In 2020
I pray that God will grant you One Connection
So you can better understand our One Context
As God unifies our One Church
To offer the hope of Jesus to each One Canadian
Who is wanting to receive it.
ONE CONNECTION
It was 11:30 p.m. and I was exhausted. I was juggling the high school math classroom with pastoring and was in the midst of planning two major outreach events. I was about to fall into bed when my phone rang. As an unknown number flashed across my screen, I wanted to shove the phone under my pillow and welcome sleep. I remember feeling a prompt to open my weary heart and answer the call.
“Hello,” I said.
I could hear the voice of a young girl. Her words were muffled by obvious gusts of wind.
“Kaitlyn?” she asked.
“Yes, this is Kaitlyn …”
Glenda Colomb had heard of the Inspire Youth Conference our outreach team was planning. The conference aims to inspire youth to overcome challenges and be influencers in their world for Jesus.
She was calling me from the First Nation reserve of Sandy Bay, Sask. Glenda was walking home after finishing a youth fundraising event with those wanting to attend Inspire. She told me that she, along with her team, had raised $200. Conference costs are covered by generous donors and sponsors, but there are still travel and accommodation costs.
They would need $6,000 to cover all the costs of the trip. I remember thinking, How on earth are you going to pull this together?
Weeks later, Glenda came through the front doors of the conference along with a large group of youth from Sandy Bay. As I reached out to hug her, God reminded me that He holds all things together and brings about divine connections when we open our hearts to answer His call.
I had learned that Glenda had a passion and talent for singing, so I asked if she would sing at the conference. Glenda’s song rang like a war cry, shattering the darkness of suicide, discouragement and depression that plagues countless youth in our nation. She stood in front of nearly 1,000 youth, parents and leaders and boldly sang these words by Lauren Daigle:
“O'Lord, O'Lord I know You hear my cry
Your love is lifting me above all the lies
No matter what I face this I know in time
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right”
As she sang, tears trickled down awestruck faces, and a fresh outpouring of hope broke loose from the brave heart of my new friend, Glenda Colomb.
ONE CONTEXT
Glenda’s story includes hopelessness, addiction and a life-changing encounter with Jesus. She, along with countless other Canadian youth, are facing significant challenges, especially in the area of mental health.
According to a recent article by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health,
- 1 in 5 Canadians suffer from a mental illness each year
- 500,000 Canadians, in any given week, are unable to attend work due to mental illness
- 1 in 12 youth are being dispensed a mood/anxiety or antipsychotic medication
- 70% of young adults living with mental health problems report that their symptoms started in childhood
- First Nations youth die by suicide about five to six times more often than non-Indigenous youth in Canada.
Listening to Glenda’s story helped me to understand aspects of Canadian culture I had never experienced, and by sharing friendship with her I have gained perspectives that propel me forward to fulfil the role, crafted uniquely for me by God, for this exact time in Canadian history.
ONE CHURCH
Today in the Canadian church, there is a growing desire for denominations to partner in creative ways to shape our culture and to bring hope to young people like Glenda. With the dawning of a new decade, churches across the nation are reflecting on the past and leaning forward toward God’s vision for their future, one that commands us to go and make disciples of all nations. This kind of impact won’t come through striving, forcing or pushing. This is God’s work.
In his foreword for Ruth Haley Barton’s masterpiece, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, Gary A. Haugen, the president of International Justice Mission, writes about the importance of stillness and solitude. He wrote about IJM, saying, “We longed for transformation – in ourselves and in the lives of those we sought to serve. We longed to know more deeply the love of our good Father who leads us in transformation. And yet, we needed a more disciplined attentiveness that would ready us to receive more of God’s presence and power. We needed to learn to be still, to wait on the Lord, to simply be with him.”
With this posture, what could the unified Canadian church accomplish for the next generation?
ONE CANADIAN
Shortly after the youth conference, Glenda enrolled at Horizon College & Seminary in Saskatoon, Sask., with hopes to be a youth minister. I asked her to share her story of radical redemption with the women at our Sisterhood Conference, many of whom had never visited a First Nation community. And one Canadian girl who had been transformed by the love of Jesus stood as a catalyst among the group. I watched while God expanded the perspectives and vision in the room through Glenda’s heart-wrenching testimony.
In 2020
I pray that God will grant you One Connection
So you can better understand our One Context
As God unifies our One Church
To offer the hope of Jesus to each One Canadian
Who is wanting to receive it.
Will you answer the call?
Kaitlyn Cey is the Sisterhood Pastor at Elim Church in Saskatoon, Sask., and is a co-host for the Gather Women podcast, HER Influence. Kaitlyn is also the co-founder and director of Inspire Our Nation, a ministry that inspires youth to overcome struggles and influence their world for Jesus. She is a plenary speaker at the PAOC’s General Conference in Halifax in May 2020. Learn more about Kaitlyn's initiatives and resources at www.kaitlyncey.com.
This article appeared in the April/May/June 2020 issue of testimony/Enrich, a quarterly publication of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. © 2020 The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.