Training Camp last week was at the headquarters of Adventures in Missions (AIM), the parent organization to the World Race. As I got the chance to meet all the people who work there (all of whom do support raising to pay their own salaries), I thought “this is community”. As I’ve read the literature that AIM has for the World Race and prepared for the program, I’ve been excited about living in intentional Christian community, but I didn’t have a full picture of what that means until now.
Two of our last three days at camp were spent creating the teams in which we will spend 11 months starting at the end of September. We would do a team-building exercise with five or six other Racers, then leadership would go talk over what they observed and mix up the teams and we would do it again. My team and I were lucky enough never to change. From the first exercise we connected and worked really well together. Consequently, Jimmy, the World Race ministry coordinator and leader of the camp told us after our second exercise on the first day that we were staying together. We were pretty excited. Another of our leaders, Casey Wells, later told us that she thought one of our biggest hurdles would be that we would find it too easy to sit and chat. Debrief is a big part of what AIM does. They believe it is important, and I tend to agree, to spend time with your teammates being able to analyze how you worked together and how your interactions affected each other. Casey feared for us that we would sit and talk so much, that we would be sick of analyzing our experience by the time we got to debrief. It was a great comment – definitely an obstacle I hadn’t considered. Still, I think finding it too easy to sit and chat is a great problem to have. I love my teammates and I’m excited to spend a year with them stretching, growing, and ministering together.
So here they are:
Kelly Chadwick — Kelly is our team leader. She has spent the last three years in Boulder, CO as a high school youth minister. Kelly has the amazing gift of being able to speak right into your heart. In our first activity Jimmy asked how our leadership structure played out. Kelly spoke up and called out in each of us exactly the way we lead and the way we had contributed to the task. Then I said, “And you just saw what Kelly does” and he said, “Yeah, ‘speak life!’ right.” I’m going to love having Kelly as my big sister, never letting me forget who I am.
Jill Ruiter – Jill exudes love and grace. She’s one of those people who could look you in the eye and tell you that you’re ugly (not that she would) and it would sound like the nicest thing anyone has said to you. Jill loves to love. I can’t wait to learn more from Jill and to let her be a comforter and a grace-giver on our team.
Shiloh Schneider – Shiloh doesn’t like it when we call her a hippie, but she is one. Each time we ended up sitting near anything that looked like a flower, she started gathering them and tying them into bouquets. Shiloh is never afraid to speak truth. When I started to tell the story of my life with Christ over lunch one day, she was the first to say, “Don’t make it sound shiny, we want to hear it all.” Shiloh will keep us real.
Christi Johnson – Christi has probably the most beautiful faith I have ever seen. She knows her God and she knows the Word. Christ in her has moved her to love and she does so with a quiet confidence that I envy at times. She makes no apologies for the love that compels her because it doesn’t move in her in any way that would offend. She is sure of what she believes, but not overbearing in ministry or demeanor. I can’t wait to learn more from Christi as we walk together.
Ian Schumann – Ian is one of the best brothers a guy could ask for. Ian converted to Christianity a year and a half ago, and carries strength and confidence for our team. He often feels like just the right kind of rock that we need to keep us on task. He always seems to know where he’s headed and is focused on getting there. In our team-building exercises we would often get carried away in the excitement of brainstorming, and Ian was always ready to reel us back in. I’m so glad he and I will be walking as brothers over the next year.
Together the six of us make Team Quake. We have been shaken up in our experience already. We want to shake the heavens and the earth, brining God’s glory to all we encounter. When we do, we believe we will shake the gates of Hell as Satan trembles at the amazing things God can do through us. We pray that the quake we bring won’t end with us but will leave a ripple effect for Christ that far outlasts the work we do.
Please be praying for all of my teammates and our team as a whole as we all prepare to depart in about six weeks.
