Category: Updates

Dear Friends:

Special quarantine greetings! Here in Michigan, we are still in “lockdown” as of this writing. The COVID-19 pandemic abruptly changed life for our Stand in the Gap participants. Our “gappers” had all their services in the city (assisting an after-school program, visiting residents of a long-term care facility, helping with a preschool program, serving with youth
groups, being part of and serving the local UCO, and much more)
canceled. So, what did they do?

For some background, our gappers this year came from diverse places: two from Germany, one from Ireland, one from Ohio, one from California, and one from west Michigan. They came to Lansing, Michigan, without really knowing much about what they were getting themselves into.

Yup, they’ve become good friends!

Coloring Easter eggs during “stay at home”

There were some rough spots at the beginning, especially for the young women. They were all in household together (along with household leaders Marie DeMarais from Minne- sota and Cecilia Harvey from Michigan). None of the gappers had experienced anything like this before. Gab, our sole
guy gapper, lived with the Servants of the Word, in a house- hold of celibate men.

When the COVID-19 stay-at-home
order came in March and all the service opportunities ceased suddenly, the gappers were given the choice to return home or continue a very different Gap year. All of them chose to stay.

The household experience become much more intense than it had been. Cooped up with housemates 24-7 made for new challenges and new blessings. Stephen

Fun with eggs

All the gappers spending time together during lockdown
(that’s the top of Gab’s head on the iPad)

Giles, our Gap director, put together a program for them to do at
home. It called for additional time together in morning prayer, followed by exercising together (if the weather was nice, it was out on the lawn). They also took online courses through Hillsdale College and the “Great Courses” resource.

Maggie Schmidt, Gap director for the women, noted that the gappers were great about initiating service from home. For example, the sisters wrote letters to the resi- dents they had been visiting at the care facility. Gab, our guy gapper, took over all the cooking at his house and sanitized the whole place several times a day. The broth- ers were very blessed by his service.

Usually, there is a closing retreat for the gappers. Ste- phen replaced that with a campfire where they could maintain “social distancing.” The gappers began an im- promptu honoring session for one another and the Gap Directors and household leaders. The leaders also orga- nized a farewell “drive by” for our gappers. People from

Preparing for the “Farewell Drive By”
around the city and the state who knew them from UCO and various services drove by the girls’
house honking and waving signs.

We appreciate your interest in and commitment to our young people. In these changing and uncer- tain times, our Lord is certain and unchanging. He has a good plan for our gappers and all our youth, for us, for our programs, and for you, our partners in mission. May you be blessed and surrounded by the love of Jesus Christ in the summer months ahead!

Your brother in the Lord,

James Munk
Kairos Director

Dear Friends:

As you all are aware, we are in interesting times. As you are also well aware, none of this is catching our Lord by surprise. He is the Victor, the One who has triumphed over death, over sin, over sickness, and over pandemics.

We tried something we have never done before – having a mass online event for our teens across North America (even one tuning in from Munich, Germany). Over 195 teens joined us with YES! Live – Behold to Become!

We will report more on the virtual retreat in upcoming issues. I was able to present a short talk that called all of us to respond to this unique situation. Of course, we  recognize that spending one-and-a-half hours together in no way makes up for a weekend retreat. We will continue to work in the weeks ahead to keep up with our youth and be creative in ministry during this interesting time.

My talk was How Do We Respond? One of the issues we had planned to address at the YES! Retreat was the media youth are often “beholding.” Given that, I told them that we were very aware of the irony of doing the retreat via online media!

The first things I addressed were prudence and courage. “Prudence” is not a term we hear much about nowadays; in fact, it often has a negative connotation (e.g. “prude”). However, it means the right time to act, which is a very important Christian virtue.

“Courage” is clearer, but as a Christian virtue, it means more than just being brave. It means we know that the “good” we are trying to achieve is worth it, regardless of our fears.

For an example of these virtues, I used the story of Peter walking on the water in Matthew 14:25-31. As a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, Peter had seen many storms and likely had been out in his boat through quite a few. We also know Peter was out on a stormy sea in the story of Jesus calming the wind and the waves earlier in Matthew (chapter 8).

