He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” – Matthew 17:20
A new childcare center in 90 days… is that possible? St. Luke’s Senior Pastor Dr. Bob Long had just come back from lunch one Friday in May 2007, with the pastor of First United Methodist Church. He said they had a lot of classrooms that had been redone after the 1995 bombing. They were not being used during the week, and they thought a childcare center would be a great asset to the church and the community.
Within two weeks, Rev. Phil Greenwald and I presented a plan to the board of First Church, and the wheels were in motion. New equipment had to be ordered, teachers hired, and most importantly, we needed a director. I had recently hired a teacher to work in our three-year-old room downtown who had previously been a director. Her name was Roxanne Lloyd. She was perfect for the position, and she agreed to take the job. With key people in place, we started ordering equipment and hiring staff and on August 21, 2007, we opened our second childcare center. The center filled quickly, and things were going so well. Two centers… what a blessing!
Early in 2012, I got a phone call from a lady who simply stated that they had a center near St. Luke’s that was going to be closed down, and she asked if we could possibly take all the children enrolled in the school. After a meeting with Phil, Bob, and the other center, we decided to take over their center, which is Trinity Child Development Center. We painted, put down new carpet, and bought some new equipment. In April of 2012, they also became part of St. Luke’s Children’s Centers. Now we were up to three centers.
A new childcare center in Edmond? A new church building in Edmond? Another new adventure? We started hearing this conversation in 2014, started building in 2015, and opened our fourth center in September 2016. This was made possible with the help of so many people, including the director, Quisha Beardsley, who came to us with a long history in childcare. We spent six months ordering everything from classroom equipment to thermometers and first aid kits. We hired and trained over 40 staff members, and in September 2016, we opened the fourth center and are now full.
All of these projects seemed impossible when they were just a thought, but when we sat and worked through all the problems and scenarios we could think of, we made them all possible. They have all blessed many lives, from teachers to parents to the children we nurture and love every day.
When life throws you a curve and you think it is bigger than you, with God’s grace and love, there is always a way to make it a reality.
Gaby Moon, Executive Director, St. Luke’s Children’s Centers
