Rev. Dr. Rita Hays, an ordained deacon in the Tennessee Conference, is Associate Pastor for Children, Visitation, Education, and Family Ministries at Connell Memorial United Methodist Church in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. She has served in the local church in the area of Christian Education for over twenty-five years and has led numerous workshops on the district, conference, and national levels for The United Methodist Church. Hays also serves as an adjunct professor at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky. Dr. Hays is the author of The Children s Minister and The Most Important Space in the Church: The Nursery, both published by Discipleship Resources, and All in the Family: Faith Issues for Families Facing Addiction, published by WestBow Press.