Matthew and Sara Couch have two daughters, Ellianna and Makaylyn. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Using her training in music therapy and preschool studies, Sara Couch has been named preschool and children’s minister at The Brook.

She will staff and train adult teams and support parents “as they disciple their families,” Couch said. She will oversee teaching of about 85 youngsters in Sunday morning environments, Faith Builders preschool and Faith Factory children’s activities.

Previously, Couch was children’s ministry director at The Brook.

“As a teenager, I was encouraged by my parents to find places to use my gifts and talents to serve God,” Couch said.

Her teaching began with children’s choir and Vacation Bible School music at Life Point in Smyrna, Tenn. “I loved working with kids, encouraging them and watching them grow and learn,” Couch said. “At 16, I knew that God was calling to spend my life serving Him.”

After college, she worked as activity coordinator at Sycamores Terrace Retirement Community in Donelson, Tenn. and as a music therapist at The STAR Center in Jackson, Tenn.

She also opened a private music therapy practice and taught in an after-school program and preschool. “I saw several children with disabilities as their music therapist,” Couch said.

That training has proven valuable in leading volunteer teams at The Brook. Now, she is further using her strengths to lead not just the children’s volunteers but also preschool volunteers and families.

What does she most enjoy? “Definitely the people I get to work alongside. I love The Brook’s staff and the way they challenge and encourage me. I’m incredibly grateful for the volunteers on my teams that have become like a part of my family,” Couch said.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in music therapy and a minor in psychology at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville. She completed an internship The STAR Center.

She and husband Matthew moved to Madison in 2008 for his job as design engineer at ADTRAN. Their children are Ellianna, 5, and Makaylyn, 2, who attend Mount Zion Baptist Church’s weekday program.