In the story in Matthew 14, Peter climbed out of the boat after the Lord commanded it. This was the right response at the right (prudent) time, even if it seems a bit crazy.

In the time we find ourselves today, it is helpful to look at our situation as an adventure, not an inconvenience. We should reject the temptation to “kill time,” and instead embrace this interesting time as an opportunity. Christians are not about “killing” time – but “redeeming” time!

How about the adventure of service? There is time to serve our parents, our siblings, and our friends. There are plenty of ways to serve in our own homes if we have the redeemed eyes to see and the will to do.

Connecting with others is important during this time of isolation. Writing an actual letter to someone could make their day (or their week)! We can use this time to practice intercessory prayer: for our leaders, our medical personnel, those working on a vaccine, those who are sick, or hungry, or afraid. 

This is a wonderful opportunity to grow closer to the Lord through reading scripture and trying out different methods of prayer. Let’s not look back at this time and say, “I wish I had finished that project; I wish I had used my time better; I wish I had shown more love for my Lord and for my family.”

Finally, for most of us, this will not be the worst trial in our lives; not even close. Let us use this time as training to become the Christian man or woman God is calling us to be! 

Hope you enjoyed this little meditation. We appreciate your ongoing financial support for our ministry to youth. We also greatly appreciate prayer support – that we can be creative in doing what God is asking us to do in reaching young people in this challenging time. God bless you!

Your brother in Christ,

James Munk

Kairos Director

Dear Friends: 

I was invited to speak to a group of international leaders about Kairos’ approach to youth ministry, particularly what we call the Youth Bridge. The conference (the Charismatic Leaders Conference) was in Augusta, Georgia.  Following the conference, I led a one-day retreat for the youth of the host community in Augusta.

Our Kairos vision for the Youth Bridge is that there is a path or ‘bridge’ on which every young person travels in their journey from childhood to adulthood. Our job is to meet them every step of the way. Kairos sponsors programs for 12-14-year-olds (for example, our Kairos Fellowship adventure trips). We very much encourage dads and moms to work alongside staff for retreats and trips.

As young people move into high school, there are many challenges that assault them. Kairos sponsors mission trips, supplies help with local youth groups, and sponsors the annual YES! Retreat. We encourage high school juniors and seniors to seriously consider attending a college or university where there is a vibrant college outreach (like University Christian Outreach or Saint Paul’s Outreach). We also challenge seniors to consider taking a year before beginning college to spend that time “Standing in the Gap.”

 During the first few weeks of university, a staggering number of young people lose their faith. All too often, young students lose their childhood faith to the enticements of the university world. This dynamic is why our college outreach members work so hard to make contact with freshmen and bring them along to evangelistic activities, get them connected with a Bible study, invite them to a party, and form relationships with them. 

We have found that each step along the ‘youth bridge’ must be strong, inspected, continually reinforced and repaired—just like a bridge made of wood or metal. If there are missing sections (say the junior high piece is in good repair but the high school bridge section is weak), it is much more difficult to get our youth successfully to Christian adulthood. If they reach college years unprepared and unsupported, the situation can be dire in terms of them becoming mature disciples of Jesus Christ.

It was enjoyable to address a roomful of teens who were all new to Kairos. I talked with them about great expectations—what the Lord wants for their lives.  I spoke to the whole group and then to the guys alone while the girls had their own session. Mainly, what I wanted to communicate to the teens was the “power of intention.” I told them that when they see an action, they can usually figure out the intention. “Intention” means to stretch for something—using tension and tendon!

I wanted them to understand that the Lord has a full life for them (John 10:10-11: “That you may have life, and life to the full.”) Often, the issue for us (and for our youth) is that we are too easily pleased. We may hear from youth, “Heaven sounds great, but I really just want to be rich.” I read them a quote from C.S. Lewis: “It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” 

After this, we did the exercise to the left. The students were paired, and each grasped the hand of the person across from them. They then told that person, “this is what I hope for you and your life.” Most of these kids knew each other very well, so it was fruitful for them to hear from each other in this positive way: “I hope you go to a good college” or “I hope you have a happy life” or “I hope you have a good family.” Then we prayed over each other. It turned out very well.

