Sid Taylor has been a part of YOKE’s ministry in Blount County since the beginning. He and his wife, Natalie, have three kids Cade, Rowen, and Jaron, and one granddaughter. When his oldest son, Cade, was in seventh grade, Sid was invited to attend YOKE’s first club in the basement of East Maryville Baptist Church. “I met John Coatney, the founder of YOKE, and the next thing I know I’m snorting Mt. Dew out of my nose,” Sid recalls. “I’ve never laughed so hard. YOKE was hilarious.”
When John asked Sid for help, Sid did not think he had the time. He was a business leader, a father, and active in his church, but he decided it was an opportunity he could not pass up. “I said yes because I thought YOKE needed me, but I quickly realized it was the other way around,” remembers Sid. “YOKE helped me and richly blessed my life.”
Sid would go on to serve as a team leader in Blount County for many years and eventually joined YOKE’s board of directors. He has done a little bit of everything, from washing dishes and acting in skits at camp to speaking and teaching at YOKE leadership weekends. Sid laughs again as he recalls one of his favorite stories.
I was washing the pans from dinner at camp. I washed and washed and washed. I kept washing, but the pans kept coming. There just seemed to be no end. I finally figured out that John was taking the pans I just washed and was returning them to the sink! There really wasn’t anything John couldn’t get me to do, and I have no idea how many extra pans I washed after that meal.
Sid doesn’t get to keep in touch with many of his former YOKE Kids but runs into former YOKE Folk on a regular basis. One lesson stands out to Sid that he learned during his time at YOKE. “Jesus and his disciples were tired—and his disciples even said ‘nope’—but in Matthew 19:13-15 Jesus said ‘Let the little children come to me,” explains Sid. “When I think about YOKE, that is what I think about. God loves kids and YOKE is letting them come. That’s the whole premise of YOKE.”
Even though Sid doesn’t serve at clubs or camp anymore, he never stopped loving the kids served by YOKE. He continues to play a part in YOKE by being a Monthly Vital Partner, or MVP. Even as he looks toward retirement in a few years, he has already made plans to include YOKE in his new monthly budget.
Would you consider joining Sid as an MVP? We’re looking for 20 alumni to commit just $50 a month. That’s an extra $12,000 a year toward the life-changing ministry of YOKE. Visit our giving page for more information or to set up your recurring gift.
