It's all about love...

In the middle of the first week of school, our new Hamilton/Niagara/Brantford staff team decided to go away for a time of visioning, hanging out, and rest. I was a bit stressed out because a lot of logistics and the actual rhythm of KCF had not been set yet. The leaders were still figuring out room bookings, when to have small groups, staying in contact with new people, and on top of that, trying to get their courses sorted out.

Yet, once I got into the car and our team drove to the cottage that we were staying at, I knew we were supposed to leave. It felt hard to leave my students behind, but as a staff team, we needed to vision together. We are a new team. It's true, we all worked together last year, but everyone has different roles. Cole is now our ministry director, with Pete moving on to be the new central field director in Ontario. Sam and Christine are no longer interns, but have come on staff and are responsible for their own ministries.

We needed direction from God and a sense of calling once again. And we heard Him loud and clear. We all heard from God in the ways we needed to and He brought us together as a team, sharing stories and brokenness that required trust on both ends.

As we sat and reflected one morning, God asked me why I call my students to reach out to non-believers. It stumped me for a bit because I knew that "meeting a goal" or "increasing the size of the fellowship" wasn't the reason why I called them to that vision. Instead, the Spirit reminded me again that it's about love.

We reach out to non-believers because that's what God does, He loves people, no matter who they are and what their circumstances are. And as His followers, we are called to do the same, not only for the people we reach out to, but sometimes, more important, for our growth and salvation.

So that is my hope this year, that I would not forget the bigger picture of God's Kingdom and His desire to see all His people receive His unconditional love.

 A view of the lake at the cottage