November, Classes, Meetings, and Safe Places

Good Morning Family, Friends, and Internet Wanderers!

I hope this message finds you well! This most recent month has been a really positive one in addition to still being quite full. This month has been full of finishing classes and assignments, meeting with friends, mentors who speak life into me, and those who I seek to speak life into.

Thanksgiving:
Last month one of my prayer requests was regarding an increased feeling of anxiety I have/had been having. The anxiety itself usually revolved around the feeling like no matter how hard I tried it would not be enough.Which is actually a pretty accurate reflection of any ministry position. As some of you may know I have started meeting with a Spiritual Director, which is essentially someone who helps you listen to God. Through my most recent session I felt strongly convicted that my daily devotions were not enough, at least the way I was doing them. During this hour long session I felt oddly compelled to add something to my morning devotions, a short walk. So since November 15th I have been walking for about 10 minutes every morning, as a way to center myself for my devotional time. This has been a profoundly life giving exercise for me as I start my days simply praying and offering my day to God, and while I would not say I am free from anxiety or concern about it, this has definitely been helping. Because honestly if I try to do anything out of my own power, well that power will run out really quick, but if I give it to God then everything works out so much better.

Speaking of anxiety, one of my biggest sources of it this past month was a 3-part governance project. This project is not only worth a significant part of my grade but it is about intentionally critiquing the leadership of the church I serve. So while there is and has been a lot of value in this exercise the whole process felt like a potential minefield, especially when the pastor asked to read it when it is done. Now I have no reason or expectation for this to have any unpleasantness, yet it appeared to be a nice breeding ground for my anxiety. So with it and many other things due around the same time, I asked for an extension on part 2 which is something I have never done before. Even that simple request felt like I was backing down and surrendering to my fears. Yet the extension itself was valuable as it freed me to think about one less thing for a week, and after finishing this part and submitting it I received my first ever A+ in University! (not just MA program but in my entire university career)

Speaking of positive things, earlier this month our youth group reached double digits, as one of our newer attendees brought some friends! Some of you may remember that when I started the youth group was 4 students. But this year because of some kids growing older, and new people attending our church we are seeing some pretty cool growth. Now this has so far only been  once, but our core group is now 9, which is still awesome to see. One of the things I am consistently praying about is that our students would be interested in inviting their friends. I would love our group continue to grow both in size and in their faith and while it is still slower than I would like, it is happening!

Prayer Requests

So please join me in praying for our youth group and the leaders who make it happen. As our group grows the expectations on the other leaders grow as I can not engage with everyone, especially because our group is now predominantly young girls. Please pray that I would share the gospel well with students and that they would know the love of Jesus from our gathering. Lately I have been shifting our youth nights from being predominantly fun to 50% fun and 50% teaching/praying, and most students seem to be hungry for more sharing, and praying. Please pray that I will know God's will for our group and not just stick with the easy fun and games even though that is all some students attend for.

Along these lines our denomination is discerning a new Safe Place policy. For those who may not know this policy is all the rules and regulations regarding ministry to minors. Ostensibly it is about making sure minors are protected, yet as I read through it, it appeared to be much more about protecting the church from cases of inappropriateness than about the students. Of particular note, under the proposed plan it would no longer be acceptable, under any circumstance, for someone like myself to meet with a student 1 on 1. This would make listening to students, mentoring them, and creating a safe space for them to share what they are struggling with, incredibly difficult. Please pray for the leaders of my denomination as they pray and plan around this. In a meeting with church workers on this there was significant push back, but I do not know how much of a difference that will make. I do not want to minimize the necessity of a policy like this, but not to the exclusion of ministering to students.

Finally please pray for me as December is now upon me and I am almost done school, and picking new classes. The next few weeks will be a little slower than the past few months, please pray that I use this time well to rest and prepare for the next semester of class and ministry.

God Bless
- Stefan Klassen

October, School, Thanksgiving, and Anxiety

Hello Friends Family, and Internet Wanderers!

I hope the past month has been a good one for you! Today will be a bit of a shorter post as many of the things which I brought up last month are still relevant. (edit: was going to be shorter and then I just kept writing) But that being said there is still much that I am thankful for. I think we can all relate that sometimes the current month looks very similar to what has already happened last month :)

Thanksgiving.

This past week has been an amazing time of leaning into and learning about how God works and desires that we make disciples. Last week I had the privileged of traveling to Abbotsford BC and attend my denominations annual study conference and AGM. At it I was able to hear many great speakers offer profound words about how to build ministries and grow disciples. Yet as valuable as the speakers were I found the greatest blessing to be the opportunities I had to connect with peers, mentors, and those intelligent woman and men that make up the denomination. Specifically there is one person who I value highly but don't connect with much who spoke some significant truth into my life that I am still processing. But ultimately I am so thankful for the ability to travel to a conference, to be inspired by the teaching, and to feel supported by the church community.

