In December of 2023 Pastor Bob Davies of Kanata Baptist Church (KBC) received a call from CBOQ, asking if they would be able to take on a Pastoral Intern from a nearby church. While this new arrangement was made in haste, those at Kanata Baptist Church were able to quickly learn the ropes and form their own Intern Oversight Committee. In this arrangement, CBOQ would provide the funding for the remainder of the Ministry Year, while Kanata would be responsible for curating “a breadth of ministry experiences and some intentional mentorship.” Additionally, CBOQ provided the church committee with a “clear, structured, and thorough approach to the internship,” allowing the church to quickly prepare for their new addition. This would serve as a Ministry Placement for the intern—Jordan—who is pursuing his M.Div. at McMaster Divinity College.
From there, Pastor Bob would meet with Jordan at the local Jack Astor’s—which they refer to as “Jack Pastors”—and within a week Kanata Baptist Church was prepared for Jordan to begin his ministry journey with them. Being local to the area, Jordan was already familiar with the community, which proved to be greatly beneficial. Pastor Davies would begin to meet with the intern regularly, working together to plan and debrief on Jordan’s Ministry experiences—which he started soon after their initial meeting. Jordan showed his eagerness to engage in Ministry, collaborating with Pastor Bob to brainstorm opportunities to explore.
It would soon be apparent that Jordan was a strong addition to the church, bringing his “effusive and sincere personality allowed him to draw together a bit of a parish.” The first few months of the internship were going so well that it seemed to be the obvious choice to take Jordan on for the remainder of the year. This was made possible with funding from CBOQ’s internship grant, which allowed them to increase the intern’s compensation and freed him to explore matters his heart was drawn to, all while gaining invaluable exposure for his M.Div. Ministry Placement.
During Jordan’s Ministry Placement, Kanata Baptist Church saw the start of a Young Adult ministry because of Jordan and other staff who collaborated on the endeavour. This newly formed ministry allowed young adults to bond over worship and Bible Studies, as well as with young men throwing footballs around in the parking lot and playing ball hockey. While the internship saw many successes, the Intern Oversight Committee was also able to walk with Jordan through experiences that were less successful, such as an Alpha Course which had too few registrations.
Overall, Kanata Baptist Church are happy to have seen Jordan’s journey, as he grew more mature in his preaching and continued to evolve his pastoral theology. They are thankful to have been able to be a part of his spiritual formation, allowing him to follow God’s call and seek the things of His Spirit. Pastor Bob Davies remarked that: “It’s a great honour to walk with young leaders in their formation and growth. Jordan came to us with enthusiasm and an open heart, and I am thankful to CBOQ for enabling this opportunity for him, and for us.”
LEARN MORE AND APPLY FOR A CBOQ GRANT HERE: baptist.ca/grants
Previous Post
Leave Your Comment