Kevin & Summer Dalafu

How God Brought us Together

By Bruce Kane |  March 22, 2011

You may have heard about "the couple coming from the Philippines " lately.  Or perhaps you received the recent e-newsletter giving you a brief introduction to Kevin and Summer.  But some of you may not yet know the story of how God brought us into relationship with them and how He orchestrated a partnership that will bring them into ministry with us on Palm Sunday.

As the Mission Accomplishment Team began to pray about our objectives for 2011 in the Fall of last year, we felt strongly that we should ask God to bring us ministry partners to take on a staff position.  We even planned to adjust our budget so that a salary would be available for such a person or family.  (This was long before we knew we would face the financial challenges that now stand before us.)  Just about the same time that we began to pray for this, our volunteers in youth ministry at the time, Marcus & Rachel Glascock, began to feel God leading them to invest all of their ministry energy into their roles on the worship team and to release teen ministry.  My (Bruce) life group began to pray for our youth students.

Well, come around December and Kari Medeiros was catching up with her college friend, Summer Dalafu on the phone.  Summer mentioned that she and her husband were prayerfully considering a move back to the US .  Kari mentioned that she knew there was youth ministry to be done at epic.  In the midst of the conversation, Kari instant messaged me (Bruce) to see if there really was a ministry position available.  I called Kari to find out what was going on.  And within 10 days Kevin and Summer were visiting epic on a Sunday morning during their holiday visit to the US .  This seemed a miraculous turn of events that weren't orchestrated by any human effort: just the right words, spoken at the right time, revealing supernatural planning just below the surface.

I took a few minutes to sit down and chat with Kevin and Summer that evening.  In a brief conversation we discovered that God had put similar passions in our hearts, parallel callings to pastoral ministry, shared commitments to church for the unchurched and de-churched, and personalities that fit very well together.  We began to sense that God had been up to something long before we knew it.  We agreed to pray about a partnership and meet in a week's time, before they returned to the Philippines .  Before we parted company that evening, I (Bruce) made sure to tell them that there was no promise that any ministry role could be a paid position and that I could not make any decision on my own.  We agreed to ask God for a revelation of His will, and that would be enough for us.

A week later, Rhonda and I met Kevin and Summer over coffee in Costa Mesa .  This time we had a couple of hours to spend together and get to know one another.  We also had time to ask some of the questions that perhaps had been left unsaid at our previous meeting.  The presence of the Holy Spirit in our time together was so obvious that I was afraid the other patrons of Starbucks might notice that something other-worldly was going on at our table.  We really found a unity of spirit, mind, and heat with one another which confirmed that God was in this and that we should proceed.

At the meeting of our Mission Accomplishment Team (the team that is charged to guard and pursue the mission of epic through planning and accountability), we discussed the possibility of interviewing the couple for a "staff" position.  By this time, we knew that we would have to make a salary addition something that was contingent upon our future financial stability.  And we prayerfully decided that God was in this and that we should proceed.  We asked for resumes, scheduled an interview, and prayed for God's continuing revelation.  When all was said and done, we agreed to invite the Dalafus to join our pastoral leadership team.  BUT, we could not offer them a salary to compensate their ministry. 

In a much unexpected turn of events, we discovered that if we had another employee our employee medical benefits would decrease in cost for 2 families over the cost of one, because we would be come a "group" and therefore qualify for a different rate scale.  In fact we would save money each month insuring 2 families.  This opened a door for us to offer the Dalafus some kind of provision in exchange for their dedicated ministry. 

Well, the Dalafus had been sensing God's leading in the same miraculous ways that we had and responded with an overwhelming affirmation of our invitation to pastoral leadership here at epic.  Kevin, Summer, and Maceo will join us on Sunday, April 17th for their first Sunday in ministry at epic

Kevin will be responsible to lead and facilitate all GROW ministries at epic.  These are the plans and strategies we utilize to help Christ-followers mature spiritually and develop Godly character.  Kevin will also take on the role of High School Ministry Captain.  Summer's significant ministry experience and education will make her an easy fit for many leadership roles, which will be ultimately defined when they are settled in.

The Mission Accomplishment Team invites you now to pray for Kevin, Summer, and Maceo.  Pray for their health and safety as the transition to US living.  Ask God to provide them with jobs to pay their living expenses as they join us in serving our mission.  Ask God to unite them with us in earnest community - connecting in deeply meaningful friendship as we grow and serve together.

 
What an exciting season to be a part of the epic mission.  I can’t wait to see what God is going to do through us next.

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