In October our church had our annual fall banquet and I must say it is one event I look forward to each year. In our small church of less than 100 regular attendee's we saw over 160 people come to church over thanksgiving to be fed and hear a gospel message! Evangelism is often on my heart and for a small church with a small budget we don't often put on big events to draw crowds, but once a year on thanksgiving we pull out all the stops and it was amazing to see every area of the church come together to make this happen!

Financially my fundraising is doing incredibly well and that is all thanks to you who are reading this. As of my writing this I am currently funded up to May 2018, that is 6 months ahead of where I need to be! Words cannot express my thanks to God and to you for your faithful giving. Only a few years ago I would never have thought I could work in a role that involves fundraising, let alone thrive. I pray that you may be as blessed as you have blessed me!

Prayer Request

I must confess that this month has been the most difficult so far in terms of balancing school and ministry. I mentioned last month that my school has been difficult this year, and that is becoming even more evident in October and into November. Part of the struggle has to do with the particular courses but I think more than anything it involves not being able to say no to people. Along that vein I have noticed that my schedule is essentially full and there is no flex time to allow for things that regularly come up, or to spend time dreaming for the future.As such I don't really plan ahead and have started to feel like I am having to play catch up. Please pray that I can learn how to manage my time well, to know when and how to say no, and to not get overwhelmed with the many requirements/assignments I have. Please also pray for wisdom in choosing courses for next semester that I will find ones interesting, but with a reasonable course load.

Often of late I have been finding myself stressed out at how busy I am, yet as I am writing this and going over my schedule it does not seem like too much. As such I am starting to wonder how much of my stress is due to my being busy (some weeks are 60 hours or so but most are 45) and how much is due to my own anxiety. Please pray for me as I pray and reflect on this. The past few months I have noticed myself becoming more and more anxious and I am not sure if the source of that is as valid as it should be, or if something else is afoot.

Last month I also asked for prayer about a conversation with a high school and potentially having a christian group in it. So far due to circumstances beyond my control, this has not happened and I am praying about it a lot. I am unsure if this difficulty is the enemy undermining something or the Spirit telling me that now is not the time. Please pray for wisdom to move forward on this and the other issues of the past month of learning how to live well on my own.

Thanks so much for your partnership in prayer!

God Bless
- Stefan Klassen

August and September Settling In and Starting Again

Hello Friends, Family, and Internet Wanderers!

It finally happened. The months went by so fast that I forgot to send out an August update. I do hope you can forgive me. These past two months have been a flurry of activity as school and ministry have started up again. In this time I have finished moving and unpacking my new place in St. Boniface,  the youth group, Sunday school, and young adult ministries are underway, and I am deep into my studies for this semester. That being said, with everything going on there is a lot to pray for and a lot to be thankful for!


Thanksgiving

As I mentioned last time and above the recent move has been a huge blessing for me. While there are definitely some things to get used to in my new place I am ultimately able to rest and experience a significantly greater level of peace. The past weeks I have been unpacking and doing my best to figure out how to organize and decorate my apartment; I have never been able to do this without consulting someone else! And thanks to the blessing of my grandparents as well I am being given some living room furniture which was one of my concerns and prayer requests last time! Once I receive and set up the new layout of my place with this furniture I believe I will be comfortable hosting people. In the process of moving I found that my kitchen table, which was constructed by my great grandfather, would not fit through the hall. thinking this a simple matter of removing table legs I found myself several hours into a project of disassembling a table which appears to have been built to survive an atomic blast. I took out dozens of screws and many brackets to eventually get the table apart enough to move it in. :)

At the end of this last year I had been feeling at a loss when it comes to spiritual friendships. This is not to say I do not have some amazing friends, but I was noticing that many of my experiences in ministry are either confidential or hard to relate to. What is more is that a mentor of mine left the province and while I was excited for him, I did not realize how significant a role he had been playing in my life and ministry. So as I have been praying for this two new opportunities have arose for me. The first is that I have started seeing a Spiritual Director. This is something I have been thinking  a lot about but frankly was not sure what it meant or involved, and after one session I am still a little unsure. The person I am meeting with is a student practicing on me so I am helping her as well as she is helping me. Secondly and more excitedly is I have started meeting for monthly coffees with another pastor who is my age. While I would say that he is remarkably more 'successful' in his ministry we have a shocking amount of similarities. These conversations for me have been really fruitful as he knows the types of issues I am reflecting on without my having to name specifics and we are able to hear each others stories and offer insight and prayers. And while I think I am probably getting more than I am giving, I hope that this friendship will be a two way street and bear fruit for both of us.

