Building the Kingdom Brick by Brick
Written by Dain Spore
Iwas feeling pretty good about myself, until went to explore the rest of the construction project.
“Look at me!” I thought, “I hope people notice and say ‘Wow! He can teach Scripture AND he knows how to paint?’”. Because there I was, doing my small part to complete the building of the new Anchor House Discipleship Center. When I say, “small part”, I am not exaggerating. When it comes to all things construction, Rick and I jokingly call ourselves “The Cheech and Chong of builders”. The only “skill” I possess in construction is painting. After Hurricane Iniki I worked for a Christian painting contractor (Agape Painting, how divine!) and learned how to slop water-based acrylic over rotting wood. I thought I was pretty awesome until one day I said to a contractor friend “Painting is the only construction skill I possess” and he replied, “Painting is NOT a construction skill.”
Whatever the case, there I was, all duded up in my painter clothes, and working a roller over the smooth, freshly primed walls, and offering painting advice to anybody within earshot. However, my selfcongratulatory expertise and do-gooder feeling vanished like a morning mist on a July morning when I went to check out how the other work crews were faring.
Stepping into what would eventually be the girls’ dormitory, I was shocked to see Don and Lorrie, down on their hands and knees caulking the baseboards. Why was I shocked? Two reasons. First, to paraphrase God from the fifth chapter of Amos “I hate, I despise, caulking or painting baseboard”. Well, that is not exactly what He said, but I wouldn’t be surprised if God felt that way. Have you ever caulked or painted baseboard? It is THE most miserable thing a painter can do. It is equal parts backbreaking and tedious. If you have done it, right now you are nodding in agreement.
Secondly, Don, at least, is perhaps twenty years older than me, and I consider myself way too old for such taxing menial labor. “What are you guys doing?” I cried, with perhaps more of a scolding tone than I intended. They both blinked at me in silence for beat, and then Don replied, “Getting this place ready for the next generation”. “Couldn’t they find anybody youn—” I stammered. I stood there awkwardly for a few seconds with my half-completed sentence hanging in the air until Don said, “If you look in the closet over there, we killed about the biggest centipede I’ve ever seen”.
Have you ever heard the story of the three brick layers? There are a few versions around on the internet and I have picked my favorite one to share with you. It goes like this: In 1675 the famous Christian architect Christopher Wren was commissioned to rebuild Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London after The Great Fire of 1666.
Five years into the massive project, he stopped to pose a simple question to three brick layers. “What are you doing?” He asked. The first replied, “I am a brick layer, working hard to feed my family,” the second offered, “I am a builder. I am building the walls of a church.” The third answered, “I am a cathedral builder. And I am building the kingdom of God.”
We are part of a much greater purpose, the universal worship of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The lesson of the story is fairly obvious. When we see ourselves correctly in the grand Redemptive Narrative of God, our every effort is part of a much bigger vision than the task before us. Then, no task is too menial or difficult for us. Instead, it is infused with meaning. Additionally, and this what I love about Don and Lorrie, they see with clarity their position in the history of the Kingdom of God. Their temporal, physical efforts in helping the building of the Anchor House will have eternal, spiritual results that quite frankly are not quantifiable to our thinking. Peter speaks of a similar concept in the first letter that he wrote. He combines
the concept of our own lives, our service, and our growth into Christian maturity, with the larger narrative of the establishment of God’s eternal Kingdom:
“You yourselves, like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5, ESV)
I just love this idea that as we ourselves grow up, and into Christ (Eph 4), we are part of a much greater purpose, the universal worship of our Lord Jesus Christ. It makes our every effort towards Him an act of Holiness, surpassing even the efforts of the ancient priests of Israel. He calls us His “Holy priesthood”! Imagine that. By this measure, even applying caulking to baseboard on a hot, humid morning on Kauai is an act of sacred duty.
