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By Narayan Mitra
TO SAY Lester Mesenbrink has seen and done it all, evangelically speaking, is to
put it mildly.
But the new chaplain at Kelowna Gospel Mission (KGM) feels he is still being
remade every day, by fresh challenges in his current role.
After 14 years as senior pastor at Bethel Church in Kelowna, Mesenbrink now has
a special calling to minister and refresh the lives of staff and volunteers at
KGM.
Raised in western Montana, Mesenbrink attended Big Sky Bible College in
Lewistown, and later the University of Great Falls, completing a Master of
Human Services degree with emphasis on counselling and psychology.
A 1992 move to Kelowna was necessitated by a call to be the youth pastor at
Bethel. Two years later, he was promoted to the senior rank.
Not content with being confined to a church office, Mesenbrink has volunteered
with Interior Health Spiritual Care Committee; NeighbourLink; and with School
District 23 as a lunch monitor, a role he still continues in.
“The gracious people at Bethel loved me, encouraged me and taught me how to be a
proper shepherd of God’s flock,” he told BCCN, adding: “I still detest the paperwork of ministry, but do love the interaction with
people through ministry.”
The Mesenbrinks still attend Bethel, and are fully accepted by the leadership – as well as the congregation that appreciated them for so many years.
How is the transition from church to street ministry working out for him? He replied: “Through this ministry, I find that I have been – and am being – challenged and changed in many aspects of my Christian walk.
“There is a change of communication standards – in that our guests do not care how much I know, but only how much I care.
Therefore love, not theology, is the guiding principle of how I attempt to
minister the gospel of God’s grace to our guests and staff.”
The roles he participates in vary daily: helping in the men’s hostel, working in the kitchen, participating in emergency counselling to
agitated clients, plus representing KGM in area churches and schools.
Working alongside staff and volunteers, Mesenbrink hears the stories of pain and
frustration resulting from poor choices made by some clients. At other times
the scene shifts, and aspects of healing and victory emerge because of godly
counselling imparted by staff.
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“We see the pain of sin on a daily basis . . . as we regularly participate in
restoring lives that are torn down by sins of others that deliberately target
our guests.
“My worldview has changed. These people need to know that each of us is more
broken than we can know or verbalize. Jesus is a greater Saviour than we could
ever ask for.”
Refreshing of staff and volunteers takes many forms: a shoulder to cry on; a
place to verbalize the hurts from being wounded by the words of clients; a
place to tell their stories and be reassured, blessed and prayed for.
The father of four children said he cries for his clients daily. Yet he is aware
that he needs to prayerfully seek a balance in order to answer their needs.
“If we fail to respond rightly, then one of our valued guests may be victimized
even further. We are in desperate need of your prayers, so that we may minister
rightly in the many decisions that are made daily.”
KGM provides comprehensive counselling, employment and independence training,
plus affordable transitional housing.
Clients gain access to education, physical and mental health care, dental care,
clothing, even a shower and barber – everything they need to become whole, regain their dignity and make positive
changes.
For more information on KGM’s history and activities, go to their website www.kelownagospelmission.ca; or
phone 250.763.3737.
July 2009
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