Wednesday, November, 21,
I never had a huge Church background. I did not know very much about the different denominations or all of the spiritual gifts that are expressed in Church. However, I have recently completed a Foundations Of Church Ministry course and had the opportunity to gain greater knowledge about the Church. I really enjoyed the course and learned a lot. I think that one of the major parts of the Church that I have grown in appreciation for is the pastors.
Before coming to camp Qwanoes for the Kaleo program and before taking this course, I had no idea all of the work pastors put into their job, and how hard it is for them and their families. During class we invited some pastors to join us and to tell us a little bit about their journey as a pastor. They were asked three questions "What are the joys of being a pastor?", "What are the burdens of being a pastor?" and "What effect has being a pastor had on your family?". The question that really stuck out to me is the question about their family. I learned from the pastors that they get persecuted and judged by so many people some even within the Church. The pastors explained how some of the judgment they get their family gets as well. The pastors told stories about problems their children have had because of them and about feeling terrible about taking their frustrations out on their families during hard times. After listening to the pastors speak, I have gained a great appreciation for them and really respect them for sticking with it, and realizing that its God they are doing this for.
In conclusion, I have really enjoyed all of my courses so far and really loved learning about the Church. Through my new knowledge of the Church I can strive to become a solution to a healthy Church. I think that with my new appreciation for the Church that it will make my experiences with the Church more enjoyable and productive. I am really looking forward to learning more about the Church and am excited for my Gospels class that is coming up.
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
God's Work In Ministry
November , 2012
So far during the Kaleo program I have learnt a lot. Through everything that I have learnt I have really been able to see and experience God. I have experienced God working in different ways through out my many ministry areas. Some areas in particular that I have really experienced God are during the Juniors retreat, at sunday school and through evangelism.
The juniors retreat was my first time counselling, so it was little bit scary at the start. However, through prayer and with God's help I was able to counsel those girls to the best of my ability and share the word of God with them. During the retreat I saw God really working in those girls lives. I was able to share God's word with them and they understood and accepted all that I was telling them. I really started to connect with the girls and I think that through me God made an impact in there lives.
The second ministry area that I have experienced God working in is through sunday school. I have just started leading a small group on sundays at New Life Church. So far I have led once with someone helping me and once on my own. I really enjoyed being able to lead the kids on my own because it gave me a chance to really connect with them. I really enjoyed teaching the kids God's word, listening to their responses and hearing about how God is working in each one of their lives. Something that really stuck out to me was when I asked if anyone would like to pray, and there was a girl who was so eager to pray it was wonderful and she did a really great job with it. I could really see that God was working in her life.
The third area that I have experienced God's work is through evangelism. During the program I have learned so much more about God than I could of ever imagined. Through my new found knowledge it has helped me to be able to help others. I have some friends back home who have been struggling and asking me for my help. Through the knowledge I have acquired from class, I have been able to answer their tough questions, and teach them new things about God. I think that through my teachings I have really been able to help them. Just from talking to my friends back home I can see the impact I have made and I know that God is at work in their lives.
These are just some of the ministry areas that I have been working in, but in my opinion they are the ones that have made the biggest impact so far. I am really looking forward to seeing how else God will work in my ministries and in my life.
So far during the Kaleo program I have learnt a lot. Through everything that I have learnt I have really been able to see and experience God. I have experienced God working in different ways through out my many ministry areas. Some areas in particular that I have really experienced God are during the Juniors retreat, at sunday school and through evangelism.
The juniors retreat was my first time counselling, so it was little bit scary at the start. However, through prayer and with God's help I was able to counsel those girls to the best of my ability and share the word of God with them. During the retreat I saw God really working in those girls lives. I was able to share God's word with them and they understood and accepted all that I was telling them. I really started to connect with the girls and I think that through me God made an impact in there lives.
