Volunteer Spotlight

February 20th, 2018 | Sheila Reitz

Several years ago, seven college students piled into a 5-seater jalopy and set out to visit a church. The rest is history. Now almost every Sunday during the school year, students from University of Puget Sound fill several rows of chairs for worship at Discovery.

The faces change from year to year, but one of those first students still comes almost every week. Those who have met Lindsey Roberts don’t quickly forget her smiling face and friendly greeting.

Lindsey was a freshman when she started coming to Discovery, and it didn’t take long for her to look around for a place she could serve. Three years ago, she started with the Levite team, helping with set-up, and she continues to serve on that team throughout the school year.

Last year Lindsey started volunteering on Wednesday mornings to mentor middle-school kids at Giaudrone, helping to lead the Homework Club. There weren’t many students, but Lindsey enjoyed building relationships with those who did come and was exciting to watch them grow. She challenged one girl to go for two whole weeks without being sent to the office, and celebrated with her when she reached that goal. Recently Lindsey started serving with Fusion, Discovery’s youth, again working with middle-schoolers.

Lindsey grew up in Fountain Valley, California in a Christian family. She has a younger sister, but as a child most of her friends were boys and she was quite a tom-boy. She thought she might want to be a teacher or a veterinarian. She loved animals and begged her parents for a dog. They finally agreed to let her have some chickens to see if she would take care of them. After she proved she was responsible with the chickens, her parents let her get the dog, which she named Lily. Lily is still part of the family.

Although she had always known about God, it was not until she was in high-school that Lindsey made her faith her own. During her high school years, she ran track and was involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. One of her favorite things, then and now, was bringing other people to church.

The University of Puget Sound was not a college that Lindsey originally considered, but when someone from the school urged her to apply, she did, earning a scholarship. She describes her first year as difficult, being in a strange place and not knowing anyone. However, she has built community during the subsequent years.

Lindsey will graduate this year with a degree in exercise science. Her original plan was to continue going to school, working toward becoming a physical therapist, but she now plans to take a year or two off to determine if that is what she really wants to do or if God has other plans for her life.

During her time in college, Lindsey has been active in InterVarsity and has worked as a subject tutor. This year she works as a nanny one day a week.

Lindsey values relationships and loves to serve in ways that she can encourage others. She finds it rewarding to help others develop leadership skills. Lindsey loves to share about God. She says “When I am talking about what God is doing, it just flows.”

One scripture that means a lot to Lindsey is Matthew 17:20:

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.

Lindsey’s passion and talents are in developing relationships and she serves God in that area.

Whether you are young like Lindsey, or older like some of the rest of us, God has uniquely designed you to serve Him. What are your passions and talents? How are you using them to serve?