As a way of loving their neighbours, Forestview Church in Oakville, ON runs a steady seven weeks of day camp through the summer.
Providing safe and fun child care fills a practical need for many working parents.
Children from the church attend but many of the campers are familiar with FV from previous years and come from surrounding neighbourhoods.
Besides providing a great service to the community, these summer camps also give young adults from the congregation some practical leadership opportunities.
As a programmer this summer, Kendra was one of these camp leaders.
She was responsible for planning the schedule, incorporating the theme into the games and activities, and looking after the team of volunteers and counsellors.
You can imagine that this is a busy job!
And as an university student, there’s a steep learning curve in learning how to lead well.
It’s tricky sometimes – providing support and grace to staff but also providing direction and guidance as required.
If you’re a natural people pleaser, it’s sometimes tempting to ignore things to avoid conflict – and yet knowing that a leader can’t shirk responsibility means addressing things.
The job provided the perfect opportunity to grow personally, to seek wisdom from others, and to lean on other camp staff.
There was the encouragement to pray and to ask God to know how to handle specific situations and just what to say and what not to say.
Looking back, Kendra is grateful for the way God put together a good working team for the summer.
For the chance to grow in confidence as a direct communicator.
To learn how to be an encouraging and effective leader.
This is God’s economy, isn’t it?
It’s not just the campers who experience God but the leaders get in on it too.
This is the generosity of God.