Serving with a Heart Centered on Christ

April 29, 2026 / by Maura Crittendon

Growing in Christ through service was my goal when I volunteered to serve in Germany.

And to be honest, I assumed I would return with a strong sense that my service was a blessing to others. Yet as I replay the events of our week, I know that it proved to be more of a personal blessing instead.

For me, serving is a great way to be more like Jesus. Yet it can be very easy to get caught up in task mode. That happened to me. I then wondered how the “service” I was providing (I mean I washed a lot of dishes in a kitchen separate from the students) honored Christ. Should I have not been more engaged, witnessing about Christ, instead of anchoring to the work in the kitchen? But then one of the members of the Cru Team likened our overall service to Christ washing the feet of His disciples. That reminded me that serving with a heart centered on Christ, even if it’s by washing dirty dishes, does equate to Christlikeness.

Then one of my former Cubbies asked me, as part of his Sparks homework, what my favorite part of the trip was. Forcing me to quickly reflect (because honestly, I failed to do that before he asked), God made that answer very apparent. How humbling! Toward the end of the event, the East White Oak serving staff was asked to join a worship service to be recognized and thanked for our willingness to prepare and serve meals to the students. Upon joining, the students were on their feet as the worship leader, who spoke German, encouraged the group. Then music and singing began and I could feel the presence of our Lord and Savior in Germany! It was overwhelming. It did not matter whether I could understand the message being shared or the words being sung. The group was praising the One true God. While our spoken language was different, our praise was in fact unified. What a blessing to be a part of!

Maura and her husband, Donnie, have three children: Tori, Emma & Dane, and four grandchildren: Jovie, Graham, Jude, and Joss. Maura has served in the Wednesday night AWANA program for 12 years (9 as the Cubbie director). She works as an Engineering Manager at State Farm Insurance and enjoys cooking, organizing, relaxing at home, and spending time with her children and grandchildren.