The second ministry area that I have experienced God working in is through sunday school. I have just started leading a small group on sundays at New Life Church. So far I have led once with someone helping me and once on my own. I really enjoyed being able to lead the kids on my own because it gave me a chance to really connect with them. I really enjoyed teaching the kids God's word, listening to their responses and hearing about how God is working in each one of their lives. Something that really stuck out to me was when I asked if anyone would like to pray, and there was a girl who was so eager to pray it was wonderful and she did a really great job with it. I could really see that God was working in her life.
The third area that I have experienced God's work is through evangelism. During the program I have learned so much more about God than I could of ever imagined. Through my new found knowledge it has helped me to be able to help others. I have some friends back home who have been struggling and asking me for my help. Through the knowledge I have acquired from class, I have been able to answer their tough questions, and teach them new things about God. I think that through my teachings I have really been able to help them. Just from talking to my friends back home I can see the impact I have made and I know that God is at work in their lives.
These are just some of the ministry areas that I have been working in, but in my opinion they are the ones that have made the biggest impact so far. I am really looking forward to seeing how else God will work in my ministries and in my life.
Thursday, 25 October 2012
My Journey Into Leadership
Oct 25, 2012
So far through the Kaleo program I have learnt a lot about leadership and how to become a great leader. Through, this program I have had the opportunity to learn about the characteristics of a great leader, been able to practice leadership skills,and always remembering I must first learn to serve before I can lead. " It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,"(Matt 20:26)
I think that I learnt the most about leadership in the Camp and Youth ministry class. One of the characteristics of becoming a great leader that stood out to me, is in order to become a leader you must become a servant first. This is something that I had never really thought about before. When you are aiming to become a leader, you are constantly thinking about leading and how you can better lead. The truth I found is you must first learn how to serve. Often serving is hard when it is leading that you want to do. Though, in the end serving will be what makes you a better leader. Another, characteristic that stood out to me is being able and willing to be faithful with the small things. When you start out as a leader your are most likely going to start out with the small things. If you cant handle or are unwilling to handle what is small, then how are people supposed to expect you to handle something big. I think that John Piper has a true definition on what makes a great leader. "Spiritual leadership is knowing where God wants people to be and taking the initiative to use God's methods to get them there in reliance on God's power." -John Piper
When learning about leadership it is very important to practice what you are learning. The Kaleo program allows me to practice my leadership skills in many ways such as church ministry, youth ministry and camp ministry. This past weekend I had the privilege to be a camp counsellor at the Qwanoes junior retreat. I have never been a counsellor before so I was a bit nervous at the start, but it ended up being a very full and great weekend. Since this was my first time as a counsellor I had someone with counselling experience help me. Having another counsellor there with me gave me the opportunity to be able to serve. We were able to work together and we were able to serve each other with what was needed. I also had the opportunity to practice dealing with the small things before I deal with the big. Now that I have had help counselling dealing with the smaller stuff, I will be able to deal with the bigger stuff, such as counselling on my own. I think that a characteristic of leadership that I could of worked on would be communication. There were times this weekend that I was not able to locate my co-counsellor or I didn't know what she had planned, I think that could of easily been cleared up through stronger communication.
Overall, I am really enjoying being able to not just learn about leadership but also to be able to put what I have learnt into practice. I am really looking forward to learning more about leadership and taking on whatever leadership roles God throws my way.
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Relationships with the youth and church leaders
Oct,09,2012
So far I have been here for almost a month and I have already done so much and learnt so much. As you know the church that I am attending and helping out at is called New Life which is located in Duncan. Though, I haven't attended this church for very long, I have had a great opportunity to help out in youth group and kids zone on the road. I have also been able to connect with a lot of the youth and church leaders.
So far I have attended three different youth nights. I have never been a leader at a youth group before so this was a new experience for me that kind of pushed me out of my comfort zone. At all of the youth nights I have really tried to get to know all the youth and to especially remember their names. I think that I have already started some great relationships and hope to continue with them. I have noticed that the more I go to church and youth group, the more the youth start to open up and want to get to know me and want to build a friendship. I think that its going to be a great year and I cant wait for my new friendships to grow.