Other things I am thankful for this month are the growth of the youth group and seeing new faces in church. I am thankful that I was able to start and write a term paper in the first few weeks of class so that now as school ramps up, it will only do so in one class.  I am thankful for family and friends and the support that I receive on a regular basis. Letters in the mail, texts, willingness to help when asked and being invited and included. Thank you all for the big and small ways you show your love and support to me.

Prayer Requests

I mentioned several months ago that I volunteer with a high school once a week and help teach newcomer teenagers English.  When the teacher I work with found out I work as a pastor at a church she approached me with an idea to have a prayer group similar to how the new Muslim students do. After waiting for a while and hearing nothing about this moving forward I received an e-mail from this teacher about a conversation on this subject involving the principle. To make a long story short, they were not interested. But in conversation with the teacher it appears the principle had a lot of confused notions around what was being asked for. As a result I have been asked to speak with the principle about this topic and am doing so today in fact. This is a public school and so historically is fairly hostile to faith but I know God can move here if He wills. Please pray that I will speak well and that the principle will hear and consider what is said and that if this door closes, that God will open another.

As mentioned I am continuing to work on my masters degree and am finding this semester in particular to be extremely challenging. I do not know what the difference is between this year and last but the work is pilling up and I find myself having to decline a lot of other things so I can do the school work. Particularly there are extra events or opportunities to invest in the youth, or the young adults which I don't have the time for I would like to. Please pray that I would be efficient in my studies and that I would know when to put down the books and minister to those who need it.

Finally as excited as I am to live alone I realize that some of my decisions are not the healthiest ones they could be. I find that I am going from periods of extremely busy at work, to incredibly bored and lonely at home. Whats more is I am finding I no longer have an excuse for bad eating habits or lack of exercise. I have always wanted to be healthier but I find that I lack the will to make those good choices, at least consistently. Please pray for me as I seek to find a method of living healthier in the various aspects of life. Please also pray that I would not find myself alone all the time. I confess that this is one of the reasons it took me so long to live on my own. Please pray that I would find someone who has similar interests and schedule to me that I would be able to experience the closeness that I find myself longing for, but again in a healthy way.


God Bless
- Stefan Klassen

July, Vacation, Moving, and Planning

Good Afternoon Friends, Family, and Internet Wanderers,

July has been amazing, and has felt so short. It is hard to believe that the slower summer season is already half over, I am not yet ready for September. In July I have started doing a bit of gardening in our church community garden, and most notable the ministry schedule has slowed down a fair bit, to allow for some much needed breaks.

Thanksgiving

As many of you know over the past 8 or so years of full time work I have not had much in the way of vacation. Usually the company would pay out a bit on the cheque and when I did take time off it was regularly for Mission trips with the youth group and the like. So for the first time maybe ever I took some time off the past 2 weeks to rest. This was a much needed break and I was so thankful that the church offers me 3 weeks a year. I was able to take the past two weeks to take in a good portion of Winnipegs Fringe Festival, and see about ten different plays. It was a lot of fun, especially the improv events.

However I did not spend all of my time over two weeks taking in shows, I was also able to MOVE! While not strictly vacation, I was able to take most of last week to slowly move out of my previous house into a knew place, which is much better in almost every way. With the extra time I was able to come every morning from the place where I am house sitting, to take a car load of my stuff from my old place and move it to my new place. This could not have been done without copious amounts of prayer. Most specifically I was able to get access to my new place a week early which allowed me to move all of the small things. And secondly was the availability of family and a few friends to help me move the bigger things on the Friday. This whole process which is often an incredibly stressful one, has been possibly the most positive moving experience of my life. Thanks be to God who has been looking out for me in this, and to all of you for your help and prayers.

One other thing stands out in July and that has to do with my finances. As you know I have a fundraising goal of 10,000 a year to both serve and go to school. In July I hit my goal for this year, and am fully fund-raised (and then some) until past December. I am so grateful for your support in this way, and I have been regularly told by the church treasurer just how amazingly faithful my supporters are. Now any extra donations this year, will transfer over to lower my fundraising goal next year, making that even more manageable.

Thank you so much

Prayer Requests

So as you know I have been house sitting for a couple from my church for the past month. Well about a week or so ago, when I was out at a Fringe show, a car tore through the front yard of the place I was staying. According to the neighbours a car was driving down the street faster than it should have, and a small child darted in front of the car, which swerved up on the curb and through two yards to avoid hitting the child. Both the child and the driver were unharmed, but a good portion of the yard is wrecked. So please pray for the couple I am house sitting for as they get back in a few days from vacation and now have to deal with this big frustration.

Please also pray for me in my new place. This is the first time I have ever lived alone for any length of time, as such there are things which I have always depended on roommates to provide that I need to acquire. Most of it is fairly in-expensive with the exception of some living room furniture. I have previously had more furniture but got rid of some of it when I move and now find myself in need of some solid and affordable furniture, so I can host and invite people over.