This idea was really driven home about three days ago, when we had the Anchor House 2025 graduation ceremony. Standing in front of us were 28 young, faithful and energetic servants of The Lord. You could palpably sense their excitement to get out into the world and begin a lifetime of building God’s Kingdom. And let me tell you people, the Kingdom is in good hands! But while the presentation continued, and the year’s recap video was playing, my eyes drifted over to small corner of the room, and I caught myself looking at the baseboard. And it hit me like a ton of bricks! Get it? Bricks! In that moment I could vividly see the direct connection between the efforts of Don and Lorrie, doing their small part for God, and how it directly translates into the building of God’s Kingdom.
And like all good lessons, there is a built-in challenge for us. Do we see the connection between our small efforts for God, and the magnitude of His plan of Redemption? What else can we do to be a part of His plan? What bricks can we contribute? Well, since you asked (!). We would like to invite you, to use your bricklaying gift to support the efforts of the ministry at the Anchor House. Whilst the main building is complete, we are currently raising funds to complete the project. Specifically, we need to build a permanent
(St. Paul’s Cathedral, London | Photo by Aaron Gilmore on Unsplash.com)
lecture hall to facilitate the instruction of God’s Word. In addition, there are always a few students who struggle to pay the tuition. If you are looking for a place to put your hand to the plow, or place your brick, we would gratefully appreciate your financial support. And if you live here on Kauai, and you are able, when construction begins on the new building, we invite to come on
down lay a few bricks or hammer a few nails. And don’t be surprised if you see me wandering around, authoritatively waving my painting roller around like Moses with his staff in Midian. And don’t be surprised if you see Don and Lorrie down on their hands and knees, humbling us all with their gift of baseboards!
My Cup Runneth Over
A View from an Anchor House Student - Part Two
Written by Mieka Schneidereit
In our last Issue we featured an article by Mieka, who at the time was a new student at the Anchor House weighing in on what it was like to step into a brand new world from her home in Canada. This article is part two, written in the closing days of her experience at this nine-month school of the Bible.
Wow. I can’t believe that there are only two weeks left. I remember meeting these strangers in September and knowing that we had nine whole months lined up ahead of us to make memories and grow closer to Jesus. I can’t even wrap my head around the fact that those nine months have passed! I have two journals, both full of entries from September to now.
Within those entries are stories of adventure, sorrow, love, and testimonies of what God has taught me. This year has completely edified my faith and has displayed God’s providence and loving kindness for me. I am so grateful for the friendships I’ve made here and for the hours of lectures I’ve engaged with. The list of speakers that came to teach us has given me such powerful skills to understand God’s word and to know what it looks like to follow Him. Just like how attending frequent violin lessons make you play smoother and perform more naturally, all the Anchor House lectures
have equipped me so well that my walk with God has become more genuine. My walk with God is now not just something that I grew up being taught to do, but one that is extremely personal to me. I have gained arguably the most important thing a person can have: an active love relationship with my Heavenly Father
One of the things that I really appreciate about this year’s class is the amount of fun we have. I have been told that our year in particular has a knack for knowing how to have a fun time. The joy of the Lord has been extremely apparent in this last season of my life as it has been overflowing from the people around me and filling my heart. I believe that a big reason why we can share this raw and genuine joy is because everyone here is comfortable to fully be themselves in Christ.
That kind of vulnerability is one that only a group of Christ followers can create. Whether it’s exploring the Napali Coast as a class, or creating a hilarious “fake wedding” party, we experience the Lord’s joy together and I have really felt God having fun alongside us. I am walking out of this year feeling spiritually fuller than ever. I’ve heard it been said that a year at the Anchor House acts like a “greenhouse” for our faith and I can say first hand that that statement is so true.
But as someone really special to me said recently, there comes a time where we’ve grown so much in this greenhouse that our branches start cramming against the glass roof. I remember one of our last speakers encouraged us to think about the lost people around us. I thought about it, looked around the room, and realized I have been surrounded by Christ-like people this whole year and was having trouble thinking of lost people in my life. I found myself in that class praying for God to send me lost people. How blessed am I to feel so well equipped and eager to spread the gospel after a year at The Anchor House. My cup truly is “runneth-ing” over from the gracious hand who pours, and I’m ready to direct this overflowing stream to thirsty people. I am so grateful for this past year
and for all God has been working within me. I have all I need. I have Jesus. Now it’s time to walk out into the battlefield and find the lost people.
