SWU alumna is children’s director at Charleston church plant
Brittany Buchanan Jolly with her husband Nathan
As children’s director for Residuum, a new Wesleyan church plant in the North Charleston, S.C. area, Jolly wants to extend Christ’s love beyond the walls of their home. For Jolly, who at age five accepted Christ during a vacation Bible school, children’s ministry is something close to her heart.
“Knowing personally the role children’s ministry can play always motivated me to serve among children and youth in whatever community I’ve lived in,” Jolly said. ”We spend many afternoons chatting with neighbors while our kids play on the swing set and delivering (or receiving) home-cooked meals when a neighbor is sick, a husband is deployed long-term or a new baby is born,” Jolly said.
Residuum’s launch team began meeting recently at Southern Wesleyan University’s Charleston learning center and recently began holding services. This September, they will begin meeting at Ladson Elementary School.
Blaze Johnson, Residuum’s pastor, says Jolly’s role is an important one in a community where children face a disadvantage in regards to their environment and their education.
“Our children’s ministry will be critical in building a culture in our church that learns how to grow and reach the families of the community where they are, how they are. Brittany has a heart for loving not only the people of the community, but the children of the community,” Johnson said.
Jolly said that learning to see how wide her sphere of influence could span is one of the most foundational truths she learned while at Southern Wesleyan. The university’s School of Education impressed on her a “Christian Ethic of Care” for herself, her students, her colleagues and her community.
“In my home, I influence our three kids and my husband Nathan. In my North Charleston community, I influence parents from playgrounds to the beach to the community pool,” Jolly said. “My education at SWU taught me to rise to this type of challenge and face it head on.”
“We’ve lived away from our immediate family for most of our married life (5 years), so learning to grow “family” no matter where we are planted is vitally important to us,” she said.
Nathan said that Brittany's heavy involvement at ALIVE Wesleyan Church in Central, S.C., and her humanitarian work helped her in preparing for her new leadership role.
“I truly believe that, through her time spent at SWU, Brittany was able to grow into the mature and confident leader she is today,” Nathan said.