Interview with the Kohs

1. What has it been like to be involved @North for the last 2-3 years?

The last 2-3yrs at (soon to be @!!) North has been at times inspirING, tirING, excitING and its still devlopING.

Inspiring and encouraging at times when you see the time and sacrifices so many people make - especially behind the scenes just to get a service up and running.?

Tiring because of the obviously limited numbers - it really has been all hands on deck - something I think everyone should try at least once!??

Exciting with the growth both in maturity and numbers in our church, developing avenues of ministry which we hadn't even contemplated 2 years ago (eg the Chinese students ministry) - we were all paddling hard just to stay afloat. But God has always had His eye on the big picture, providing people with the interest and ability to address our different avenues of ministry.

2. What have been some of the great challenges the church faced during that time?

I see that the greatest challenges during that time, has also being turned by God into some of the greatest improvements/growth we have made. One of the best areas I see (and being objective as we were not the main driving forces) would be the childrens ministry. There were lots of teething problems with many new families/young kids who had no ideas how to raise God fearing children. It can be a subjective area. But with much effort and time poured in, there has been a program and structure put in place - while not always perfect, has always been a work in progress and will continue to be. We thank God for the impressive results, given that no real starting blueprint existed; because everyone had different ideas.The other great challenge I saw was in the music ministry. We grew from just a piano +/- guitar to at times a semblance of a band with Piano, keyboard, drums, bass, rhythm guitar and 3-4 backup silent guitars!! (yes that last ministry could still grow some more).? The challenge was always learning to play together (which i think we are doing more of), being flexible (and encouraging people to get involved), and committed (if we're not playing we're usually in hospital!!).? Our previous concept of having a couple of weeks off a roster became alien to us.
3. What were some of the great blessings?

Undoubtedly the great blessings have been the additions to our church - both organically with babies (yes we make our new members!), with our International students, and also the growth in maturity - especially with the newer christians. That's in addition to our individual growth - serving in multiple areas (and often!) We had very little time to reflect on how tired we felt and what recognition we received ( as everyone was in the same boat). I do appreciate the character/strength of the members. They remind me of spiritual marathon runners.Being small, also afforded us the freedom to enlist people in many areas where they may not otherwise have served in - it allowed people to broaden their preconceived ideas of how and where God could use them for His purposes - as long as we had the willingness and availability.

4. Where do you think God is leading us as a church?

We're all excited about the combination of people (and characters!) for C@N.? It's going to be always a period of adjustment - but the possibilities are great. Apart from the obvious increase in numbers, there will be increased skill sets and ideas to implement what God has in store for us. I would say the members coming from Concord would inject energy and renew our enthusiasm for this new congregation as well.All that aside - our greatest challenge will be working in unity, remembering God's big picture - bringing people back to Him.Through our last 2-3 years however, despite all our work, sacrifices and efforts - (the greatest lesson I think) is that we do nothing except through God (Psalm 127)