Finally with summer half over I still have a lot of planning to do and ministry decisions to make. As with every year the groups will change and new challenges will arise. It is looking like this year our small group will already be a bit smaller and while it is my hope to encourage growth, I want to be mindful of what God is doing and join with it, instead of trying to steer the ship on my own. Please pray for wisdom and direction as I lead the youth and young adults, please also pray for growth both in numbers and in the faith journey's of all who attend.

Thanks and God Bless
- Stefan Klassen

June Transitions, Growth, and Understanding.

Hello Friends, Family and Internet wanderers!

I hope your summer has been going well. My June was a blur, but a mostly good blur. It was full of business as I finished up the youth year, I attended the Pastors Credentialing Orientation, I received some unexpected and difficult family news, and spent some time covering for the pastor as he took some well deserved time off. This month was very full, but in a good way.

Thanksgiving.

If you have been keeping up with these entries you may remember that I have been having difficulty in my current living situation. Well I am extremely thankful for a retired couple in my church that requested that I house-sit for them as they are away on vacation for two months. While I still am paying rent and the majority of my stuff is at my old place, my mental health had increased significantly. One of the major noticeable changes is that of my own personal devotional times. Over the past few months as tensions have risen at home, I was finding great difficulty with personal prayer and devotions. Thank you for your prayers on this subject, the situation has not resolved completely but the end of June saw significant improvement.

Also in June I was given my first teaching series on which to preach. Now I have not preached a lot, but if I was to count my past sermons, I would need to start using my toes. But this was a first, where I preached three out of four weeks and lead the service on the fourth. And while it was definitely new and difficult, I enjoyed this far more than I thought I might have. Given the choice on the preaching topic allowed me to delve into what God has been teaching me this past year and share it with the congregation. The church also appreciated it and was quite encouraging saying of my last sermon that I was starting to really come into my own as a preacher, and others have asked to know when I am speaking next. It is odd what one finds life giving, but as far as I can tell I am both giving and receiving a lot out of my preaching.

This month I was also able to attend the conferences credentialing process. It was an exciting time of refreshing what the conference stands for and networking with other pastors and leaders. In this time we were able to also work through how to address some serious issues which often come up in the life of a pastor. Now I am one step closer to being credentialed, although the biggest step involves me filling out a complex survey of my beliefs and how they relate to the conference; is it weird that I am looking forward to it?

Prayer Requests

This past month marks the beginning of a lot of transitions in my work at the church, as I switch from regular ministry events to more of a planning and visioning for the next year mode. But more than that it, with some youth graduating and some young adults shifting their attendance I am wondering about the future. As far as I can tell all the reasons for transition have nothing to do with me, in fact I continue to be told I am doing well, yet our groups do not grow. In a conversation with another youth pastor he raised the question wondering if my desire for growth was my own or Gods; I did not know. Please pray for me and the groups I lead during this time of transition and planning, pray that I hear the Lords voice well and that our plans for next year would reflect God's plans and desires for us.

Although I have placed the living situation item in the previous section, as yet I do not have a place to live come August when the lease expires and my house sitting comes to an end. Today I have another showing, but places in my price range are few and far between. Please pray that God would make a way for me to live independently, ideally on my own, but I will live with roommates again if that is His desire for me.

Then finally, this past month my family received some dire news. My mom who has been struggling with breast cancer was informed that it had moved into her skin and liver as well. As far as the doctors are concerned it is no longer a matter of if it will take her, but when. That being said neither she nor the family that surrounds her has given up on her; we are not planning on resigning mom to this. So please join me in prayer for her and for healing. I have known God as healer in the past, this is not something beyond our heavenly father. Please also pray for health as she starts chemotherapy, that the symptoms would not be to harsh.

Thank you for your prayers and support as I seek to live and serve the Lord the best way I can.

God Bless
- Stefan Klassen

May, Conferences, Retreats, and plans for the future.

Good Morning Friends, Family and Internet Wanderers. May has been a busy month of attending Weddings, conference events, and church retreats. It has been a month of much ministry and many blessings and June looks to be similarly loaded. But despite the business I am finding myself in a place of peace as I seek to follow the path God has lined up before me.

Thanksgiving

A few weeks ago our church had its annual general meeting in which each committee member was required to present on what they had done the past year. I lead two committees and also had to report on the program I am in, essentially letting the church know what I am doing with their investment in me. You may remember that it was at this meeting last year that the church voted to hire me, and that prior to that there was a small but vocal group who were opposed to it. It was from that group of people that I was strongly and unexpectedly affirmed, especially because there was not really supposed to be a time of affirmation. I continue to make mistakes and fall short in some areas, but even so my church is affirming and supportive of my service. I am so thankful for the affirmation and the confirmation that God is at work through me.

