Greg and Kim Taylor, who have served the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference Youth Department for seven years, announced their departure from Kentucky-Tennessee on September 27, 2022, after accepting an invitation to join the Southern Union Conference. Greg Taylor will serve as the Southern Union’s youth director and Kim Taylor will serve as the youth and young adults coordinator.
The Taylors met while working at Camp Cedars Falls, Calif., in 1997. Since then, the couple has been committed to youth ministries and has served in various church roles in Michigan, Maryland, Indiana, and Wisconsin. In 2016, they joined Kentucky-Tennessee’s Youth Department, and began their work at Indian Creek Camp (ICC) the following summer.
Since coming to Kentucky-Tennessee, the Taylors grew the outreach of the Conference’s youth ministries. Throughout their six years at Indian Creek, attendance almost doubled, and the couple oversaw several facelift projects such as new flooring, a new horse arena, and a new zipline-tour.
“We have a lot of favorite memories at camp, but the highlight has always been the kids who made decisions for baptism,” Greg Taylor said. “There is nothing like seeing kids fall in love with Jesus.”
Kim Taylor adds that the couple will also miss bonding with the camp staff, many of whom are college students, and seeing them grow into leaders.
In addition to their work at the camp, the Taylors, alongside Nelson Silva, associate youth director, also brought a lot of support for the Conference’s Public Campus Ministries and the local Pathfinder and Adventurer clubs. Steve Haley, Kentucky-Tennessee president, says the Conference was blessed by the influence of the Taylors.
“The Kentucky-Tennessee Conference has benefited enormously through the ministry of the Taylors,” Haley said. “Not only have they demonstrated in measurable ways their skill and talents, as evident by the historic attendance growth at Indian Creek Camp, but they have also ministered in countless ways to individuals through Bible studies, premarital counseling, and weeks of prayer. We will miss their presence here in our Conference, but are grateful that they will remain lifelong friends.”
The Taylors will concluded their work with Kentucky-Tennessee on November 13, 2022, following the ending of the second Adventurer camporee. The couple will stay in the area for now, and say they plan to occasionally visit Indian Creek as part of their new job. While the Taylors say they are excited to advance youth ministries efforts throughout the entire Southern Union, they also shared that they will miss the Kentucky-Tennessee family.
“We have been so happy with our position, and we have loved working with the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference,” Kim Taylor said. “We're grateful for the memories, for the friendships, and bonds that we have created. As we go, we'd love to encourage [local churches] to continue making youth ministries a priority.”
As of the writing of this article, the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference has not appointed a new youth director. Visit the website, kytn.net, for any additional updates.
Kentucky-Tennessee | December 2022
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