Get to Know: Christy Tilmon, Dir. of Early Elementary & Dir. of VBS

Christ Methodist Director of Early Elementary and Director of VBS, Christy Tilmon, discusses her path into early elementary education and ministry, shaped by childhood experiences and bullying. She also shares about her teaching jobs, finding a better fit, and balancing ministry with family life.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

You're listening to the podcast of Christ Methodist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Join us for an insightful conversation where faith intersects with real life experiences and discover how God is at work in our world. We're here today with Christy Tillman. She is the early elementary director as well as the VBS director. She started in 2026. Christy, how are you doing today?

SPEAKER_01 0:30

I'm doing great. Thank you for asking.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Sure, that's great. So, as is tradition with the show, we like to start with a couple of icebreakers just to kind of get to know you on a fun level. So I know that you're a teacher and we'll talk more about that in a little bit. So I know one of the things you taught was English. So did you have a favorite book that you would go through with your students?

SPEAKER_01 0:50

I liked to read frog and toad together.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

I just dislike it. It's just a fun little story. And looking at the relationship they have.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

That's awesome. Okay, so I know you've I did a little Facebook sleuthing, and I know you've had several pets over the years. Yeah. So can you tell me about the favorite pet that you've ever had?

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Well, Cassie, the cat that I lost, I guess it's been 12 years ago now, she was a sweet little cat. She just loved everybody, but she wasn't one of those in your face kind of cats that, you know, I respect the fact that you don't want to pet me, but she was always very attentive and very just laid back. She'd come get me if Rebecca was crying. She was kind of like a little, little little dog in a cat's body, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

So have you always had cats, or do you ever had dogs in there or birds or rat anything like that?

SPEAKER_01 1:42

I grew up with Pekanies. Okay in my family. My mother loved those dogs. My dad tolerated those dogs. I think he would have rather had a big dog because he grew up with a Dalmatian. Yeah. But my sister was allergic to cats, and my family wasn't really a fan of cats. So I loved cats and dogs. So when I met my husband, he had a cat, and so that was just another check mark that you know what? This is the right cat. Let's do it.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

That's awesome. Okay, so next question. Define what a perfect Saturday morning would look like for you.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

A perfect Saturday morning. Well, I like to get up and have my me time before everybody else gets up. And then maybe just a beautiful weather day that we could go out and just enjoy a nice walk together and just be a family and just not have to worry about cleaning the house and doing chores.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

That sounds like a great Saturday morning to me, too. So I appreciate you in indulging me on those. So to jump into the actual conversation, let's go all the way back to the beginning of Christy. Where are you from? Where'd you grow up? Where where'd you start?

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Okay, I was born here in Memphis, Tennessee. Lived here until I was three. My dad worked for a corporation that transferred us around a lot. So we mainly grew up in What kind of work was he doing? He was worked for a medical corporation that is actually no longer around, and he was in administration and management. So he we grew up in Georgia a lot, uh between in between Atlanta and Macon. And then in 1982, we moved to Texas and were in the Dallas area for about a year and a half, and then moved to Lubbock, Texas, where I attended eighth grade through high school, and then moved to Kansas City for a brief period after attending Texas Tech University for a little while. And then we moved back to Memphis, and I told my mother when we were in Kansas City, the man I'm supposed to marry is in Memphis. Oh. And that was in May of 92, and I met my husband in August of 92. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Well, there's a lot to unpack there, and we're gonna get through all of that. Uh yeah. But first thing I want to know of all those southern states, which one did you enjoy living in the most?

SPEAKER_01 4:09

You know, I have a lot of good memories from Texas.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

I was gonna say you seem like a little bit of a Texas girly, if I'm being honest.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

That was my shaping years.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

But I really loved Georgia. Because I mean love at Texas. West Texas is just plain old flat, ugly compared to Georgia. We had the beautiful trees, and I could climb the fence when we lived in Georgia and go play in the woods in the afternoon. I mean, what's fun, not fun about playing in the woods and having a creek to play in?