Of course, this was all before the COVID-19 virus caused us to cancel our events. Our challenge right now as a youth ministry is how not to lose touch with all the students in our outreaches. We had to cancel our annual YES! Retreat, after we already had over 200 youth registered. So, we are going to try a new approach called YES! Live where we will live-stream about four hours of talks, testimonies, and songs. We will let you know how this goes.

Please pray for us as we continue our outreach to youth in this current reality; none of this catches the Lord by surprise. Please know that even though we are all working from home, we are still working together to minister Jesus Christ to young people. We very much appreciate our partners in mission; thank you for your spiritual and financial support!

  Your brother in Christ,

  James Munk

  Kairos Director

Dear Friends:

Each Thursday, three of our Michigan “Gappers” drive 45 minutes south from Lansing to Jackson College to do outreach there. We sat down with Gab, Maria, and Lea to hear some reflections on this outreach adventure they have been doing since the fall.

“We do a Bible study with a small group each week,” our Gap missionaries shared. “Generally, we get around five people a week. Then we do prayer ministry, followed by 30-45 minutes of outreach to other students. Our Jackson students there are happy with our time together and the outreach opportunities.

“We also invite Jackson College students to attend some University Christian Outreach (UCO) events in Lansing. They always enjoy the time with the bigger group and the large ‘Campus Wide’ monthly prayer meetings where there are often over 100 students praying and worshipping together. They also like the ‘community feel’ of UCO Lansing and the environment they experience there.
Gab said, “I have improved in confidence doing this sort of outreach. I have certainly grown in the strength and courage to invite people to events through serving the Jackson outreach.”

“It is great to see how students grow in the Lord,” Lea shared. “It is also amazing to witness God answering prayers for them and for us!”
Some other blessings of the relationships made in Jackson included being able to “delve deeper with personal connections,” as one Gapper shared. “Because it is a smaller group, it has allowed for more personal sharing and friendship building.”

“We are also learning that even when we don’t see direct fruit from our service there, God is definitely working. Lives are being changed!”

A man who has worked for outreach at Jackson College for many years shared more with us about the impact of the January UCO Fan Into Flame retreat on some of the Jackson students. “The Fan Into Flame was a big event in the lives of the young men and women from Jackson College. The atmosphere at the camp where the retreat was held was something they expressed they had never felt before. The retreat allowed them to see how a big community of Christians live, and a testament of the Lord they serve. Some expressed that it felt like ‘a glimpse of heaven.’
“Carson, one of the guys, asked, ‘why is it that since I came to this place I am feeling like my worries have all gone away?’ Sierra said it been a life-changing experience for her (she was prayed for and received the gift of tongues). Conrad said he experienced a very deep connection with the Lord.

“Everyone felt like this was something that exceeded their expectations. Since most of them are new to the Christian faith, with small groups after every talk, they were able to talk about following Jesus Christ, experiencing the Holy Spirit, and personal faith struggles. Every one of our students received prayer. From my perspective, the desire in our students to live for the Lord was at an all-time high as a result of the retreat.”

Our Stand in the Gap program “stretches” our participants in service, prayer, outreach, and learning more about Jesus Christ. Having 18 and 19-year-olds do the kind of “gutsy” outreach that our gappers do (and many adults would fear to do) at Jackson College is part of that stretching. Thank you for supporting them; their service not only changes them but has a real impact on those they are reaching out to. Our desire for our gappers is for them to live their whole lives, for the rest of their lives, for Jesus Christ. We very much appreciate your partnership in this mission by your prayers and financial support. God bless you!

Your brother in the Lord,

James Munk
Kairos Director

We had a wonderful Legacy Conference last month in Jacksonville, Florida. This was the first year we ventured into the warmth of Florida instead of enjoying January in Minnesota or Michigan! We had 86 participants at this year’s Conference. Post-university/young professionals came from Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Seattle, Mexico, Costa Rica, and more (we lost some of our Minnesotans to a winter storm that shut down the airports, although a few others had already left to catch flights in Michigan and they made it).