This past month the church went on a retreat and the week after I took two of our older students to Briercrest in Caronport SK for a conference. Both of these events took the entire weekend, and offered concrete and dense times of relationship building.  In my experience it is these times of prolonged contact that allow the students to really open up and give leaders the opportunity to affirm them.  Over this time I had the chance to very intentionally pour into students and hear some of their candid struggles. I sometimes lament the small size of our group, but it is then that I remember that even Jesus had a small core of people he poured into. I am thankful that God has entrusted me with these students and it is my prayer that he will this ministry to impact them for him.

Last weekend after preaching on Sunday I took off to Hecla for a pastors retreat. The location and the food were amazing but I would still consider it work as a signification portion of this retreat involves sessions, teaching, and the rest is often networking and brainstorming.  All of this was really good, yet what I am most thankful for is the time I was able to spend with two other younger pastors. I was able to share some prayer requests and listen to their wisdom. That interaction did much to encourage me and I am thankful for them and the peers (that word still feels weird) I have.

Prayer Requests

As I wrote above this time of year is incredibly busy for me. This is partially to do with the end of the regular church year programming and partially to do with my Lead pastor taking a short study leave. I find that when I am busy I often find myself forgetting things or not giving proper attention to each task before me. Right now June is completely full as was May, but my hope is that in both July and August I will be able to plan for the coming year of ministry and also take a much needed break. Please pray for rest and guidance as I seek to juggle all my responsibilities and then plan for the future.

Another thing that is happening this month is that I will be house sitting for a couple in my church. During that time of house sitting I need to pack up my things from the apartment I am currently living and find a place to live for when the house sitting period is over. My hope is that I find a suitable living situation in early or mid July so that I can use some of my vacation in late July to move with ease. Please pray that God will provide a good living arrangement for me, and please pray the same for my roommates as they search for a place to live as well.

Finally it has been some time since I have given a financial update, and that is mostly because of how generous you all have been. At last count I have raised enough money to last me until sometime in October. That is amazing and I am so thankful.  At the end of May was one year in the Elevation program for me and I have 3 more to go. Please pray that the finances would continue to come in and that God would bless the gift and the givers.

Thank you so much for your partnership in prayer, I could not do this without you.

God Bless

-          Stefan Klassen

April, Affirmation, Baptism, and planning ahead

Good Morning Friends, Family, and Internet Wanderers!

The past month of April has been a positive one, full of affirmation, and hope. Yet there is still much on the horizon that needs to be planned and prayed for. The more I serve and spend time in ministry, the more I realize just how little I have to offer. I had the opportunity this past month to listen to some missionaries back from a year of serving overseas. What stood out to me most about their stories, is that they were all stories of what God has done, sometimes with them and sometimes in spite of them. So thank you for your constant prayers and here are some of the stories this past month of what God has done, sometimes with and sometimes in spite of me.

Thankfulness

For the past two months, I have been asking you to pray about my upcoming review process with the church. As I am writing this I still have not received the feedback from this process, but what I have received is God's peace about it. Shortly after writing my last entry as I was praying on this process it dawned on me that if there was a glaring or pressing issue that I needed to respond to, I would not have to wait this long. Similarly I try my best to be proactive in seeking out feedback from team members and other church members. So while there may be one or two things I need to address, I am at peace that there is likely nothing surprising on the horizon in this regard.

Along that vein, this month I have had the opportunity to be affirmed and encouraged in a number of ways. This past month I had the opportunity to meet with and encourage someone who was having a minor crisis. While I never wish struggles on others, I feel like it is one of my strongest areas as a pastor, to listen and minister to those who are struggling. The conversation was simple, and the crisis relatively small, but I felt honoured that this person desired to seek me out to help them work through it. And more specifically this person said that they felt like I was a mentor to them. While I do not know if that is an accurate account of our relationship, I am so glad that the Lord has been using me to encourage and minister to others.

Also this past month one of my students publicly committed their life to Christ through baptism. Again I can take no credit as this was all God working through the people of the church who came before me, but it was encouraging none the less. Even more encouraging is that this student has asked that I walk with them for a while as a mentor helping them grow deeper into their faith. I am so honoured that I not only get to lead this student, but was asked by this student to help them as they seek to walk out their faith.

Prayer Requests

Despite all the encouragement surrounding those I am serving and ministering to, there are others who for whatever reason do not seem to be growing. Of those I serve a few do not count themselves as Christians, and often these are the ones who I devote most of my time to serving. Sometimes it seems as if they are moments away from being ready to follow Jesus and other times like they want nothing to do with him or the church. Please pray for these people. That God would reveal himself to them, that they would see God at work, and that I would have His words to give them as needed.