Something different that my church does is a children's ministry called kids zone on the road. Kids zone on the road is a ministry for children in the First Nations reserve. Kids zone on the road takes place every sunday after lunch. What we do is we pack up a trailer and head to the reserve. At the reserve we play games with the kids,sing songs,do puppet shows and have snack time. I have only had the opportunity to attend this once because of our busy schedule, so i haven't had a chance to really develop strong relationships with the kids. I did however, get a chance to develop relationships with the leaders of this ministry. A young really sweet couple are the main leaders of this program and I get to see them every sunday at church. I have had an excellent opportunity to get to know them and I am looking forward to building in our relationship as well.
So far I have been here for almost a month and I have already done so much and learnt so much. As you know the church that I am attending and helping out at is called New Life which is located in Duncan. Though, I haven't attended this church for very long, I have had a great opportunity to help out in youth group and kids zone on the road. I have also been able to connect with a lot of the youth and church leaders.
So far I have attended three different youth nights. I have never been a leader at a youth group before so this was a new experience for me that kind of pushed me out of my comfort zone. At all of the youth nights I have really tried to get to know all the youth and to especially remember their names. I think that I have already started some great relationships and hope to continue with them. I have noticed that the more I go to church and youth group, the more the youth start to open up and want to get to know me and want to build a friendship. I think that its going to be a great year and I cant wait for my new friendships to grow.
Something different that my church does is a children's ministry called kids zone on the road. Kids zone on the road is a ministry for children in the First Nations reserve. Kids zone on the road takes place every sunday after lunch. What we do is we pack up a trailer and head to the reserve. At the reserve we play games with the kids,sing songs,do puppet shows and have snack time. I have only had the opportunity to attend this once because of our busy schedule, so i haven't had a chance to really develop strong relationships with the kids. I did however, get a chance to develop relationships with the leaders of this ministry. A young really sweet couple are the main leaders of this program and I get to see them every sunday at church. I have had an excellent opportunity to get to know them and I am looking forward to building in our relationship as well.
Monday, 24 September 2012
Beginning My Ministry
Sept,24,2012
So far I have been at camp Qwanoes for just under two weeks. I was a little nervous getting here, but I soon got to know all of my amazing classmates and staff who I can now call my close friends and second family. The first out trip that we got to participate in was hiking. I was excited to go, but my reasoning for my excitement was for selfish reasons. I realize now that the hiking experience was to glorify God and to appreciate his creation. While on the hike I began to realize that I am not strong enough to climb the mountain on my own. The more I climbed the harder it got. I could not of climbed to the top without the strength of God working within me. As soon as I realized I was no longer relying on my own strength, I began to grasp more energy as well as feel the presence of God climbing the mountain with me. When I had finally reached the top, I looked at the amazing view around me and realized, that the work I had to go through to get here was worth it. For in the same way our struggles in life end up being worth it in the end when we get to finally see Jesus.
Since this is a leadership program, of course I am going to tell you about my journey of becoming a leader. So far I have had the chance to lead at youth group and at Qwanoes during a retreat. Each student was assigned a different church that they will have an opportunity to serve in as well as attending the services. The church I was assigned to is called New Life which is located in Duncan. I really enjoyed attending this church because It has a significantly larger population than the churches that I am used to. I enjoy going to the smaller churches in my community but I really wanted to try something new and to see what it is like to be apart of a larger church family. New Life has larger youth group than I am used to as well. At New Life they have two different groups that spit up and do different things. They have a senior high youth group and a junior high youth group. I was able to help out and lead at the senior youth group this Friday. I was a little scared at first knowing that the youth group is larger than what I am used to, but I was also nervous because I was their leader and I have never lead a group of kids before, I didn't know what I was doing! Then I find out that I am also leading the grade ten girls devotions! Luckily, the topic of the devotion was already chosen. Though I still felt Gods presence during the parts of the devotions that were not planned out. The holy spirit within me allowed the proper words flow right out of my mouth! I really enjoyed the experience and cant wait for more to come as I grow and become stretched in my faith.
