Gerry Pickett is an ordained minister, but when he and his family walked through the doors of Good Shepherd a few years ago, he wasn’t looking for another ministry position.
After years of church planting and pastoral ministry, he simply wanted a church home.
It was through their daughter’s experience at Little Lambs Preschool that Gerry and Candace first became acquainted with Good Shepherd. During the Advent season, the family was walking together when they passed a sign that read, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Their daughter looked at the sign and said, “Emmanuel means God is with us.”
Those words prompted Gerry and Candace to take a closer look at the community that had already begun shaping their daughter’s faith.
As they explored Good Shepherd, they discovered they weren’t the only newcomers. Pastor Matt Fulmer was still relatively new to the congregation as well.
“The best time to join a church is when there’s a new pastor,” Gerry said. “We decided we’d give it two years.”
Almost immediately, Gerry felt a sense of community at Good Shepherd. He sensed that everyone had a voice and that it was a safe space for open discussion and diverse opinions.
Gerry had stepped away from vocational ministry after moving to Kansas City for Candace’s career. He built a successful career as a software developer and found professional accomplishment in a field very different from church planting. Yet despite his success, something felt incomplete.
When he found himself with extra time, Gerry began looking for ways to serve at Good Shepherd. He became involved with Next Steps, Small Groups, Digging Deeper, and Youth Ministry.
What surprised him was that he wasn’t being called back into ministry as a pastor.
He was being called back into purpose.
And nowhere was that purpose more evident than in his relationships with students.
Seeing the faith of young people, their openness, honesty, and lack of cynicism, reminds Gerry of the purity of childlike faith.
Working alongside students reminds him of something Jesus taught long ago—that there is wisdom in having faith like a child.
Young people ask honest questions. They are curious and resilient. They are still discovering who they are, what they believe, and how to find their authentic voice. Most importantly, they are seeking a genuine connection with adults who are willing to show up.
“They crave guidance, and they want more,” Gerry said.
He can remember what that’s like.
Long before he was a pastor, a programmer, or a youth mentor, Gerry was simply a teenager looking for a place to belong.
Growing up as a Japanese American in a small Iowa town, he often felt different from those around him. It was an invitation to a youth group that changed the course of his life. There he found acceptance, community, and ultimately faith.
Today, he sees an opportunity to create that same experience for others.
“If you want to see change, you have to be involved in it,” he said.
Gerry believes many adults care deeply about the next generation but assume someone else will step in. Yet the students he encounters aren’t looking for perfect mentors. They’re looking for people who are present.
Sometimes that looks like leading a discussion about sensitive topics. Sometimes it’s sharing a meal. Most often, it’s simply learning a student’s name and remembering their story.
For Gerry, serving in the youth ministry isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about creating a place where young people know they are seen, heard, valued, and loved.
That willingness to show up has expanded his own faith journey.
And he believes it has the power to transform a community as well.
As Gerry puts it:
“Sometimes community feeds us. Sometimes we are called to help feed others. Either way, we keep showing up.”
