InsideStory with Alex Stoney

My name is Alex Stoney. I am the Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator for the Skeena Bulkley Circuit . I have been working in this position since mid-late 2014. It’s been just over eight years but time has sure flown by. I am fortunate to do ministry in the area in which I was raised, the Gitxsan Nation. I myself am Gitxsan. I am from the Frog Clan and the House of Delgamuukw. There are four clans in my nation: Frog, Wolf, Fireweed/Whale, and Eagle. And, there are sixty-two house groups within our four clans.

The Salvation Army has been a presence in the Gitxsan Nation for over a century. Our corps have become a mainstay in helping out in our communities via weddings, funerals, the food bank and being present in various community gatherings.

wake my older sisters and I up and make sure we all went to church. As the years went on, my sisters started working at

Camp Mountainview. As a child, I was not a big fan of camp. I was quite shy and found it difficult to make new friends. I didn’t go to church in my late teen years. So it was a surprise when one day I received a call from Camp Mountainview’s then camp director asking if I was willing to work at camp that summer (2006). They had called to enquire because they knew my sisters well and thought I must be somewhat like them. At this point, my sisters had gone on to work at a TSA camp in North Carolina, Camp Walter Johnson.

I was shocked by the offer and without thinking, or knowing why, I said yes. At that time, saying yes to working at a Christian camp was out of character for me. I wasn’t attending church regularly or reading the Bible. I was just a nineteen year old youth who had grown away from the church. Not to t had the greatest time at camp as a child. That summer changed the course of my life forever. I made lifelong friends that summer. They were a great influence on me. The leaders that summer also had and continue to have a great impact on my life. They showed me the love of God through their actions of grace, love and patience.

I have worked for TSA in children and youth ministry in some capacity for most of the intervening years. It’s been a blessing to do ministry in my home nation. There have been peaks and valleys. I find strength in knowing that God is using me to make a difference in children and youths lives in my home nation.