Kairos Director James Munk was there. He says, “The weather in Florida was beautiful (75 degrees on Saturday), especially for us northerners. We enjoyed great times of fellowship: lots of friends re-connecting and many opportunities to form new friendships.

“On Sunday, we had ‘Professional Huddles,’ where we divided into various related professions to talk about being a disciple in today’s work world. We had talks on vision for lifelong discipleship, building a Christian culture, reaching out to and connecting with other young professionals, and taking risks for mission.”
Maggie, one of the participants originally from Minnesota, says, “It was very evident at the Legacy conference that the people attending were hungry for community, and we came there knowing that we are living in a culture that is starving for community. The retreat was both a place where we ourselves were fed (on fellowship and worship) as well as a place where we were equipped to bring something to our peers back home, who are eager for the life we have been given. Also, the beach outing was fun!”
“The first thought that immediately stood out was that there was a lot of practical things I was able to take away from the conference,” says Jason, from Michigan. “I feel I’ve been better equipped to be Jesus’ eyes and feet in my workplace. Also, The calling of being ‘salt and light’ was prevalent during the worship time for me. Sometimes during our work weeks, we get caught up in our jobs and lose sight of the mission and call of disciples. This was a good weekend to learn to combat that feeling and hit the ‘reset’ button on my outlook in my workplace. There was also a general feeling of excitement hovering over the whole weekend. (Might just been the 75-degree weather though!)
“All in all, it was a good weekend of worship, learning, and fellowship. I have renewed zeal for Lansing’s YPO (young professional outreach) and am eagerly looking forward to seeing how God uses me to grow his kingdom in Lansing!”

Travis, also from Michigan, tells us: “At the Legacy Conference this year I joined 80+ young professionals who came together to hear talks on building a culture, responding to the times, being on mission, and receiving the Holy Spirit to live out the faith more effectively. By the end of the time, the Lord had moved powerfully in stirring up a missional zeal for reaching other young professionals. The Holy Spirit came into the lives of many of the people attending, giving all of us much more power to live out our discipleship to Christ.”he Legacy Conference is one of the ministries of Kairos. We work to reach young people for Christ—from late elementary, through the middle and high-school years, into college, and in the years following university to full adulthood. We refer to each of these stages as points on the “youth bridge.”The move into each new stage of life are times many young people fall away from Christ. The goal of Kairos is that they remain disciples of Christ. You are a very important part of this mission; thank you so much for your prayers and financial support!

Your brother in the Lord,

James Munk
Kairos Director

Here are some highlights from the 2019 YES! Retreat (To Whom Shall You Go?). The “stats” are significant: over 400 in attendance—240 teens and 170 staff. The main thing, of course, is “how were teens impacted?”

So, here are a few comments from some of our teen participants:

“Before I came to the YES retreat, I was super nervous, and I did not feel confident at all. After the women’s talk about confidence in the Lord, I felt so extremely confident; it has impacted me in many ways; I continue to feel that same confidence in the Lord a week after the retreat.”

“The Lord helped me to become a more faithful person. After going to YES, I became much closer to Him and more open to others.”

“During the small-group prayer time, when I was being prayed over, I heard the Lord through my small group saying that I needed to put Jesus at the center of my life and put Him first in front of everything else. Then He will give me courage and strength.”

“This was my second YES retreat. All throughout my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I have been working hard and praying a lot to overcome insecurities. Time and time again I have given this over to Jesus. So, I was very discouraged when the old fears and doubts kept coming back. On Saturday night, my small group prayed over me. I really felt like God spoke to me in the exact words I needed to hear through this verse my small-group leader read while they were praying: “HE rescued us from such great danger of death, and HE will continue to rescue us; in HIM we have put our hope that HE will rescue us again” (2 Corinthians 1:10). So, I have hope and I know that no matter how many times I’m faced with the same doubts about my worth, I can       always turn to Jesus and He will be there for me and never let me down.”