SPEAKER_00 4:40

That's awesome. Do you ever go back and visit Georgia or Texas City?

SPEAKER_01 4:44

I've been back to Atlanta area, but Texas, I haven't been back there since 1998.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

A few years.

SPEAKER_01 4:54

I took Wesley to my 10-year high school reunion and he got shocked. The uh the a windstorm actually blew out the power and a and we had to go to drinking, boiling our water and stuff. It was he's like, this is interesting. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

Yeah, that's fun. Okay, so you you moved around a lot. So but you had one sib one sibling and one sister?

SPEAKER_01 5:16

I have an older sister. She is two years older than I am.

SPEAKER_00 5:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

And she has two wonderful grandchildren.

SPEAKER_00 5:22

Okay. That's exciting.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

So growing up, was it was that relationship kind of paramount to moving so much to have that sister there that you could always kind of rely on?

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Well, we had an interesting relationship. We got along, but then as siblings, we didn't get along, you know.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

But it was good to always have a sister around for sure. Was it hard moving around that much as a kid? I mean, especially state to state. I mean, that's not you know, that's big.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

We had parents that were really good about helping us and keeping it to where it was not as much of a struggle as it could have been. They were always very good and supportive and good at guiding us and what we needed to be doing.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

How do you think that kind of shaped your personality in terms of like being able to meet people? Did do you think that really helped or what it does it indifferent, no difference?

SPEAKER_01 6:13

You know, I don't know that it really made an impact. I think when I truly came into being more social was actually when I moved away from Texas and was in Kansas City, and then I moved back home here to Memphis and went to the University of Memphis to finish. I think that's when I really started becoming more out knowing and stepping into who I really was.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Interesting.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

I struggled a lot with making friends when we lived in Georgia because I to be honest, I was bullied by I was called dog and other names that I'm not gonna repeat on air. And I think that helped me relate to children more when I became an adult and seeing the way kids can treat other kids and actually adults, the way adults treat other adults.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Well, I'm gonna jump in your story because of that statement. So I mean, did that affect what you wanted to do with your life, just that kind of moment, or how much did that influence you?

SPEAKER_01 7:12

I don't When I was a younger child, it it kind of made me be more reclusive. Not so much as that I went into a shell and I never did anything because I was always doing stuff, but it made me doubt myself more because I was like, if I put myself out there, then I'm gonna be judged. And I didn't want to be judged because I was already judged unfairly anyway. But then as a as you get older, you become wiser and realize, you know what? I am who God made me. And I'm going to be his sermon and do what I'm supposed to do.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

That's really so I mean, then what were you like as a child? What were you engaged in sports or what was your opinion?

SPEAKER_01 7:55

I did play softball for a brief period in Dallas area. We lived in Mesquite. I played for Charlotte Baptist Church softball team. And that I did enjoy doing that, and that did help me being part of a team.

SPEAKER_03 8:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Getting away from Georgia where I was bullied also helped a lot. You know, once I moved away from there, that helped me start kind of becoming a little more confident, but still it took many years. Because that's the thing. Kids people don't realize bullies can really do a lot of damage that you don't know about until you yourself don't know about.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

Yeah, definitely. Well, what was what were the kind of things that you were interested in as a kid? What did you think you wanted to grow up and be when you were younger?

SPEAKER_01 8:42

I always, always loved working with kids. I was the babysitter in demand, so to speak, not to brag on myself, but I would I was one of those people that was very trusted and I did my job. If I was babysitting, I didn't leave the kitchen dirty. I didn't, you know, the kids would go to bed when they were supposed to, but I also played with the kids and interacted with them. I didn't just sit them in front of a TV and tell them, leave me alone. I was involved with them and they were important.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

That's awesome. So what did you when you graduated high school, what did you think you were gonna go do with your life? What did you prepare?

