Introducing...Chantelle Funk

This is Chantelle Funk and her family. She and her husband are entrepreneurs establishing a business in Kelowna while they raise two young sons. Chantelle also serves on the Board of Directors at Bethany College where she passionately challenges us to think creatively in our ministry. She brings her workplace fundraising experience and her business skills to the board and helps in focusing our mission: Nurturing Disciples and Training Leaders to Serve. Life for Chantelle is lived in relationship with God as she brings the issues of her life honestly and directly to Him. Here are some insightful and challenging words from her.
~Howie Wall, President

Be joyful always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). I get the praying thing, I get the giving thanks bit, but being joyful ALWAYS?!?!? What about most of the time? I think I was born cynical and jaded and have had to work my way up to being content in every situation but God is trying to show me that it is possible to live up another step – with joy. Always. Joyce Meyer said something that I wrote on my calendar: “An attitude of trust releases joy in our lives.” I read it every time I passed my calendar for two weeks. On January 13 my husband had a seizure out of the blue (later revealed to be a benign brain tumour) and after a long day trying to take care of our business and kids and being at the hospital, I walked past my calendar and read that quote again. At a moment when I had every excuse NOT to be joyful or feel joyful, I CHOSE to trust – whatever, whenever, I trust you Lord, my times are in your hands. And the next few weeks my joy increased even as all my circumstances gave reasons for the opposite.

The verse God gave me for 2011 is from John 15:5 “I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.” The chapter goes on to talk about love and obedience and then in verse 11: “I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing.” And there it is – another step in my journey of learning about joy. I dwell in Christ, cut off from everything but him, I obey his commands, I live as a flow-through of his love; receiving it and giving back out to others – and His joy is complete and overflowing in my life. I may have to look on the bright side of things after all.

Chantelle Funk (nee Priebe)

Team Awards

On April 6, the Bethany community took a moment to celebrate the accomplishments of specific individuals from the Ministry Arts and Athletics teams. This has been a great year for both departments, having seen great involvement and success. It was an extremely enjoyable Selah and the Bethany community supported the award winners tremendously.

Paul Woodburn (Ministry Arts Director) opened the Selah with special acknowledgment for this year’s House Band (Joe Molina, Nick Poetker, David Zentner, and Chris Penner) for their weekly ministry to the Bethany community in their leading of music worship in Friday Selahs. He also noted the ministry of Fixed on Faith (Kevin Dyck, Cambria Hiebert, and Jay Nguyen), a new team which served in local churches by providing music worship leadership.

Point of Impact and Bethany Players had three award categories. The first was for Growth, given to the team member who displayed the most improvement since the start of the year. The second was for Team Builder, awarded to the team member who was most helpful in the development of team unity and bonding. The third was for Guide, awarded to the team member who was most helpful in shaping and maintaining the spiritual health of the team.

Nick Boschman (Athletics Director) also presented awards for each of the athletics teams this year. The three awards were for Most Improved, Most Valuable, and Christian Leadership. The coaches of each team provided comments about each award winner, adding a personal touch for each recipient.

The award winners were as follows:

Point of Impact
Growth: Tyrel Klassen
Team Builder: Dan Kroeker
Guide: Cam Kearney

Bethany Players
Growth: Erin Willems
Team Builder: Erick Penner
Guide: Carley Snaith

Men’s Volleyball
Most Improved: Tim Peters
Most Valuable: Kendell Wiens
Christian Leadership: Steve Dueck

Women’s Volleyball
Most Improved: Vanessa Kroeker
Most Valuable: Erin Bader
Christian Leadership: Erin Bader

Men’s Indoor Soccer
Most Improved: Austin Gagne
Most Valuable: Kendell Wiens
Christian Leadership: David Zentner

Women’s Indoor Soccer
Most Improved: Terri Omani
Most Valuable: Kiley Zdunich
Christian Leadership: Kaylee Buhler

Men’s Hockey
Most Improved: Brad Bergen
Most Valuable: Aaron Willems
Christian Leadership: Mike Brandt

Congratulations to all the award winners and to all the teams for a great 2010-2011 season!