Camp ministry is one of the other ways that I am doing ministry and contributing in leadership. At camp there are many retreats happening during the fall and I get to serve during those retreats. So far there has been one retreat that I have had the opportunity to serve and that was when the student leaders from Trinity Western University came, for the weekend. I got to help out and serve during the weekend by helping out at the boat house. While at the boat house my job was to hand out life jackets and help people out with the kayaks and paddle boards. For me it wasn't just a job but it was also a chance to talk to and get to know some of the students from the university, while helping them out during the retreat. The last way I got to help out at the camp, these past two weeks, was when I was put on dish duty. Once a week every student will be put on dish duty. Nobody actually likes doing dishes or at least I have never met anybody that does,but its a chance to serve and that is what I am here to do serve and glorify God at the same time. I dont mind doing the dishes because I know that its the right thing to do and it helps me to grow in becoming a leader and a woman of God.
So far the Kaleo program has been great. I had the opportunity to meet lots of great people and to become a part in this wonderful community. I encourage you to keep on reading my blog to find out what else god is doing in my life and what crazy adventures he has for me.
So far I have been at camp Qwanoes for just under two weeks. I was a little nervous getting here, but I soon got to know all of my amazing classmates and staff who I can now call my close friends and second family. The first out trip that we got to participate in was hiking. I was excited to go, but my reasoning for my excitement was for selfish reasons. I realize now that the hiking experience was to glorify God and to appreciate his creation. While on the hike I began to realize that I am not strong enough to climb the mountain on my own. The more I climbed the harder it got. I could not of climbed to the top without the strength of God working within me. As soon as I realized I was no longer relying on my own strength, I began to grasp more energy as well as feel the presence of God climbing the mountain with me. When I had finally reached the top, I looked at the amazing view around me and realized, that the work I had to go through to get here was worth it. For in the same way our struggles in life end up being worth it in the end when we get to finally see Jesus.
Since this is a leadership program, of course I am going to tell you about my journey of becoming a leader. So far I have had the chance to lead at youth group and at Qwanoes during a retreat. Each student was assigned a different church that they will have an opportunity to serve in as well as attending the services. The church I was assigned to is called New Life which is located in Duncan. I really enjoyed attending this church because It has a significantly larger population than the churches that I am used to. I enjoy going to the smaller churches in my community but I really wanted to try something new and to see what it is like to be apart of a larger church family. New Life has larger youth group than I am used to as well. At New Life they have two different groups that spit up and do different things. They have a senior high youth group and a junior high youth group. I was able to help out and lead at the senior youth group this Friday. I was a little scared at first knowing that the youth group is larger than what I am used to, but I was also nervous because I was their leader and I have never lead a group of kids before, I didn't know what I was doing! Then I find out that I am also leading the grade ten girls devotions! Luckily, the topic of the devotion was already chosen. Though I still felt Gods presence during the parts of the devotions that were not planned out. The holy spirit within me allowed the proper words flow right out of my mouth! I really enjoyed the experience and cant wait for more to come as I grow and become stretched in my faith.
Camp ministry is one of the other ways that I am doing ministry and contributing in leadership. At camp there are many retreats happening during the fall and I get to serve during those retreats. So far there has been one retreat that I have had the opportunity to serve and that was when the student leaders from Trinity Western University came, for the weekend. I got to help out and serve during the weekend by helping out at the boat house. While at the boat house my job was to hand out life jackets and help people out with the kayaks and paddle boards. For me it wasn't just a job but it was also a chance to talk to and get to know some of the students from the university, while helping them out during the retreat. The last way I got to help out at the camp, these past two weeks, was when I was put on dish duty. Once a week every student will be put on dish duty. Nobody actually likes doing dishes or at least I have never met anybody that does,but its a chance to serve and that is what I am here to do serve and glorify God at the same time. I dont mind doing the dishes because I know that its the right thing to do and it helps me to grow in becoming a leader and a woman of God.
So far the Kaleo program has been great. I had the opportunity to meet lots of great people and to become a part in this wonderful community. I encourage you to keep on reading my blog to find out what else god is doing in my life and what crazy adventures he has for me.
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