A Special Note: Every year we have students who can’t swing the full tuition for a year at the Anchor House and every year we pretty much drain our scholarship fund helping out students in some way. If empowering a future student who is struggling financially is of interest to you please consider contributing to our Anchor House Scholarship Fund.
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Grace in the Journey
Written by Jacqueline Hoban, Director of KCF Keiki Preschool
The end of every school year is both joy-filled and sobering. I worry about the sustainability of the love and truth we have poured into the preschoolers. Will they continue to seek the One who loves them most?
Having been involved in education for almost a half century in one way or another I’ve had the privilege of observing firsthand the outcomes of several. Herein are a few examples of what I’ve noticed and why my dearest hope for all children, no matter how young or old, is that they will know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
I began teaching professionally as a kindergarten teacher in an inner-city public school. As one of only a handful of caucasian staff members I was under scrutiny. Part of my day included eating lunch with my class in the big lunchroom with the older students and other teachers. I was a fairly new Christian back then and conflicted about how to function as a woman of faith in a secular environment. I wanted to honor God and keep the peace. My compromise was to take a few seconds to silently pray for the children and the food. With eyes wide open I would just briefly fix my gaze on the meal and wordlessly thank God. One fateful day I was startled from my moment when I heard Moses, the grandson of a Baptist preacher, loudly pronounce, “In Jesus name, Amen.” I looked up just in time to see
that every head was bowed and hands folded. As a public school teacher, I wasn’t allowed to influence the religious predilections of my students, so I left Moses and his buddies alone for the rest of the year. Miraculously, no one ever questioned the daily ritual of Mrs. Hoban’s kindergarten class.
I often wonder about those littles who are likely parents or even grandparents by now. On occasion I remember them in prayer. Is it possible that they’re still living a life for Christ. What compels a child to continue on his or her journey with Christ?
In Ephesians 2:8-9, it says: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
In a popular self-help book, The Road Less Traveled, a secular understanding of grace is explained as a powerful force that influences human lives. The author describes grace as something that originates outside conscious awareness and insists it is a critical aspect of spiritual growth. He explains embracing grace involves acknowledging the limits of relying on one’s own efforts, especially when facing challenges or resistance. It is sad that the author does not point the reader to Christ.
Here is what I’ve observed about grace. While outside influences are impactful, they don’t necessarily predict a diligent follower. I’ve known an individual whose family left the Catholic church embracing atheism instead after the mother became angry at the priest’s message one day. Throughout high school and college, the five siblings emulated their mom and lived careless lives ignoring the possibility of a loving Father in Heaven. Two of those children eventually returned to their faith. Three are still searching for spiritual meaning and also admit they haven’t yet found it. Who can tell what may happen in their future? I’ve also watched lovely families faithfully attend church, encourage their teenagers to join youth group, lead Godly lives that made it easy to conclude that following Christ made sense, and yet perhaps one or more of their progeny fell away. Will they eventually return? They have a lifetime warranty that God loves them, and it is a well-hoped-for expectation that they might.
I’ve known several families who never attended or only infrequently attended church, and yet their children clearly loved the Lord, speaking of Him with reverence and awe. And as in the case of the other examples, the outcome of their early faith either became unclear or very obvious as they grew older. However, one of my pastors was the child of such a family who chose staying home on their sabbath day, never said grace or prayed for guidance, and yet my pastor discovered the Lord when he was a youth and never turned away. That man is in his eighties now.
Matthew 7 states, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many
who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
So, what should we do? Families should give their children the best opportunity to seek the truth and discover the unmerited grace God extends to everyone who seeks Him. The imperative that Jesus gave to Peter also applies to parents in relationship to our children, “Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15) As members of God’s family, we should all take care to teach them the truth that Jesus loves them and that He proved this when he died and rose again! All this done in the hope that they will find the road less traveled.
