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Meet Our Youth Pastor
Sitting in
church you probably have noticed that we have been blessed with two
new faces. They are Shawn and Andrea Hofing, but really, who are
they and what is their story? I thought I would sit down with them
and ask some questions about their lives. After meeting them at the
Nuthouse, I first noticed that Shawn was easily amused by the
concept of being able to throw peanuts onto the floor, and fell in
love
Shawn was born in the far away town of Athens — Athens, Ontario that is. He was born into a family with two sisters and a brother. He went to a Christian grade school, and he attended a public high school. After high school, Shawn went to Redeemer, a Christian College in Canada, for 5 years where he majored in Kinesiology and Religion/Theology/Youth Ministry. Shawn said that he has always felt called to work with kids. He said that starting in the third grade people told him that he should work with children. It was not until he worked at a camp, where a counselor asked him if he had considered being a youth pastor. Shawn said that he had never heard of that job before, and did not know that you could get a job being a youth pastor. At that time, Redeemer was just beginning to start their youth ministry program, so Shawn made the decision to switch over to youth ministry. After completing the youth program he felt he needed to go to seminary to be better equipped. There he got his Masters of Divinity. Andrea was born in the town of Belleville, Ontario. She was born into a family of two brothers and a sister. She went to Redeemer for two years and to Calvin for four years, where she received a Special Ed degree. She feels called to work with kids who have special needs. After sitting down for a while, I decided to ask them what their plans were for the future. Andrea immediately answered kids, but then she said she plans on teaching for a while and then starting a family. They said that when they accepted this call to our church, they came in with the idea of being here for the long time, with no end in sight. Shawn said that he plans to continue his education, possibly in counseling, psychology, or theology. Asking Shawn if he has plans to become a pastor after he is finished in youth ministry, he said no, but then again he never thought he would do ministry in the first place. Shawn and Andrea are two amazing people, filled with the Holy Spirit, who are excited to begin working with the youth here at Third. They truly are a blessing to have among us and are an answer to prayer. Finally, I would like to say, that I hope that you will take the time to meet Shawn and Andrea if you have not already. ~ Braden Kok |
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with
the peanut buckets (you can check his office for his Nuthouse
souvenir).