For some of the teens, it is straightforward: “I was able to pray at the YES Retreat without worrying what everyone thought.”

Other times our teens are dealing with some major issues in their lives: “The past two years have been very difficult for me because my family moved and then this past December, my parents got a divorce. Because of my family situation, I have been struggling with anxiety, depression, trusting God, and feeling as though I am not lovable by God or by anyone else. At the YES Retreat, during the Saturday night small group, I asked for prayers that I would be able to trust God again and stop feeling that I was unlovable. God answered my prayers; as my small group started to pray over me, I felt God’s love through them. For the first time in a long time, I was able to trust that I am loved and that Jesus is going to make sure everything is okay.”

Finally, from a New Jersey high school senior: “I got involved this year in a high school youth group. When the time for the YES Retreat came along, I was very excited to get away from New Jersey for a bit. I had just recently had a very bad falling out with one of my best friends. I felt betrayed, disrespected, and very angry. The 12-hour bus ride to Michigan was fun and the first couple hours of the retreat were amazing. But suddenly, while we were playing an icebreaker game, I saw my former friend out of the corner of my eye. Why was she there? How did she even get there? So many questions ran through my mind, but I knew this was part of God’s plan.

“The next day, we had a women’s session and part of it involved smashing boxes with a baseball bat (symbolizing smashing our insecurities). Smashing the boxes was freeing because it felt as though I was breaking through all the pain she had put me through. The next thing that really touched me was being prayed over by my small group. I asked prayers for forgiveness, and in that moment, I heard God say ‘It’s me; you need to let me forgive her for you because you can’t do it on your own strength.’ After that small group, I felt a lot better and I felt myself abandon all that anger at the foot of the cross.

“In the last talk, given by Miriam Holmes, she said that ‘Christ suffered and died on the cross for our enemies too.’ That struck me because I didn’t want to accept the fact that God loves us equally. But day by day since the retreat, I’ve been able to let go of the situation and the burden feels lifted off my shoulders. I know for a fact that this is God’s work because I couldn’t have done it on my own.”

The YES! Retreat is a huge undertaking, both for our staff and for the families of our high school participants. Many of the teens flew to Michigan from Canada, California, Florida, and other far-away places in order to attend. We are grateful for the parents willing to sacrifice to get their kids to this life-giving retreat. We are also very grateful for all our donors who support us with prayer and financial help so that we can sponsor high-impact events like the YES! Retreat. You are an important partner in this mission to youth; thanks so much.

We are well underway in planning for our youth summer trips. We have opportunities for mission and service to the poor at the high school level. For the junior high participants, we sponsor adventurous, character-building trips. Our trip leaders share below the plans for summer 2019.

“Our Mexico mission trips feature a house building project through Rancho Feliz, a locally-based American charity. Our dormitory is located just one-half mile south of Douglas, AZ in the Mexican city of Agua Prieta. We are hoping to have a dozen teens on each trip.

Trip Dates: June 16—June 25 (guys trip)  June 30—July 9 (girls trip).

“We will work each day in an impoverished neighborhood where we will be helping a local family transition from a shanty-type shelter to a brick home designed to withstand the worst conditions this high desert can dish out. We will also spend some time with children at a nearby orphanage. It is not all work, though; we will aim to catch some fun at a nearby national park during our downtime.

“On our mission trips we have daily inspirational meditations and times of prayer together. Some things you can pray for and ask the Lord on our behalf:

• That we be salt and light to one another, to the people who serve with us, and to the people we serve
• That we fill our rosters with young missionaries
• That we can meet all of our financial obligations that are incurred during the trips (including necessary funds for the building materials to build the home).”

Mike Kramer

Mission Trip Director

“On the Kairos Fellowship side, three boys trips are planned for this summer,” our KF director, Brian LaLonde, reports. “For 9th-grade boys, we are going for two weeks in July to the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. This is a rugged trip involving mountain hiking and camping (and lots of fun).

“For 8th graders, we will be canoeing for eight days in the Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. Getting the boys out on the northern waters, portaging canoes and supplies, and setting up and taking down camp daily is a wonderful experience for them.