Get in the Game
Written by Kyler Schmidt
Iam going to start off by painting a picture for you, one that many of us are familiar with in one way or another:
Imagine you decide to go out for a sports team- you prepare, spend time practicing, eat healthy, and learn new techniques as tryouts fly by. The results are posted, and you finally made the team! Now, you have the jersey, shoes, team logo and you go to practice every day. The first couple weeks of competition roll by, and you find yourself noticing that you end up spending every game on the bench. You say to yourself, “It’s okay I’m the ‘new guy’.”
But eventually, the whole year passes and you are still on the bench and without a single second of game time. But you’re comfortable enough and before you know it, two, then three years pass without any game time. Finally, you get fed up. There has to be more than this. And you’re right, the whole point of the team, the practice, the research and the gear is to get into the game! The same principle can be said for our spiritual lives. As Christians, we’re not called to just sit on the bench and be glorified spectators. God calls us to be participants in His Kingdom team. We’re called to get in the game!
Too many times, Bible believing Christians express that they wish their faith was more alive - not realizing they have become too comfortable with sitting the bench. So how do we as Christians leave the complacency of the sidelines and jump into the action of the game?
How do we take the ball and run with our Christian faith?
Over the last few months, this question has slowly started creeping into my mind, as I have begun to notice a pattern in the KCF middle school ministry. In my experience as a youth pastor, I would submit that the answer to an active and flourishing faith isn’t a profound and cerebral mystery. Rather, in my opinion, the answer lies in a humble heart that’s willing to jump in and fill a need.
I have been blessed to witness many examples of what a game-winning faith looks like during my time as the middle school leader. At Edge, we have leaders of all different ages, ranging from enthusiastic high schoolers to parents, and even grandparents jumping in to serve where they are needed with the youth. What I admire and respect about all of them is that, while it’s easy and comfortable to sit on the sidelines, these leaders are in the game. Scripture calls us to be in the game, as 1 Peter 4:10-11 states, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” Again, in Mark 10:45 we are told, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” In this case, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, these Edge leaders are called to serve middle school students of Kauai.
Every leader serves in a beautiful and unique way, according to the way God has gifted each person. Just like a sports team has different positions, God has given each of his followers a unique way to jump in and build His Kingdom! For some of my leaders, this looks like driving a van full of middle school kids, for some it’s walking the perimeter of the group acting as security, still for others it’s leading one of the small groups, or even supporting financially. But in each one of these examples, they are actively in the game, strategically running the ball down the field for Christ. Not only are they living out God’s purpose for their lives and faith, but they often will tell me that they are the ones who feel blessed while serving.
Because of these game-active leaders, lives are being changed. Because regular, everyday Christians have been willing to jump in and answer the Lord’s call, we have seen many middle schoolers come to the Lord, be baptized, and their lives transformed by the saving power of Christ. This type of change and growth just doesn’t happen from the bench.
It’s been my privilege to observe the way our God calls each person into the game in different positions, and my hope is that as Christians you and I would answer the call to get off the bench and get into the game.
It’s Different Here
Written by Dean Smith
Kauai is an amazing place. However, if you’re going to spend time driving and exploring, commuting or just running errands, you will find yourself sitting in traffic quite often. I cover a lot of territory on Island, literally from Waimea to Kilauea regularly. Time in grid-lock gives me the opportunity to pray, listen to music, take in the scenery and notice bumper stickers. Bumper stickers can be humorous, offensive, meaningful, ridiculous and/or thoughtprovoking. In fact, I have come up with a bumper sticker of my own that could grace the back of any island vehicle; “It’s Different Here!”
“It’s Different Here!” can be relevant to many things on the “Garden Island”. It can be descriptive of the beauty of the foliage, mountains, beaches and rivers. The colors and rainbows, daytime skies and starry nights, and of course the spirit of “aloha” are different here. Something I’ve learned recently is that working in ministry and serving Jesus is “different here” on Kauai, too. The lessons I’ve learned have left me with the deepest admiration for God’s people who have faithfully served Jesus and the Church on Kauai for many years.
