Ministry Spotlight

Ministry Spotlight

Get to know Julia Brito, ROOTSKids Ministry Coordinator and Daddy Daughter Dance 2024-25 Coordinator

Q: What’s your name, where do you live, how long have you been at Roots Church?
A: My name is Julia Brito. I live on Camano with my husband, Nic, and baby girl, Juniper, who is 7 months old. We have been at Roots since the spring of 2022. I grew up in the Oso area and grew up in a church-going family.

Q: What position in Ministry do you currently hold:
A: I serve as ROOTSKids Ministry Coordinator at Roots Church.
Q: What initially drew you to ministry work?
A: I’ve always been interested in serving kids. I love hanging out with them and stewarding them well. Pastor Derek asked me if I would consider being lead over Rootlets and Seeds classes, overseeing their classrooms and teaching schedules. That has since expanded to coordinator of ROOTSKids. I love serving the church and I’m down for serving in any area that needs help. I think most people know that I love kids combined with the fact that I work as a wedding coordinator. My skill set as a wedding coordinator enable me to organize, too. I don’t get overwhelmed in chaos!

Q: How do you see your role contributing to the larger mission of the church or ministry?
A: I feel like I keep getting reminded of the inevitability that people age. Watching the kids get older and realizing that they will be young adults someday, and they will be stewarding the next generation helps me recognize the value of this particular time of life as prime for setting a strong biblical foundation.

Q: What are your biggest joys and rewards in your ministry work?
A: There was one Sunday when I was covering for a leader in Rootlets and going through the catechism with the kids. There were just a few kids that day, but it was really cool to see how much of the catechism the kids know. The first four catechism questions we are working on focus on “who is God”. As an adult it is hard for me to comprehend some of the questions about the Trinity, but to see how they can see and know the truth is so cool and a joy to me.

Q: Can you share a specific example of how you’ve seen your ministry make a difference in someone’s life?
A: The Sunday I spent with the kids in Rootlet’s hearing their recitation of the catechism was really special for me. I think that being intentional about giving them sturdy things like the catechism and worship songs to learn about God and then seeing them absorb that information is incredibly rewarding.  It is also very rewarding to grow relationships with the kids of Roots.

Q: What are some of the challenges you’ve had in your ministry work?
A: I suppose just the mental weight of recognizing the importance of this ministry and stewarding the children to a love and life as a Christ-follower. There is weight to the decisions I make over curriculum, and various other aspects of ROOTSKids, to hopefully ensure the truths we teach them are true! My heart is to provide clear teaching that they can turn back to whether they remain at Roots or are just a visitor. It’s a Kids ministry so scheduling can also be a challenge. There are some weeks in a row when I’m back in kids and I find myself missing being a part of the church service. It’s two-fold: slots need to be covered and I’m happy to cover them, but also I’m not always in the church Sunday service and I miss that.

Q: How has your ministry work shaped you personally?
A: Serving in Kids right before Nic and I had our own kid has really encouraged me and prepared me to teach Juniper–my daughter– during the day. I feel more capable to do worship for her at home, teach her, and steward her.

Q: How do you see the needs of your community and how do you tailor your ministry to address those needs?
A: I don’t want ROOTSkids to just be a place where kids are dropped off while the parents learn things. Teaching the kids about God is very important to me. Something I’m trying to do soon is have the other class learn the same things that the older class does so that kids in the same family can go home talking about the same things. I feel like it would be really encouraging for the families.  We also try to be an inviting space and make it as easy as possible for new families to come in, get checked in, have questions answered, and to have their kids comfortable in their classroom.

Q: What is your guiding verse, chapter or prayer that helps you daily in your personal walk with God and your ministry role?
A: Galatians 5:22-23: The Fruits of the Spirit. I desire to display those qualities before kids, volunteers and my family. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Q: What does your daily walk with God look like and how does that impact your ministry?
A: I’ve been reading apologetic books recently. Reading certain beliefs and doctrines, whether I hold to them or not, and then wrestling with “why do I believe this?” and “how is this God-glorifying?,” “is this how he is calling us to live?”. Wrestling with these questions help me consider how I challenge kids and their little hearts and minds to build a foundation for themselves that someday they may launch into these reflections for themselves. My hope is to help them gain confidence about knowing truth and scripture.