eastern Africa, I found that my biggest act of surrender was the trust required for me to stay in Greenville as an intern as opposed to leaving Greenville this summer. Being relatively unfamiliar with the inner workings of the American Church, I was nervous. What I discovered was that I was met with grace, edification, and celebration. I thank everyone who hosted me in their homes, fed me meals, and spoke to me after the services. This young, nomadic, college girl learned what a healthy, Christ-seeking, kingdom-advancing church looks like.” 

Bethany Manley:

“I served as the counseling resident under the leadership of Becky Kirby and Joy Emery. As Becky’s intern, I learned the importance of gleaning from the Word of God for all wisdom and truth. In every counseling session, Becky put Christ first and relied on the power of the Holy Spirit and His Word to guide her into knowing how to counsel well. Becky truly cares about the spiritual life of every client she counsels. If she knows that a client has a relationship with the Lord, the first thing that she will do in a session is ask how they have come to know the Lord. In addition, she intentionally shares the gospel in every session. Joy encouraged me by asking me to lead in specific areas where I had not previously felt confident. I appreciate that Joy has been a constant sense of a refuge for me. This summer, I learned the importance of integrity and godly hospitality from her.”

Kristen Emery:

“My ministry assignment was at Woodside Baptist as part of our Recommission Network Partnership with David Williams as my supervisor. My role was to serve as the Rocky Creek liaison to connect Woodside Baptist to the CentriFuge Missions experience for students attending camp at North Greenville University. We started with five children on the first day of camp and by the end of the summer we had engaged 74 children. One of the things I learned this summer from watching the Rocky Creek church staff is that they are readily available to the interns. Through my internship, I was empowered to go and live out my passion. Thank you to Rocky Creek for investing in interns who are, in turn, sharing the gospel in the community.”