SPEAKER_01 9:16

I immediately just became a teaching major because I always like I said, I I was with kids a lot and enjoyed being around them. So I just felt that was where I was supposed to be. Yeah. It's it's working with them and of course, you know, a perk was having the summer's off. Yeah. That was nice.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

I'm sure that is. So did you you went to so let me help me understand your story correctly. So you went to Kansas City to do to for college to do well.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

I went to Texas Tech briefly and I had graduated college high school without really knowing how to study, because I graduated with a good B average and never really had to study. So I went to Texas Tech and I kind of didn't study like I should. I kind of skipped classes and you know, I didn't this is resonating. You know, so I did what I call the extended college plan. I was very blessed with parents that even though I wasn't doing as I should in college, they kept pushing me to do college. And that's when we moved to Kansas City. I went to JUCO in Olatha, Kansas, and I got my GPA up. And then when they moved home to Memphis, Dad, when they came back here, I came back with them because I always wanted to come back to Memphis.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

And even though you moved away at such a young age, you always had the I grew well, I grew up with grandparents here.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

Okay. So we always came back to Memphis on family vacation. So Memphis was always a part of me because my mom and my mom's parents lived over off Quince Road at I on Ivy. And then my grandparents lived at some apartments that are no longer there off of Boxdale. And so, and I just we had family friends here. So it was just Memphis, even though I didn't grow up here, was always home.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

Was it just that familial vibe that kind of pulled you back, or was there something to the city, you think?

SPEAKER_01 11:11

It family and just feeling a connection. I grew up with Bellevue Baptist Church, it was a big part of my family. My grandmother worked at Bellevue Baptist, she was close with Dr. Rogers and worked with his Love Worth Finding mission. And she actually retired at 90 just because they eliminated her position. She was good. She could get on the internet and all that. She was she's pretty cool, grandmother. But so just I loved family. Family's always been a very important part of my life. And so do you think that's because you moved around so much as a kid that it was so paramount or I think it was just because my parents, my mom was really close with her family, and my dad was and they just encourage family, was just always an important part. And I I was blessed with a family that got along. Because you know, some people plus unfortunately don't have that. But I was just very, very blessed with parents that were connected to their family, and it was important. We had game nights at home. We did family movies and we just grew up with dinner every night on the table at 6 30.

SPEAKER_00 12:21

I mean, this this seems like a no-brainer based on what you're saying, but it it seems like you had a very good relationship with your parents. Like y'all y'all had a very close relationship.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Most of the time we did. Of course, you know, I was got into my rebellious years, but you know, but yeah, I was yeah, my mom and dad were always in my corner 100%. They were married for 59 years. Wow. They married straight out of they actually met in October at Ole Miss and eloped in February of that same year and were married for 59 years.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

That's wild. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

Okay, so you did teaching in college. Did you go in knowing kind of what grade, what age you wanted to pursue when you did that?

SPEAKER_01 13:08

I knew I wanted elementary. My degree was K through eight with an emphasis on K uh K through three.

SPEAKER_03 13:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:17

And now I have gone as high as fourth grade for one year. Glad it was only one year. I taught second grade for about 12 or 13 years, and that was my favorite grade, but I was ready for a change and it worked out well because I wanted to move to third grade. Adam and wanted me to move to third grade, so it worked out well that year. So this was my sec I'm finishing my second year of teaching third grade.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

What's so special to you about that that age range?

SPEAKER_01 13:47

They're mature enough to be able to do things, but they're also still young enough to be kids and wanting the love and and getting them. You can nurture them, but yet you can also still have a little maturity. They can be a little bit independent. They don't need to be with you every second. So you can stop and help somebody else if you need to.

SPEAKER_00 14:09

Yeah. Have you ever had doubts about is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Or has it been always pretty crystal clear?

SPEAKER_01 14:15

Like, did you have a bad year where you're like, Oh, when I first started off teaching, I I was like, What on earth am I doing? Because I I was put into a school that showed me a whole different light of what these kids go through. And I was confused.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Can you say more what does that mean?

