Bishop Peggy Johnson congratulates John Schadler (left) and the Rev. Maxime “Max” Jaouen, Denman Award recipients in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.
JOHN W. COLEMAN JR.
Bishop Peggy Johnson congratulates John Schadler (left) and the Rev. Maxime “Max” Jaouen, Denman Award recipients in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.
JOHN W. COLEMAN JR.
Whether he is mentoring, volunteering or, for that matter, falling out of trees – John Schadler is sincere about his role as a servant of Jesus Christ.
It is that dedication and faithful witnessing that led to Schadler receiving the Harry Denman Evangelism Award for laity at the 2015 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. Schadler, 29, is a lifelong member of First United Methodist Church in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania.
As a volunteer counselor with the church youth group, Schadler looks back to his own teenage years to understand the challenges young people face today. He remembers how rewarding it was to be active in the group.
“Kids today can get steered in the wrong direction somehow or another,” Schadler says. “I try to tell the kids in the youth group, instead of suffering by themselves, they have to open up and talk to the other kids, get comfortable with each other. I try to involve all the kids in group activities in church.”
Schadler’s service to his church also includes helping with lawn maintenance, cleaning or unloading the van. For the past four years, he has played the role of Jesus in the church’s Holy Week production.
However, says his pastor, the Rev. Vicky Allen, the most shining example of his role modeling came in 2010 when he suffered a serious back injury after falling 30 feet out of a tree. Schadler recovered fully but also spent several days in the hospital. He was in church the day after he was released.
“If there are any kids in the youth group who have trouble believing,” he says, “I tell them how God could have taken me with him or made my life more of a trial. He took mercy on me.”
John McBryde is a freelance writer living in Nashville, Tennessee.