Calvary Church Annual Report CalvaryChurchAnnualReport20152016-REV | Page 35

Leadership development forums
Staff (8/31/2016)
Tom Olsson
LDF 1
There were 16 participants in LDF
last year, solid men who love Jesus
and are dedicated to learning and
growing.
Clare DeGraaf, Josh Mateer, Tom
Olsson and Jim Samra gave terrific
presentations on topics like Prayer,
Fasting, Worship, Life Planning, Dis-
ciplines of the Faith and Guarding
Your Heart. Other mentors like Ver-
non Spears, Allen VanHaitsma and
Dale Bramer provided guidance,
support and leadership throughout
the year.
Kirk DeHaan, one of our mentors,
passed away unexpectedly mid-
year. Kirk shared a testimony at the
LDF retreat in September in which
he talked about recent steps of
faith, which included Kirk’s renewed
commitment to his Savior, his wife,
his children and his church. We
watched Kirk courageously and
humbly lead. His example inspired
the men of LDF. At his funeral, Kirk’s
children and several of his close
friends spoke eloquently and ten-
derly about his character and faith.
This also made a significant im-
pact on the members of LDF as we
witnessed the power and richness
of a life well lived; how a devoted
Christ-follower left the kind of leg-
acy for which we would all love to
be remembered. Many prayed God
would be glorified in Kirk’s home-
going. In LDF we were able to ob-
serve firsthand several ways those
prayers were answered, not least
of which was the impact Kirk’s life
had on young men who continue to
view him as a role model.
LDF 2
This year we had only nine men
participate in LDF-2, but God gave
us “mighty men of God.” Two high-
lights of the year: The first was the
How to Study and Teach the Bible
sessions led by Jim and Lisa Sam-
ra. Most of the men were scared
to death to teach the passage as-
signed by Jim to the whole group.
But they took steps of faith and
God gave them both incredible in-
sights, and courage! They did an
amazing job.
help my friend. But the Holy Spirit
reminded me of what I learned on
the retreat. I’ve been thanking God
all day!”
WLDF
WLDF began nine years ago to de-
velop godly women leaders who
are equipped to serve in the local
church. For the 2015-2016 year,
three groups composed of 31
women and 11 facilitators learned,
served and grew in their faith to-
gether.
Throughout the year, women were
challenged by teaching from pas-
toral staff and WLDF facilitators,
encouraged by books that expand-
ed their understanding of faith
and theology, and formed a deep-
er sense of community as they
prayed for and with each other.
The second highlight was our re-
treat at Gull Lake in January. There
the men learned counseling skills
that will last a lifetime. God was
faithfully preparing them to serve.
Within weeks of that retreat, God
gave several of the men opportu-
nities to use those skills to help
others through some very dark
times. One of the men made this
observation, “A month ago I would
have been clueless to know how to
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