My wife and I have been doing ministry together for a long time now, but the one thing that we constantly turn back to is how Great Lakes Christian College has shaped us as servant leaders and continues to impact us even now, years after we officially left the school.
I started attending Great Lakes in 2005 and met my wife, Lindsey (who was then still a high school student) shortly after. While she attended another Christian university her first year of college, finances led her to Great Lakes and we both recognize it as one of the most important decisions we ever made. From the beginning I saw that GLCC had many valuable things to offer. The academics were far superior to my expectations and the small classroom size allowed for genuine, personal relationships with almost all of my professors. I created real friendships with fellow classmates that were based on a common foundation of Christ and a mutual respect for the diversity of beliefs that accompany our faith. Because of the close knit community atmosphere, my wife even stepped into an unexpected employment position at the school when they needed it. While we never lived on campus, we never felt left out or unwelcome in any way and, in fact, our wedding reception was the first event held in the new (at that time) Doty Center. Great Lakes was a huge part of our lives and marriage from the start.
Since graduating in 2010, I've used what I learned from Great Lakes in multiple youth ministry positions in church settings. Most recently, Lindsey and I felt a call to the mission field and we are currently serving on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. GLCC taught us how to handle the struggles we faced in finding our niche in traditional ministry and multiple staff members, now friends, helped us discover how God might use us in different ways outside of what you might consider a typical ministry environment. Here on Kauai we have various ministries in place that allow us to interact with people from all over the world and we also use our home as a retreat space for pastors and their spouses who need a break. Through everything, our education, our biblical worldview, and our relationships with professors and classmates have all been the rocks that have kept us focused on God's purpose for our lives. We are so thankful He led us to Great Lakes Christian College.
Read more about Simon's missions work here:
www.alohameanshelloandgoodbye.wordpress.com