Ministry on Kauai is not for the faint of heart, impatient or servants needing to personally reap the harvest of their efforts. It is for those committed to knowing Jesus, loving others as He modeled, and introducing Him to others, whether the recipients remain on Island, are just visiting for their trip of a lifetime, or reside here briefly only to move off Island to distant reaches of the planet. The fruit of the seed planted here is often harvested far away. Sometimes we get to hear results, often not. This can take its toll on Jesus’ servants in a place like Kauai.
On a recent Sunday, I stood briefly at the back of the sanctuary of Kauai Christian Fellowship North Shore as we began the worship time. It struck me that I only knew the names of or even recognized about half of those in attendance! This is explainable. Ministry is “different here”. The Church recently said “goodbye” to some regular attending young families who moved away to seize opportunities for their future elsewhere.
Several of our “snow birds” who attend annually for three to six months during the winter season have recently returned to their summer residences. Anchor House and Makanalani young people leave annually and quarterly. Each week a significant percentage of our attendees are tourists who choose to invest a part of their Sunday on Kauai at KCF.
These amazing people from all over the world
make up a wonderful and valued collection of folk who come to worship, hear the Word of God and fellowship, even if sometimes for just one day. “It’s different here” because the ministry is not necessarily pouring into people who will remain and help to build a “megachurch” on this tiny rock in the mid-pacific. Rather, the ministry can be characterized by planting seeds, watering, enriching the soil for them to leave and be harvested elsewhere! It is gut-wrenching to love people and to have to say “goodbye” redundantly.
The solution to joyfully sustaining ministry here, and anywhere, is to focus on knowing Jesus and making Him known to others; no matter who they are, where they’re from or where they may be going. Watching people “passing through”, each on their own journey has made it clear that ministry is focusing on Jesus, sharing His truth , loving others, and doing what I can to help them grow while I have the opportunity. I am training myself to take joy, not just in the harvest, but in the moments, the conversations, the relationships, the stories, and ministries right here, right now. Maybe, it’s not so different here. After all, each and every one of us is “just passing through” on our way to our Heavenly destination.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
Kids Leading Kids
Written by Leah Enns
Recruiting volunteers is always the trickiest part of Kid’s Ministry, or really any ministry in a church. Training and retaining those volunteers is probably equally as difficult, especially if the programming you run specializes in getting people and students outside of their comfort zone.
Luckily, we have some awesome, tenured Sunday School teachers — adults with years of teaching experience and numerous tools in their tool belt for wrangling in energetic kiddos. They do a wonderful job, and I’ve been so grateful for their consistency within our schedule of serving on Sundays and their extra help during special events.
What’s been even more amazing to me, however, is the appearance and willingness of younger volunteers who are barely in high school yet!
One Sunday, a middle schooler approached me and asked if he could help with our 4th and 5th grade special event, Club 45, where I knew his sibling attended. I wasn’t sure what the dynamic would be with siblings that close in age together, so I told him no, but said he could help out at Kids Night Out — a one night event with a wider age range, Kindergarten through 5th graders. It inspired me to open up volunteering for the event up to any middle school or older kid who was interested in helping. I ended up getting 6 helpers — most of whom had siblings within
the K-5th grade range that would be attending the event. This was in addition to a solid crew of adults too, so I was hoping I’d be covered on both aspects.
What a night it was! Those 6 helpers, from 7th to 9th grade, worked so diligently and did any and every task I threw at them. They single handedly baked all of the personal pan pizzas and dessert we served to over 30 kids, assisted and co-led the smaller break out groups with a supervising adult, set up games, and spurred on the kids in all things fun. The sibling dynamics that I was worried about were unfounded. In fact, that same original volunteer excelled at leading the 4th and 5th graders in their break out group, keeping them captivated and engaged even during the down times.
Since that Kids Night, I’ve had high schoolers revamp the upstairs, 7th graders help at Club 45, 6th graders serve in the toddler room, and 4th and 5th graders assist with the kids sessions at Family Camp. They have big hearts for service for the Lord and bring so much joy and exuberance when working with the younger kids. It’s a big blessing and encouragement to me. I can’t wait to keep working with their potential and see them grow into tenured teachers with tons of tools in their tool belt. Kid’s Min needs them!