Honouring Special Days

By Lisa Braun

These beautiful handcrafted spectacles were done in honour of a special day in Maddie's class, called Day 100. They celebrate it because the children have completed 100 days of full-time school in Hepburn. And they also received stickers which said "100 days smarter!" Check out the picture closely and you'll see it. Love it.



Maddie was super pumped about this day.

I was wondering this morning - What if we threw a party called "Day 221"? Because today is 221 days since first year arrival. 223 d if you are an upperclassmen, and 228 d if you were at student leadership week. (If my math is correct, feel free to correct me). It will be 224 days on commencement.

What would it look like for you if you considered how you have grown and changed in the past 221 days?

I have been blessed to see people grow in
wisdom
reflection
critical thinking skills
tears
compassion
depth
self-awareness
and more....


I have been blessed to see people change in
knowledge
character
relationships
skills
attitude
heart
leadership
service
and more......

How about you? What have you seen? In your life and in those around you?

Day 221. It's a good one.

Sitting in the Outer Office

By Lisa Braun

Drinking orange juice.
Talking to Sara and Randi and Nick.
Thinking about how much I love it when students grow.
Wanting to write.
Loving it when we discern together.
Humming my new favorite song (The Rock by Michael Neale).
Working on intern evaluations.
Perched up at the glass table.
Glad to be here.
Glad to be alive.
Glad it's Friday.

Mentorship with a difference

"When I have the opportunity for conversation with pastors, I like to ask, "What is the biggest need in your congregation in the area of harnessing human capacity?" In a recent conversation, the answer given was quick and emphatic: "Mentorship."

This creative pastor saw mentorship as a way to harness the human capacity of different generations. The mentorship plan he was working out focused on roles within the church. In the area of worship, for example, his experiment was to identify a young person with interest or potential aptitude. That youth would be partnered with an older person who had experience in worship-leading roles, who would coach and support the young person in trying out the role.

This is a simple plan, but what an effective way to harness gifts! I wonder if this is what farmers used to do when they would put a young work horse in a team with an older, experienced horse. Think of the advantages of a system like this over more usual ways of inserting a new person into a new role:

It is personal. Instead of only reading a job description to provide information, this process engages the feeling part of the brain by putting the learner in touch with a caring person.

It is expressive. The older person has an opportunity to communicate the passion he has for the activity, which can lead to a deep response in the youth.

It is supportive. The younger person has someone to ask about problems and challenges in the role. Obvious gaps can be filled in ways that prevent embarrassment.

It makes use of skills. Often older people have developed the skills of listening and empathizing, which can be put to good use in a one-on-one working relationship.

It supports friendship. A positive by-product of the mentoring relationship is that people become friends across generations, perhaps gaining greater insight into each other's culture.

Another way of looking at mentorship is that it recovers the role of the elder, which we may have lost in recent times. Older people are given a positive way to contribute at the same time as they begin the well-deserved process of stepping back.

What are some other roles where mentorship could be well used? Could one mentor young church board members, deacons, teachers or preachers?"

Bob Wiebe is president of Enliven! Consulting, whose motto is "Helping harness human capacity." This short feature appeared in the Canadian Mennonite, December 20, 2010 (p. 12).


RESPONSE Suggestions by LB:
1. Read Reverse Mentoring - it reminds us "older" ones that we have something to learn from those younger than us, those we mentor. (I will post the full details on this book title soon - it's in my office right now!)

2. Ask people for their stories of mentoring in the church. I am putting out a challenge to Randy Toman to write his story on becoming a church moderator.

3. Comment on this article.

4. For this spring/summer season, consider who you might ask to mentor and who you might ask to mentor you in your church setting.

(Sharing a love of reading and road-tripping, Maddie and my Mom, summer 2009,
on the way to Saskatchewan's largest tree).