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Can you say more the hardships of parents on drugs and parents being not allowed in the home and abuse and just I saw things that I I wasn't so much sheltered and I knew it was out there, but to see it firsthand and have to deal with it coming from a home that was loving and nurturing, I had to learn how to not talk ugly to the children, but I had to learn to speak in a different tone of not sweetness, but with authority and and coming into it with a sternness that I wasn't used to using. How to find my teacher voice.

SPEAKER_00 15:16

And that was very early in your career is what you said.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

Yeah, the my first two years of my I was ready to throw in the towel, but my dad just encouraged me that you to keep going. And you know, the sermon this morning related to you know, grief, you know, grief, so to speak. You know, I think even in my career, even though I went through those struggles, God was there guiding me through those struggles and helping me learn and and drawing closer to him. You know, a godly grief of of sorts, I guess you could say.

SPEAKER_00 15:54

So after that second year, what what shifted? What kind of rejuvenated your passion for this?

SPEAKER_01 16:00

Getting away from that school. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Was this school in Memphis? Were you still? It was downtown.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

It was uh and I I would then I got to my second school. I started off at Levi Elementary. Then I went to Ridgeway Elementary and I was able to grow there and meet people, and then then I went to Cape Bond. And it's like each school I've been drawn and and I've grown. And I think along the way, you know, I I had through hardships. Each one had their own different hardships, but I think through each one I've grown closer to God. And actually when I was at Ridgway, I'd been trying to move away from that school. But I had a principal that sh liked the power. And I felt she was holding like blackballing me so much. I'd come away from other interviews, feeling like, oh, that's gonna work. I'm gonna get away from her. And then I wouldn't get the job.

SPEAKER_03 17:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

And then one day on my way to work, it was like, God just put this thought in my brain. It was in February. It's like, I wonder if we're gonna find out if we have to surplus teachers soon. Meaning that they were going to not be allowed to keep the certain number of teachers at school. And if you surplused, she couldn't block your transfer. And so she said literally that same day at noon, we got an email saying she was gonna have to voluntarily surplus someone. And I was like, boom, that's it. I was done, I was out of there. And that's when I went to Cape Bond, and that was another blessing of God, just saying, This is where I want you because I went to the interview for that one. She's like, and I showed her my portfolio about things I've been doing. She said, I love it. She felt a connection to something in my portfolio, and I got the job on the spot.

SPEAKER_03 17:51

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 17:52

And the I was there for years, and that principal retired, and then another principal came in that I knew I had a reputation of putting her thumb on everything you did and micromanaging. And a friend of mine said, you know what, we need teachers at Germantown Elementary. The job is yours. I know if you want it. So okay, I went and interviewed, got that job, and that's where I am now. And that's where God just every step of the way has put me where I need to be. And the position I'm going to be filling, filling, excuse me, is going to had been open. I wor I've been working with VBS for many, many, many years. And I've worked my way up from being a shepherd to being the elementary coordinator to being now the director. And when that position became open last year, I was like, I just can't do it. I, you know, because I was going to wait for Rebecca to r get out of college. And Rebecca's your daughter. My daughter, Rebecca, and she has one more year. But when the position was still open in the fall, I said, God just putting is putting this on my heart that this is what I need to do. And so I spoke with Wesley about it. And we prayed about it. And we like, you know, this is what I'm supposed to do. And God said, okay, you know, I'm going to retire and fill this position. And all the steps have fallen up in place.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

That's great.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

I'm just super excited.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

There's a there's a tension that I'm curious to hear you talk about because I've I've wondered this about other teachers. When you leave a school, or especially a difficult school, like your first school that you were talking about, what is the tension within you of like the fear for the children that you're leaving behind? That you know, I'm a teacher that cares and then you're leaving them, or even just any of these schools, what is that tension for you? How do you kind of navigate that?