Helping the Penny Drop
Written by Nate Scribner
On any given Sunday morning at 6AM, four to ten Anchor House students and staff will be loading up in a large, white van, some with surfboards, others with guitars, to make the one hour drive from the Anchor House on the south side of Kauai to our sister Kauai Christian Fellowship campus in Kilauea on the north side of Kauai. In the early hours at the Anchor House, they will be rubbing shoulders in the bathrooms, hallways and kitchen with another five or six students who are getting dressed and making coffee before they walk 5 minutes down the path to serve in various ways at our south side campus as well.
To say, “Yes,” in going north means much of your Sunday will be spent traveling and serving. And by the time you get back, it might be 1PM and you’ll be craving a nap. But, for some students and staff, the journey north also means the possibility of checking the surf in Hanalei before or after service, and Hanalei is among the most magical places on the island, and dare I say, the world.
For those who are awake enough to enjoy it, the journey north often begins with some great moments. As you drive up the eastern portion of the island through Lihue and Kapa’a, the sun is rising and it is often the case that it is rising amidst a sky full of clouds lit up with shades of red, orange, pink, blue and yellow. You have the morning’s worship setlist playing in your headphones or on the car speakers. It’s not a difficult stretch to hear the singers sing, “God is great,” “The battle belongs to the Lord,” and “If the oceans roar Your praises, so will I,” and have a moment of pause, peace and comfort in worship.
The power, majesty, and glory of God are on full display here on Kauai. The more difficult revelation is that this God actually loves me and cares about me. On a Tuesday morning, Kelson Evans, one of our more
affable, fun-loving students asked me if he could share a story about his weekend with me. “Of course,” I said.
“I went north to drop off the worship team with Pippin on Sunday,” he said, “And on the drive up, I was listening to a sermon on Genesis 15, you know, the part where God has Abraham divide up the animal pieces and walk through them. And the speaker was talking about how because the covenant was broken between us and God, that God had to become mortal and be ripped apart like those animals to save us. And I was just thinking about that the whole way up. I was thinking about the cross.”
“We dropped off the worship team at the church,” he continued, “And we had an hour and half so Pippin and I went to check the waves. I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life. The sun was rising over the mountains. The water was sheet glass. We started surfing and catching waves and having a ton of fun. I was sitting there in the water and I just couldn’t believe that the God who made all of this, would die…for me. He didn’t have to do that.”
As a leader at the Anchor House, I have no idea when the penny will drop for someone. These students are in Bible classes 17 hours a week and serving in ministry 5 - 10 hours a week. We do short Bible teachings at night. Kelson has been in his personal time, reading the Bible straight through since September. A few weeks ago, he finished the New Testament. The question I am always asking is, how do I help the penny drop for someone?
This has been one of our most fun-loving classes at the Anchor House. A week ago, at a boys overnight camping trip, I had my clothes stolen from me while I was taking a shower. Before that while playing ultimate frisbee, the same boy that stole my clothes, had been sneaking around trying to “pants” (remove the shorts,
but hopefully not the underwear/boxers, but sometimes they do get the whole thing) from the other guys when they were not paying attention. Needless to say, you always have to be on your guard whenever you’re around this guy. This same guy, earlier in the year, filled paper cups full of shaving cream, pinched the tops of the cups until they were flat, squeezed the flat tops under the girls’ closed bedroom doors and then stomped on the other end of the cups, sending shaving cream explosions throughout the rooms. The video of this has some entertaining screams. The girls got the boys back by planting gravel in all of their beds and stealing only their left shoes. After which the boys, unscrewed all of the toilet seats in the girls’ bathrooms and hid them.
I’ve seen some very strange things as well. I’ve seen guys trying to light their farts on fire before, but this year was the first time I saw a guy try to do that in front of his girlfriend. “What do you see in him?” I asked her. Joking a bit of course. They do make a fine couple.
Every day there are students who are tasked with making meal preparations. This year, for the first time, we had a duo that practiced and performed a song and dance for 3-5 minutes every time it was their turn to present lunch to the school. I didn’t know if I should be proud or embarrassed in front of our doctorate-holding, theologically giant guest speakers.
