A year in ministry.

In order to further prepare you for the year ahead Tanner Kooistra (last year's ministry award winner) wanted to share some insights he learned from his year in the Kaléo Program. Tanner was actively involved in leading a chapel worship team within the program, served in various camp roles during retreats, served as a youth leader and Sunday school teacher at Oceanview Community Church, and was part of our inner city Vancouver missions trip. Tanner is currently serving as an intern for the summer at Oceanview. Here are some preparatory words from Tanner:
     

Part of our Vancouver missions team.
Leading worship at Potter's Place Mission
 From left to right: Graedon, Jon, Nicole, and Tanner.

     Hey Qwanoes Students of 2013! Congratulations! I hope you are excited for what God has in store for you. God is going to do incredible things in your life in the next year. You are going to learn and grow so much. 
     Ministry is such a big aspect of the Kaléo Program. You are blessed to be able to have all the different opportunities you will be given in ministry throughout the year. Do not take this for granted. Soak up all the experience you can get in ministry!  Serve whole-heartedly! There may be times when you feel overwhelmed with the amount of tasks you have to accomplish. Do not let this feeling undermine your desire to serve in ministries. The paper the next day or the out-trip the week before can worry about themselves. Be focused when you are in ministry for you are bringing glory not to yourselves but to God. You should be stoked for youth group, worship team, Sunday school, missions-trips, or whatever it is because you have been given the opportunity to show Christ’s love to others and to bring honor to your Savior. 
     Serve with a humble and teachable attitude! You can and will learn so much in each ministry you are a part of. While you may have just spent a whole week learning in class about a certain ministry, there are lessons that you will only ever learn from being involved. Ask questions! Your leaders, your pastors or whoever else is leading the ministries you are a part of have experience. Take this for all it is worth! Watch them lead and learn from it. 
     Be willing to serve anytime-anywhere! You will not always be comfortable in ministry. This is good! God does not call you to comfortableness. Rather, it is when you are uncomfortable AND trusting in God that the stretching and growing will happen. It is through these times when you will truly learn dependence on God.
     Be willing to be stretched! Have a desire for God to change you through ministry. Learn to be soft clay in the Potter’s hands. It is with an attitude like this that you will grow the most and truly learn to serve the way God wants you to. 
Ministry will not always be easy. But serve with love, passionately pursuing Christ in all of it. 
I pray that this year will spark a fire in you to serve.  To serve in 'official' ministry and outside of it. I pray that you will serve selflessly, only bringing glory to God.  1 Peter 4:11b- "if anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ."

A word from last year's valedictorian.

I’ve asked last year’s valedictorian; Mitch Hogeveen to write a letter to you as you prepare for all that September has to offer. The Kaléo program valedictorian is chosen as the person who best embodies all the elements of the program. The valedictorian is one who shows tremendous growth in their faith throughout the year, a hunger to learn, and displays leadership in all components. Mitch is a solid leader and I’m so excited to see the wake of changed eternities he will leave as he continues his journey following Jesus. As the summer progresses I’ll continue to post letters from last year’s award winners. Here’s Mitch:

Kaléo 2013. Congratulations on being accepted! God has given you a great opportunity to grow and flourish in many different ways. However just as it is a great opportunity, it is also a great challenge.

The best thing that you can prepare yourselves for is to love knowledge. This means that you seek out correction, advice, and counsel. Obviously the easiest place to learn is through the classes and so I urge you to strive for excellence and discipline as you complete assignments, read books, and take notes. Also I encourage you to discipline yourselves in your devotions. Set apart time to spend in the word daily and time to just listen and talk to God. If you come into this year humbly searching for knowledge and wisdom, you will not be disappointed. So ask your leaders, professors, and the Qwanoes staff questions about the Bible or just life in general they are more than willing to help.

Take advantage of the Christ centered community that you are in by asking tough questions and having the awkward conversations. Do not let the blessings that you have go to waste. Take advantage of your leaders! They are your leaders for a reason and they are a valuable resource. Seek counsel from them and apply what they teach you and you will soon understand why they are your leaders.

Also be bold! God has prepared you for everything that you will do and he will be with you in everything you do so do not be afraid! One of my favourite quotes is this: “Do not let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” One of the ways I conquer fear is through prayer. Prayer should play a huge role in your day-to-day life at Qwanoes, wherever you are now, and wherever you go after. If you are constantly aligning your will with God’s through prayer you will be able to do immeasurably more than anyone can ask or imagine. My hope for you is that you would learn and grow as much as I did this past year if not more. If you actively pursue Christ centered growth in every area of your life then God will provide abundantly. 

Welcome!

    Welcome everyone to the official Kaléo 2013 blog site. This site is the place to get updated on what's happening in the Kaléo program. We'll be posting periodically throughout the summer as we begin preparations for the year ahead and then once the program begins we'll be posting updates each week. If you're a Qwanoes student, I encourage you to share this link with friends, family, and church supporters so they can get a feel for the program and some of the experiences God has in store for us.

     As I have written in previous documents, I will continue to look forward to Kaléo 2013 with a spirit of expectancy. I pray that we will all come to the year expecting that God will do a mighty work in each of us, and through each of us, yet I will not set expectations on how Jesus will do it, I will leave those specifics to God alone. We have an amazing year planned and we pray that within the structure of the Kaléo program that each of you will encounter God in an amazing life-stretching way.

     One thing I can assure you is that it will not be an easy year, so prepare yourselves for everything that God has in store for you.

• Prepare yourselves academically - take up the discipline of reading (if you haven't already) and read good books this summer. 

• Prepare yourselves physically - our first out-trip is a three day hike up a mountain! Go on walks, be active, and don't shy away from a challenge.

• Prepare yourselves spiritually - prepare to be stretched and challenged. Dig deeply into the word, pray regularly and fervently, and establish a community of believers at home to which you can return and share your growth with.

   Kaléo 2013 exists for one reason in your life: to prepare and equip you for every year that follows.  I expect God will challenge each of you, stretch each of you, and also unite each of you together as you walk side by side into spiritual growth and leadership development.

In His Grace,

Andrew
CIT, LIT, and Kaléo Program Leader
Camp Qwanoes