In a few weeks the lead pastor at the church is taking a short sabbatical, around a month. During this time, I will assume a few of his responsibilities, predominantly on Sunday mornings. On the one hand it is exciting to be the only pastor at the church, but more accurately I am a little nervous. So please pray for me, that I would lead and teach well, and that I would make wise decisions in his absence. Also please pray that my lead would find this a time of rest and rejuvenation.

Finally as many of you know I am looking for a new housing situation. In late June I am planning on house sitting for a family in my church and hopefully I will find a more permanent living situation before the end of July, ideally somewhere in the middle of July so I can move with ease. Please pray that I find a suitable place to live, in terms of cost, size, and location. This past year has been incredibly difficult for me in terms of home life, and I am looking forward to a time when I can be at ease at home, instead of on guard. Please also continue to pray that those I am living with experience the Lords blessings, as much as I do not like them right now, I know God loves them and calls me to do the same.

Thank you so much for your partnership in prayer

God Bless
- Stefan Klassen

Where did March go? School, Serving, and Reviews

Good Morning Friend, Family and Internet wanderers!

I feel like I just looked up from my desk and realized that it is now April! Where did the time go? March has been a busy month of school work, meetings, conference events, and more school work! But in everything I have been experiencing the blessings of God the father and of Jesus Christ his son as I try my best to serve him and the people he has put in my path. 

Thankfulness

This past month has been a very busy one with a lot of school work and readings to be done. I have had to work on and finish the assignments for my intensive course, as well as the ones for my other regular course. But now I write with all the work done, and with only a short exam between me and a complete semester. In this place I am thankful. Thankful for the opportunity to learn and read the resources which I have had this semester. Thankful for the interactions with fellow students and the professors. Thankful that as far as I can tell I am getting a B+ and an A+ in my courses for this semester. 

This past month I also had the privileged to help out and serve with a 10 day youth mission trip. Now most of my students are incredibly introverted and so this event is a bit much for them, so instead I served for a day on my own. I was invited to lead a workshop on how to study the Bible and then invited to pray over a group of participants and each student in that group. When it comes to intercessory prayer I feel like I am still a novice, despite the fact that I have been doing it for years. But during this time I got to ask God for words and images for each student in this group, and then share them with the students. Whenever I do this the reactions are never the same, some are shy, and others seem indifferent, occasionally someone cries as the words make a deep and immediate impact. But I know from experience that God speaks in these moments, even if I do not see immediate results. However the results I get to see happen more clearly during my workshop as I lead Christian youth into reading their Bible, some for the first time. This year some students heard God speaking to them about forgiveness, or to let go of their anger. One student shared they felt God challenging them to use their gifts for others, another felt strongly an affirmation of her worth to God, and another said he felt encouraged to fight against his porn addiction. Each student left the room with a word from God for them that day. I am so thankful that I got to be a part of that and was able to bless these students in even such a small way.

Prayer 

For the past few months I have been asking you to pray for a difficult situation between myself and some friends. In March the situation has improved in small ways but by and large it is still not a positive one. There is no huge actions or reactions of anger or hostility, but there is still little regard for one another. I have tried all I can think to do and the only option open seems to do nothing. It is an experience of powerlessness as I deeply desire reconciliation but that same desire does not seem to be reciprocated. What I have noticed however is that the more I pray for them the more God is opening my eyes to how He sees them and his love. It does not make the problems go away but He is helping me to handle it better until a more permanent change can be made. Please continue to pray for me and for God to help me in this situation and if possible to expedite it. Please also pray for my friends, that they would seek God and his desires for our relationship.

I spoke last month of pastoral reviews and while I believe the information has been collected I have not received it yet. I have been given a few points of improvement by my lead and I am endeavoring to work on them, but I must say I am fairly anxious about this process. As I reflect on this past year of ministry I cannot think of any glaring issues or failures on my part, but still I am anxious. I think perhaps it is because this is possibly the first position I have every been completely invested in. Please pray for God's peace about the review process, that I will be able to hear the blessings and the critiques in a constructive way. Please pray that God will continue to use my desires and efforts to impact and bless those around me for His good.

Finally as many of you know I have had on and off back problems for the past few years. Ever since I decided to "catch" a street lamp as a courier. My Chiropractor has told me that the best way to heal is to be active. Before I was serving in ministry this was easy as my job required me to be on my feet close to eight hours a day, but now I am on my butt most of the time. As a result I have been trying to get active more but am discouraged at my progress or lack thereof. Please pray for encouragement and healing as I seek to make healthy decisions for my life. That I would make good choices and be able to stick to them. 

Thank you so much for your prayer and support. It means the world to me.

God Bless

- Stefan Klassen

February, School, Possibilities, and Reviews.

Good Morning Friends, Family and Internet Wanderers

If you have been keeping up with this Blog, you might remember that the past few months have been difficult ones for me, with January being the positive exception. February has been a bit of a mixed bag. While ministry and school have been going well, the earlier mentioned situation with some friends has not improved the way I would have liked to see. All that being said a lot happened in February and I am happy to share that with you.