Ghostbusters, Michael Jackson, you never knew for sure what you were getting yourself into when you came to lunch on Tuesdays. For some reason, our cook decided to split them up. Not sure if it had anything to do with them getting distracted with choreography practice during meal prep.
The fact is that these are eighteen to twenty year old young adults who have made the decision to spend 9 months of their young lives at Bible school. For some of them, they are coming out of situations immense pain and trauma. What they have taught me this year can be summed up in the words of one of our students, “Some of the times I feel closest to Jesus are when I am having fun in His community and His creation.” Laughter is good medicine.
Many young adults are caught up in a lie that goes something like this, “If I follow Jesus, my life will get boring and terrible.” No. It’s the opposite. Jesus said, “I came that they might have life, and life to the fullest.” So, what can I do to help the penny drop for these guys? What can you do? Go to Walmart and buy 30 cans of shaving cream, and pass them out. Pack up the car and take some of them surfing. Take them hiking…in a word, Jesus wants me to have more fun, and I think he wants you to do so as well.
Maria
Written by Tony Leair
Every ministry throughout the world could use a Maria. Someone who serves without expectation, is consistent and hard-working, someone that leads well, and is very talented. She has become an important pillar of the youth ministries of our church and we are seeing tons of fruit from her efforts.
I always like the illustration of a train in ministry.
A train has different types of cars on the tracks. There are boxcars, flatcars, tank cars, hopper cars and of course there are cabooses. The thing that makes the train actually go is the train engine or locomotive. I always loved watching trains as a kid who got stuck on one side of the road as they passed by, and I’ll never forget the fascination of seeing multiple locomotives all at the front of a very long train. I’m not sure if only one of the locomotives is pulling or if it was getting assistance from the other ones at the front of the train, but I know in youth ministry the more locomotives that pull in the same direction the better.
To continue on with this train analogy, I like to think that the youth pastor puts in their power and effort, but allows the direction to be set by the rails or God. They are just a muscle to be applied in partnership with God’s direction for the world.
Anyway, getting away from the train bunny hole, Maria is an incredible leader that works with the youth ministry. She makes my job easier, and pulls in the same direction.
Maria came to us from Florida and graduated Anchor House in May 2024 where she interned with youth ministry during her year. She didn’t feel that God was done with her working with the youth ministry at KCF and stepped into an additional youth ministry internship after her time at Anchor House. She got a job at Keokis serving tables and found a place to live in order to set herself up to continue to serve the youth of Kauai.
It took a lot of effort on her part to get all the details together for her to make a life past Anchor House on the island, and boy are we glad that she did.
On a typical week you will find Maria not only driving Vans (even the North Shore van on Tuesday nights!) or hanging out on youth nights (she does 3 a week) but also getting together with the girls on the weekends checking in and reading the Bible together. (And leading worship on some Sunday mornings!)
Recently, one of the girls that Maria has been picking up for church on Sunday mornings decided to get baptized Easter morning! Praise God for the fruit of the ministry.
It is so exciting for me to see someone like Maria grab onto the great commission and practice it in the local church. Maria does not get paid to do what she does, in fact, she works in order to support herself doing ministry here. She is not necessarily the head of the youth ministry, but her leadership is adding different facets to the group, and she is absolutely leading those as she follows the Lord.
Another beautiful part of the story is that we had a donation given toward supporting ministry of high school girls. This family completely separate of knowing what Maria was up to felt lead to give toward the girls of our high school youth ministry. It is the perfect time to add fuel to the fire, and we are going to have a high school girls trip going out in July led by Maria and some of the other women that volunteer with the teens.
I can’t write this story without giving a special shout out to all of my volunteer staff that shows up and works so hard on behalf of the teens. There are many stories to tell with each of the lives that give their time away. They are additional locomotives that pull in the direction God asks us to, and each of them shares the burden for the teens of Kauai.
Thank you God for Maria, and for leading us into the great commission for the world. It is an amazing process of partnership both with God and with one another.
