My Story

The moment I accepted Jesus I have been on a journey of discovering what it really means to be a true disciple and follower. It has had its ups and downs, but more and more I am realizing how important it is to listen, obey, and follow Him. 

Though I have been a follower of Jesus for almost all my life, I have only recently really begun to fully commit my life to Him. One of the most transformational moments that started this process in my life was when my church hired a youth pastor. His name is Steve Bock. As I went through youth Steve heavily invested in my life and spent countless hours teaching me and showing me what it looked like to follow Jesus.

Through his guidance I realized that I wanted to make life choices that led me into a deeper relationship with God. One of the first of these decisions was to spend a summer at Simonhouse Bible Camp serving as a counsellor. This was a huge step for me. I had often been scared to think of the possibility of going up north to work at Bible camp. Far away from home, in a new culture, without my friends, it sounded like a daunting thing to say yes to. But through a powerful encounter with God in a worship service at SOAR Heartland I was transformed. God spoke to me and changed my heart so that I truly did want to go.

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This began my true journey of following Jesus. In that moment I said yes to God and surrendered my will to his. I said yes even though it was scary, even though there were risks for me, and even though it was uncomfortable. I wanted to follow where God was leading, and I am so glad that I did. 

As I said yes to God I experienced freedom. As I listened and followed Him I began to learn that true life, and true joy, is not found in living selfishly in order to gain things for me, it is found in following Jesus and enjoying being His loved child. 

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That summer at camp led me to doing another, and another. I was experiencing God in new ways as I served Him and loved others. I was loving growing my knowledge of and love for God. I then graduated high school and I wanted to experience more of what God had for me. I ended up signing up for a Leadership Development program in my church. There I learned about what it looked like to be a pastor, and how the church actually worked. I loved it. I was put in positions of leadership and I was stretched again and again. I was even able to see the church internationally through a two month trip to Belize. My world and my worldview was changing. I was changing. 

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After these experiences I knew that I wanted to pursue ministry. I knew that God had given me gifts to do so and I wanted to invest in those gifts. After a somewhat painful year working at a lumberyard I was ready to go all in on this call, and I started studying at Steinbach Bible College. Now three years later I have a degree, and powerful experiences that I will never forget. I have gone through training and learning, and now I am ready to dive into ministry. ​

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I did not think my ministry years would begin so soon. I kinda wanted to just go through couple of "normal years" first to pay off student loans and get some life experience. But it seems like that is not what God wanted.

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As I was leading our church's SOAR team this year I got to talking with Carol Letkeman who works at MB Mission. There she pitched to me the idea of working as an intern at MB Mission. She described my role as a "mobilizer". MB Mission needs people to go out to communities, churches, youth groups, schools, and invite people into what God is doing at MB Mission. They need people to spread the vision and invite people to have their lives changed by God just like mine was changed. This will be my role now. I will be working with a partner, Karissa. Together we will form a team of volunteers to go out to these different kind of communities and spread passion for what God is doing in our country and abroad. Aside from that, I will also be working to co-ordinate the ACTION program next year. ACTION is a powerful six week program that gives people the opportunity to travel and be exposed to what God is doing throughout the world. By learning from ministry leaders in different countries participants are able to experience a tiny piece of what it looks like to serve Jesus in different countries and cultures.

I am so excited for this opportunity to serve in this way. Through it I am able to invite people into a journey with Jesus, and into a lifestyle of saying yes to Him. This is where life transformation really begins. 

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So that is a bit of my story, and a little bit of what my ministry will look like. Though my years are short, I have learned this principle for life: listen for God's leading, and say yes to Him. Through saying yes to God I have been led to where I am today; a man changed by grace, love, and the call of God.

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I know I want to work full time in ministry throughout my life, and potentially this job at MB Mission is the first step in that. Whatever happens though, I know that all I need to do is say yes. God will take care of the rest.

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