Thankfulness:

While no one really likes things to be difficult, it is in these times that you feel the love and support of friends and family. Last month I mentioned how I have been re-connecting with my family and how much their support means to me. This is still the case but I feel I should also mention that there are friends who are doing the same. Without naming anyone specific I had the opportunity to be blessed by my friends at MB Mission, by a prayer warrior from my old church, and by some of my peers who I went to university with. Their friendship and genuine care for me, in big and little ways has been incredibly encouraging. I am so thankful for them, and for you.

Also in February I had the chance to take a one week intensive course. For those who may not know what that is, it is a whole university course in a week, essentially 8 hour days of school. It was definitely a challenge but I have found both the content and the conversations with peers that came with to have been invaluable. The class was all about young people and how they are forming their identities. It was about transformation and what a mature christian looks like. There is too much to share here, but ultimately the conclusion I drew from the course is that for me and anyone else who seeks to teach young people we need to model what we are teaching. I am very thankful for the course as I am finding the content coming up again and again.

Finally I must say how blessed and thankful I am to the Lord and to you for your generosity. The church accountant gave me a summary of where my fundraising is and I have enough money to cover me until the end of October! I am blown away by your generosity and words cannot express my deep appreciation for the care I have received in every area of life.

Prayer:
As many of you know, I have been experiencing difficulty in some of my close friendships. Without going into specifics, the basics of life, eating, sleeping, and even recreation have been affected. Now all that being said January has seen an improvement in this area from December, but February has not really improved upon January. This is a relationship which for the time being I cannot avoid and yet I do not know how to repair or even work on it. I feel very much like the desire for reconciliation is only coming from me and I do not know what to do when another party does not want to work on something that needs to be worked on. Please pray for wisdom for all parties involved, that I would act in a way that is representative of God's love to these people, and that they would do similarly.

February is the month that my church does pastoral reviews, and as such the elders of the church have been interviewing those who I work closest with in order to present me with my review. At this time I do not have any reason to be concerned, but I find myself nervous anyways. Please pray that the review would be an honest reflection of both my skills and the areas I need to work on. Please pray that I would be able to understand and implement the direction given to me in such a way as to build up the church and my ministry areas.


Thank you for all your support, and for your prayers

May God bless you this month as you continue to bless me.

-Stefan Klassen

January: starting again, family, patience, and prayer.

Good Morning Friends, Family and Internet Wanderers

If you have been keeping up with this Blog, you might remember that the past few months have been difficult ones for me, but January has been surprisingly positive. Perhaps my positive outlook is because a new year has begun, or more likely it is a result of the the Lord at work in my life. By in large not a lot has changed this month from last aside from my outlook. Well perhaps that is not entirely true, this month I have been leaning deeply into the Lord in prayer. Prayer has characterized my response to just about everything this month and in this practice I have found tremendous relief and encouragement.

Thankfulness:
I find it curious to observe in myself and others just how quickly we turn to, or turn back to, God when trouble comes around. Lately while my Bible reading has been on point, my prayer times have been infrequent and brief. But with the difficulties of the past month I have been delving deep into prayer both for myself and for others. It is in this place of regular prayer that God has been showing me how He is at work in some of the areas of my life. Particularly He has been reminding me that I am not just a physical being but spiritual as well. In the western world we like to forget or ignore the idea of the spiritual, but the Bible is clear that it exists, and affects our lives. So part of my daily routine has been to claim in prayer the authority given to me by Christ as a Christian. As I daily pray and speak out against spirits of depression, oppression, and offense, I find my days have been improving significantly. While I do not know that these three will always be what I name, I am so thankful for Gods provision in my life. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" - James 4:7

On the same note as above, during times of trouble I take comfort in my family. It dawned on me one day this month that not everyone has such an amazing support team as I do and while that is sad, it is also an incredible blessing for me. So this month I have been spending a lot more time with my family than I have done in a long time. Ever since I moved out I only really visited family on special occasions, opting for independence and friends over them. Partially this was due to some conflicts (as we all have with our family before we move out on our own), and partially it was my own hubris to declare that I could stand all on my own. But that gets lonely and I was missing out on a lot of good. So weekly now I have been enjoying time spent with family, being supported and supporting them. Of particular note is the growing closeness with my sister, that I did not expect and I am really thankful for.

Finally in January I am extremely blessed by the donations and support by all of you. The church accountant is currently busy with tax forms and whatnot, but I have been assured that I am covered for a good while now. If I had to guess I would say that I am likely funded until June/July 2017 now. I am exceedingly blessed by the generosity, both big and small, of all of you. I know I might sound like a broken record, but I really could not do even a fraction of what I am without your support. Thank you. It means the world to me.

