By Randall Murphree | AFA Journal Editor

The data processing department is the heartbeat of any Christian ministry that depends on its supporters to keep it going. For most of us, data processing (DP) may sound like a dry and boring task – sitting at a computer and typing in information all day.

But it’s much more than that, according to Sharon Cole and Kellea Creely, two long-time DP clerks at AFA. “I love my job,” declares Sharon, who began working part-time at AFA as a college student. “I got married in 1983 and came to work full-time in September that year.”

Both ladies say AFA gives their work more meaning than a secular job would. It also adds a little excitement sometimes. Because of AFA’s criticism of culture, the ministry sometimes hears from persons who threaten or attempt to intimidate personnel. Such calls are almost always crank calls, but they can be unnerving, especially to the one who answers the call.

Sharon admits she’s been frightened sometimes: “There are people who hate us. There have been times we have even discussed it in our department – what if someone were to come in the front door and start shooting? Yes, I do get scared at times.” Still, her desire is to work at AFA until retirement.

“I still love working here,” she says. “The more I work here, the more I get into my job. I love what we do. I want a better world for my grandchildren.”

Sharon and her husband, Stephan, have two teenagers, Brandy and Wesley. The very young grandmother smiles with pride to talk about Christian, her first grandchild.

Of her typical day, Sharon says, “I open and process mail and enter the information into the computer. I take phone calls. I fill orders [for ministry materials]. We do a lot for AFR, the radio.” AFR, American Family Radio network, is just one arm of AFA for which the DP department compiles information. They also process data for the AFA Center for Law and Policy and AFA Journal.

Kellea says, “When we have AFR Share-a-thon twice a year, we help with that. And we help out in the mail room sometimes, sorting mail.” She began working at AFA as a high school co-op student in September, 1984.

Family-friendly policies
Things have changed a lot in Kellea’s 19 years at AFA. “When I started, nearly everything was done by hand,” she says. For several years, Kellea regularly helped enter Journal stories and articles on the now-archaic word processors in use at the time. She also recalls the days of stuffing envelopes by hand.

“Everything’s more computerized,” she adds. “And now we have laser printers that do the job more efficiently.”

Kellea and Lee Creely are parents of two sons – Brent, 17, and Jacob, 10. Kellea says one of the best things about AFA is the family atmosphere. “You get ready for work in the morning, and you just feel like you’re going to an extended part of your family,” she explains. “If you have a problem, you can talk to anybody about it – Mr. Wildmon [AFA founder] or Forrest Ann.”

Forrest Ann Daniels, Sharon’s mother, is AFA’s long-time comptroller and DP supervisor. She says Kellea and Sharon are part of a team who are committed to their work and get the job done well.

Another thing Kellea appreciates is AFA’s family-friendly policies. “When Brent started to school, I asked if I could get off in time to pick him up from school and go home with him,” she says. “It was no problem. I was able to cut my hours back and get off at 2:30. I can work, and still go home and have the afternoons with my children.”

One of the toughest things for Kellea is taking phone calls or opening letters from people who have tremendous problems and need someone to share their burdens with.

Whether sorting mail, entering data into their computers, answering Share-a-thon pledge calls, taking and filling orders for AFA products, or listening to someone who just needs a friend, Kellea and Sharon say the AFA data processing department is a challenge and a blessing – but never boring.