Director of Children and Youth

 

Hello!  My name is Lani Thompson, I was born and raised right here in central Minnesota and have been active in the United Methodist Church my entire life. I am a huge fan of church camps, and have been working with United Methodist children’s and youth camps for 22 years now. Along with that I have spent the last 7 years serving as the Director of Youth Ministries at Minnehaha UMC in Minneapolis. 

I have a 12 year old daughter named Madison who is active in dance and she is looking forward to starting 7th grade this fall at Forest Lake Middle school. I also have lots of nieces and nephews! Some are in college or living all over the U.S., but most of them have always loved to come with me to worship and participate in the children’s and youth activities, so I’m sure you will be seeing the younger ones around church with me as well.

I feel the most connected to God while in nature, and because of that I absolutely love everything about the outdoors and camping. My favorite place to get away is Lake Superior, and I try to get up there at least once a year. I really enjoy playing games, everything from card games like Apples to Apples and Spoons to active games like The Amazing Race and Photo Scavenger Hunts. As a true Minnesotan, I prefer cold weather over hot, and I love all the activities that go along with it like hockey, ice fishing, sledding, building snow forts, broomball, and snowmobiling.

I consider myself kind of artsy and genuinely enjoy doing craft projects with kids, especially the really messy ones. I also love to bake even though I might not be the greatest at it. Everything normally turns out looking nice, but taste is another topic.

I am truly looking forward to working with the children, youth, and mission teams here at SPUMC, and am excited for a fantastic year of faith, fun and fellowship.