Burt Moncrief: A Volunteer Who "Excels" at Serving Others
“We Excel at this!” (Burt Moncrief, volunteer Excel class teacher)
On any given day, Burt Moncrief is hard at work on behalf of others, dedicating his time, his life experience, and his skills to do good within the community. He moves easily between his current job as director of a kids coding center and his various volunteer roles with Chase Oaks Church and the Local Good Center.
The ability to juggle these multiple commitments comes with practice: Burt has been actively serving others through Chase Oaks since 1995. What keeps his enthusiasm for volunteering alive and well, year after year? It comes down to the personal experience of God’s grace in his own life—and a desire to share that grace and help others grow.
Much of Burt’s free time is spent investing in kids. For the past 15 years, Burt has been a steady presence among the children’s ministry volunteers at Chase Oaks. He serves as a trusted adult friend and mentor to a boys’ small group. Week after week, he shares from God’s word, spends time with his group, and helps out wherever else he can—always with warmth and a steady supply of dad jokes on the tip of his tongue. He is also a regular part of youth mission trips. His openness and availability have built real and lasting connections with these kids.
Burt’s commitment to serve kids also extends to families. He is one of a handful of volunteer liaisons with Chase Oaks’ Foster Care Ministry. These liaisons provide a support system for foster and adoptive families; they also volunteer at Chase Oaks-sponsored foster family events. Burt has joyfully attended every event since the ministry’s launch. He shares,
My reason is simply the foster care system was a large part of my own background. Even though I’ve been in the “tech world” for over 30 years, I’ll never forget the kindness and caring of foster parents, practical farm living, caring teachers, and a faith community that walked alongside my struggles to grow up. It’s so encouraging to see a similar faith community (Chase Oaks and the LGC) take an active role to support current foster parents who put their lives on the line 24x7, and to invest in building a team to sustain the commitment, long-term.
Kids and families are not the only ones to benefit from Burt’s passion for serving others in the community. When the Local Good Center first opened, Burt was one of the first people to sign up as a volunteer for the Job Readiness program. He quickly became a key contributor, teaching Excel classes and serving in other areas of the program. Burt’s efforts have allowed job seekers to become more confident and capable users of Excel, opening new doors for them in areas of employment.
“He is the “Punn-iest” person I know!” says Maya Quinn, Local Good Center Job Readiness Director. “Burt puts people at ease with his gentle smile and quick wit. His enthusiasm for engaging and helping others is contagious.”
Burt’s impact has been deeply and broadly felt. Even still, he remains humble, with a strong sense of perspective. As he sees it,
Since much of my early life experience was compromised (there's reasons I was in foster care), I've had to take that awareness into all ministry contact with others (whether adults, youth, or children) as well as remain in context with other leaders and stay in community. Of course, this is something that we all should be doing all the time; I'm just more aware of the reasons why. It just helps drive a deeper meaning into what "grounded in the Lord" means!
A clear "why" and a personal experience of God’s grace can fuel a person’s commitment to love and serve others well. Through his many hours volunteering and investing in relationships, Burt has lived this out—directly and indirectly touching countless lives for good in the process.
Curious about how you can do some good in the community? Join us on April 22, 2023 for Do Good Day. Grab some friends and family, and find your service project, here.