SPEAKER_01 19:55

I think when we ourselves are so burdened by the admin, it's we care for the children, but we look at it that, you know, if if I'm so burdened by the admin, am I truly able to s best serve them? And it's something that I don't not put them first, but sometimes I have to put where I'm being led first so that I can better serve children in general. And maybe the children I'm supposed to serve are at that other school, and that's why God's called me away from it.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:36

If that makes any sense.

SPEAKER_00 20:38

No, that makes perfect sense. Well, and since we've talked about God several times, can you kind of tell me your testimony? Did you grow up in church? Can you tell me how you came to know him?

SPEAKER_01 20:46

I was raised in the church. Like I said, Bellevue was a part of me, but I was baptized when I was nine years old at Ingleside Baptist Church. Had a wonderful minister there, Dr. Johns, who before I was baptized, met with me and made sure I understood everything. But I was raised going to Sunday school, going to church every Sunday, vacation Bible school, church camp. I was just church has always been a part of my life. And I just can't imagine not serving.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

Yeah. That's how so how do you, I mean, all these schools you mentioned, I think were public schools. How do you how do you navigate serving God in public schools? How do you how do you fill that void, you know?

SPEAKER_01 21:28

Obviously, I'm not allowed to minister to them, so to speak, through the like quoting scripture to them. My words and my actions can speak, be in the light that God asks us to be. But I also won't allow them to use the Lord's name in vain in my classroom. Whenever they say that, I say no, let's say, oh my goodness. Yeah. Or oh my stars is what they used to say. And if they ask me, I will tell them why.

SPEAKER_03 21:51

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

Because that's I'm allowed to do that if they ask me.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

So I just try to be the light that He wants me to be.

SPEAKER_00 21:59

Sure. Well, so I mean, let's talk uh this is normally a question I say for them, but I think this is coming naturally, is you're gonna be able to serve outright in ministry now. Yes. How does that excite you? What like what does that look like? Or like what's the change here?

SPEAKER_01 22:15

I you know, I just I'm anxious to see how much is going to change me because I know I'll be glorifying him and what I say and do, and I'll be able to do scripture. I'll be able to mention his glory in everything. I d it's going to be exciting. I don't have to put the shield up, so to speak, for I I'm going to be interested to see how it changes. I'm I'm so excited about it because God is working in me every in every step of the way.

SPEAKER_00 22:46

Yeah. Well, so now you you mentioned being able to do VBS, working your way up. Now you get to do VBS full time, essentially. Yes. How does that excite you? What what are you what does that bring? What kind of emotions does that stir for you?

SPEAKER_01 23:00

I feel, you know, Brad and Krista are amazing to work with on the team, and our team our whole t leadership team is amazing. I feel like now that I'm going to be able to be full-time with it, I can devote myself and take some of maybe take some of their load off and help kind of be even more part of the team and and bring more ideas and just grow our program even more. I've watched it change over the years and I've loved every bit of how it's changed to and what it is now. And it's so it just it's gonna be interesting to see.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

Yeah. Well, you may again going back to you worked your way up from shepherd. What's the shepherd recruiting shepherds is always something that's gonna be on the table for BBS. What's your encouragement to somebody who's listening that may be on the fence about being a shepherd or hasn't considered it? What's your word of encouragement for them?

SPEAKER_01 23:52

Being a shepherd and guiding groups of children sounds scary, but it's actually such a gift because being involved with these children and their walking with Christ and getting to know their sweet little personalities and being and seeing them throughout the years growing up is just it's it's a blessing. I mean, I have seen these children grow from kindergarten up and and watching them, it's just I love being a part of their lives. And being a shepherd is a great way to get involved in their lives without being overburdened because you're not there to teach them per se. You're there to help guide them and support them in their walk. And you're not going to have it all yourself. The teen helpers are there for you. And we keep our group small so that you can be a part of it and feel in part of it and not be overwhelmed and enjoy the being with the children and walking with them.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

That's really great. Okay, so now I want to go back to your personal story. One thing I've heard mentioned several times, your husband. Tell me how you met your husband. Tell me who your husband is, how you met, and that story.