Prayer:
As many of you know, I have been experiencing difficulty in some of my close friendships. Without going into specifics, the basics of life, eating, sleeping, and even recreation have been affected. Now all that being said January has seen an improvement in this area from December, but there is still a fair way to go to bring about reconciliation. Please pray for wisdom for all parties involved, that I would act in a way that is representative of God's love to these people, and that they would do similarly.

This past month I also took the initiative to sit down with some of the other leaders in the ministries I am responsible for and ask them really concretely what their impressions are of me and my leadership. I mentioned in my last post I was feeling like some things needed to be changed and my feelings were confirmed. This was a positive process for me as I was able to hear other perspectives, voice my ideas and feelings and then be given concrete ideas and responses to my ideas. Please pray that I would continue to seek out God's best for these ministries, and that He would show me how to move in the directions which I believe He is taking these ministries.

Finally, as many of you know I have been volunteering for a few hours a week at a local high school, helping to teach English to students who are new to Canada. Being that this is a public high school I was a little uncertain they would allow a christian part time pastor to serve, but it has been going very well. So well in fact that the teacher I volunteer for/with has asked me a few times about my faith, to which I have shared and found that she too is a Christian. This led her to approach me about two weeks ago to ask if I would be interested in helping set up a Christian faith based club at the school. She was not terribly specific as to what it would look like or entail, but said that with the influx of Muslim students there have been groups forming around that faith and she thought that Christians should have one too. I am incredibly excited and vehemently agreed to this, but also said that I am content in my current role. So we left the conversation with her saying that she would bring it up to the school for approval. Please pray that the Lords will be done at this high school. I can see so many opportunities for connection and blessings, but I also know that I cannot force anything, and that trying to will not achieve the results I want. It is my hope that this will happen, but I trust in what God is doing, even if this does not happen.

Thank you for all your support, and for your prayers

May God bless you this month as you continue to bless me.

-Stefan Klassen

December: The end of the year, hospital visits, Christmas, finals, and fights.

Good Afternoon Friends, Family and Internet Wanderers.

December has been an incredibly difficult month for me. For many people in the church December is difficult due to all the different Christmas responsibilities that surround it. Thankfully Christmas was lovely and not an difficulty at all. For me this past month was difficult with a parent in the hospital, with final papers due, and with unfortunate fighting with friends. However it must be said that it is in these trying times that God shows up so much clearer than others, perhaps it is because I search for Him more earnestly in them. In fact if I were to characterize my feelings after December I would say that I am grateful.

Thankfulness

As some of you may know, my father was in the hospital for over a week with potentially life threatening symptoms. While it is not my place to speak of the particulars of the illness, I am extremely thankful for the prayers offered on his behalf and that he was able to come home. While he has had to make some adjustments as a result of this illness, overall he is in good health and spirits and so I thank God for that.

On that note I am extremely thankful for my support team of friends and family. I am not talking financially here although you are awesome there too. Rather specifically I am thinking of those many people who took time to go out of their way to encourage me this past month. This December I received a bunch of notes, cards, and other kind words; many from people who do not often offer them. All of them were needed and appreciated. Special mention goes out to the person in the office who heard and prayed for me as I was struggling to deal with a toxic relationship. It dawned on me this past month just how privileged I am to have a family who loves and supports me, and friends who seek me out to let me know I am valued. Thank you to all of you for your encouragement and support. Christmas this year was an incredible blessing because of all of you.

While final projects were stressful, I am glad to be done and to be looking forward to next semester. I got my final grades over the Christmas break and am pleased to report that I received my first A in a masters level course, as well as my first B+. As a historically C/B student I am really excited and pleased that my hard work has been paying off.

Prayer Requests,

I have been thinking a lot about what vision God has for the various areas I serve and wondering if  I am going along with it as best I can. My ministry work has been going fairly well as far as I can tell, but I have been feeling like I am missing something. I am not able to put my finger on exactly what I mean, perhaps it is a weirdness around settling into a routine but I am requesting your prayers. Please ask the Lord to show me where He is at work around me and how I can join Him. Please also pray for a sense of direction in ministry, do I continue to lead as I have or do I switch something up. (This is purely a stylistic request. I have no plans or feelings towards changing where I am serving, I just wish to do as good a job as I can where I am)

As indicated above December involved some significant struggles in a few areas. The one which is most troubling for me was the difficulties with friends. I will not go into details but please pray for both myself and my friends, that our relationship would be characterized first and foremost by Gods love and that we would be receptive to one anothers differences in constructive ways.

Finally, I have not received an updated total for my fundraising goal, but I can say that there was a lot of generosity this past month. I am extremely thankful for that and for you dear reader. Please pray that God would continue to provide for me and for those who support me, that we would all be able to experience his abundance so we can share it with others.

God Bless
- Stefan Klassen