Ten years ago, Denise Ciofani, along with her husband Brian, began attending Pinedale.  Early on, she got involved in the Children’s Ministry, and has been a faithful volunteer every since.  For the past 7 years, she has been the Worship Leader for K.i.D.S. Church, a worship service for 1st through 5th Graders. 

When asked what she loves most about leading worship, her immediate response was an enthusiastic, “Everything!”  She views her time on Sunday Mornings in K.i.D.S. Church as a time to worship with the kids.  “When we’re all truly worshipping, I don’t feel like a worship leader.  I feel as though God is just using me as a guide so that we can all worship Him together.  It’s about letting Him be the real Worship Leader.”

The fact that Denise is now leading worship for kids really took her by surprise in the beginning.  She thought her role in the church was supposed to be more behind the scenes as the pianist, or someone singing in the choir.  But God had different plans.  He took her out of her comfort zone and placed her in front of a group of 100 or more kids.

Her passion for worship and music has also been passed on to her 2 ½ year old daughter, Zia.  When she was pregnant with Zia, she felt the baby kicking during the middle of a worship song.  That moment was special to her because it made her pay closer attention to the words she was singing. 

Denise has many other special memories from her years in K.i.D.S Church.  One Sunday in the middle of singing she had her eyes closed.  She opened them halfway through the song and all the kids had their eyes closed and were kneeling with their hands lifted up.  This was just another reminder that God was leading the worship, not her.

“When I was ‘checking out’ K.i.D.S. Church to see exactly what happened in there, I was amazed at how the kids weren’t just singing songs.  They were truly worshipping God.  I remember standing in the back and just taking it all in.  That’s when I knew I had to be a part of this in some way.  And God has confirmed it in many ways.” 

Thank you Denise for using your passion and talents to serve alongside us in the Children’s Department!