SPEAKER_01 25:11

So my husband is Wesley Tillman. He grew up in Germantown Elementary and Durmantown schools. He grew up in Memphis and he's never lived anywhere but Memphis. Wow, okay. He and my cousin went to high school together, and she was home in August visiting her parents, and she said, I have a friend I want you to meet. And like I said, I just I knew before I even met him. It's just the strangest thing that God just puts this in your heart that he was going to be the one. And so we started dating in September of 92. He was already a part of this church. I started coming with him to this church.

SPEAKER_00 25:50

So just for help help me understand your time. Were you out of college at this time?

SPEAKER_01 25:54

No, actually, I was still in college. I was at the University of Memphis. Okay, got it. He was out of college already. He's three years older than I am.

SPEAKER_00 26:02

Okay, got it.

SPEAKER_01 26:03

So he was already out working with a company here. His major was journalism. And so it that kind of he was already working with a marketing company here. Okay. And we dated for about three and a half years. We got married in March of 96 in Wilson Chapel.

SPEAKER_00 26:21

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

And we've been married for 30 years.

SPEAKER_00 26:23

Okay, and so now you have a re a daughter named Rebecca. Can you tell me about her?

SPEAKER_01 26:28

What an amazing kid we were blessed with. She has a light that shines bright. She has a wonderful heart. She cares deeply, loves deeply, and just is an amazing young lady, and we're just so proud of her. And that's great. Just I don't I just I don't know. Yeah. I'm sorry, I'm kind of fumbling on that one.

SPEAKER_00 26:53

No, you're good.

SPEAKER_01 26:54

She's just a ray of sunshine to us.

SPEAKER_00 26:56

Well, it's we recently, Nathan, our director of missions, recently interviewed her, and she's going to Thailand this summer to serve, and her love of the Lord radiates from her. Can you talk about watching her grow in her faith?

SPEAKER_01 27:10

She amazes me and just everything with her, she knows her Bible so well. She could outquote me any day. Promise you that. She is just and she really is just living the life that God has intended for her. And I'm just so proud of her for that. You know, it takes a lot for someone to step out in such faith, and she is just walking and and and listening to his guidance every step of the way.

SPEAKER_00 27:43

Yeah. I mean, as a parent, watch I can my child is much younger, but how difficult is it to send her to Thailand for the summer?

SPEAKER_01 27:52

I mean I it's gonna be interesting to see. I feel like I've kind of it's it's one thing to have her down in Clinton, Mississippi. Yes. But she's gonna be so far away. And it's something I never imagined. And of course I'm a little nervous about it, but I have I mean, God's leading her where she needs to be, and I I trust that he's going to a lot of peace in that.

SPEAKER_00 28:18

I'm decent. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

Yeah. We'll we'll see how much that peace lasts when she's really there. But I've I'm thankful for communication devices that we can have, you know, the the WhatsApp to talk to her. If if I weren't gonna be able to actually talk to her, I think I would be more worried.

SPEAKER_00 28:38

Yeah. That's awesome. Well, Christy, we are on behalf of the congregation, we're so excited to have you starting this June and to have your first VBS in-house this summer. We we're just thrilled to watch what God's going to do through you and how you get to participate in his ministry. So welcome to the staff, and we're excited to have you.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

I'm super excited.

SPEAKER_00 28:57

I cannot wait. Thank you, Christy.

SPEAKER_03 29:00

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 29:07

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the podcast for Christ Methodist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. We pray that today's message has inspired and encouraged you in your walk with Christ. To stay connected with our church community, visit us online at Christchurchmemphis.org. We hope to see you this upcoming Sunday for worship as we seek to glorify God and make disciples of Jesus Christ among all peoples.