Sheryl Denise Shaw, longtime minister to children and their families, died May 12. She was 59. She was born May 21, 1965, in Rocky Mount, N.C., to Charles and Patricia Shaw. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C., where she majored in religious education and music. As a college student, she participated in a music group called “Witness” that sang in churches throughout North Carolina. Upon graduation from Campbell, she worked in Winston-Salem as a manager trainee for Zondervan Family Book Stores. She moved to Richardson after completing her training and managed the Family Book Store there. In 1993, she sensed God’s call to surrender to full time Christian service, and she enrolled in Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. As a student, she managed the audio-visual center in the seminary library and served as preschool ministries assistant at First Baptist Church in Dallas. She graduated from Southwestern Seminary in 1997 with a master’s degree in religious education. She served 28 years ministering to children and their parents. In addition to Kingwood First Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Lewisville, she also served at First Baptist Church in Norfolk, Va.; Aversboro Road Baptist Church in Garner, N.C.; Pritchard Memorial Baptist Church and First Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C.; and Coastal Community Baptist Church in Wilmington, N.C. She led many children to Christ, and her passion was discipleship. While serving in Norfolk, she was co-author of the book, I’m a Christian Now, which served as a catalyst for the Lifeway curriculum of the same name. She is survived by her parents, Charles and Patricia Shaw, and her brother Robert Shaw and his wife Jackie.
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