“Then for the 7th graders, we have an eight-day trip to the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. This trip will be at the end of July to early August. There is plenty of wildlife (including herds of ponies) to see and beautiful mountains to hike.

“For junior high girls, we have a wilderness canoe trip to the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota. This trip is held every other year, so we will soon be looking at dates for 2020.

“We see tremendous growth in these young men and women as they become more confident, form new Christian friendships, and go deeper in relying on Jesus Christ. It is a great privilege to watch them grow in the Lord as they experience being out in God’s creation!”

Brian LaLonde

Kairos Fellowship Director

Young people are greatly changed through the challenges, comradery, satisfaction, and deeper reliance on the Lord that these trips provide and promote. Many of our youth make their own commitments to follow Christ during the course of our mission and adventure trips. Thanks so much for being part of that through your gifts and prayers!

Mark Nitkiewicz, a junior from Ypsilanti, Michigan, shares about going on a Kairos Mission Trip to Agua Prieta.

“While serving in Mexico God worked through me in a profound way. Back home I was used to running through a tight schedule getting things done and not building relationships along the way. I felt constantly controlled by a wristwatch. When I arrived in Agua Prieta my internal clock was thrown off and I often didn’t know what time it was, which drove me crazy. However, something that seemed difficult turned out to be a huge blessing. Throughout the next few days, I learned to trust others and experienced the ability to relax without people constantly calling me for work or school and having to schedule events every day. During this time away from my busy life back home I was able to see how God had blessed me with peace and faith in Him. God wasn’t done working in me though, during the rest of the trip I formed valuable friendships with many people, something I had taken for granted back home. Serving with the other guys on my trip and learning new skills at the worksite in place of my fast-paced work back home was an awesome experience and some of the best fun I’ve ever had. Overall God blessed my trip with peace, faith, love, charity, and many great skills and friendships.”

Esa Vance reflects on her 2017-2018 GAP year.

“God loves you.” I grew up hearing this all eighteen years of my life, but I had never been convinced that it was true. What faith I did have I wished to preserve during my college years so I applied to the Kairos GAP Program because of the transformation I saw in some of my friends who had interned with Kairos. After being accepted into the GAP Program I had three months to begin raising ten thousand dollars to fund my GAP year and prepare to move to Lansing, Michigan for nine months. “That is a crazy thing to decide” and “aren’t mission years supposed to be in exotic places?” I would repeat these doubts over in my head, but long before applying there was an assurance about the GAP Program set in my heart that would not be shaken even though I tried.

I arrived in August after God pretty much dragged me to Michigan. It was a new place, a new environment, full of new people, and a list of things I had never done before. I quickly discovered that if I tried to do everything set before me by myself I would fall fast and fail. I could not do it all on my own, and not so coincidentally the GAP Program put me in a position where I needed to accept the hand of God. From living in a household with the other female interns to serving the local Lansing community to managing youth retreats, I could not rely solely on myself. I needed to turn to the power of prayer daily to move the mountains before me and through this need, I forged a relationship with the Lord.

One day I was having a really tough go of it. I was riding the city bus my (main mode of transportation) surrounded by strangers that I did not enjoy sitting next to. I was waiting on the Lord to work in my life and in that moment of blinding judgment and ignorance, the Father shone through in His clarity. I was not waiting on Him; He was waiting on me, to open my eyes and see Jesus Christ in every person on that bus. This was Christ’s presence: me sitting on the bus on my way home from services called to be an instrument of love to those around me.

I was called to a city in Michigan, not somewhere exotic. I went to bed every night thinking “God worked today, and I am not who I was yesterday.” It was not a single moment that transformed me but rather each day of those nine months. Every time I would look to the Father to see He was already looking at me. I experienced the Father’s love by the presence of His Son in my life and I was able to be Christ to others by the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Amidst these nine months of adventure, joy, friendship, service, humility, hardship, laughter, risk, trial, and peace, I needed the Lord. Moreover, I came to know and love Him because He loved me first.

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 2:18 ESV