Ignite Staff Changes

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The end of the 2011-2012 school year brought with it some big changes in Ignite.

Ignite staff members Patrick Mundschenk and Remi Farina, both Leadership Coaches for the Ignite Monmouth group, stepped down from their positions to pursue a career move to Washington state. Remi accepted a position at a horse barn and training company in Spokane, Washington in March while Patrick is pursue work in the finance field.

Patrick had been a member and leader within Covenant Groups, the ministry that morphed into Ignite, for three years and was part of the transition into Ignite. He served as Leadership Coach since his graduation from Monmouth College in 2010 and was instrumental in forming the legal nonprofit entity.

Both will be greatly missed.

Jordan Knight, the Ignite Sandburg Leadership Coach, is also in a time of transition. He recently accepted a position with the Habitat for Humanity branch in Knox County and, as of now, will be unavailable to attend the regular Ignite Sandburg gatherings, as they meet over the lunch hour.

Jordan started a bible study at Carl Sandburg College four years ago and was instrumental in launching the Ignite group at that school. He will be missed at Carl Sandburg College, but we know the position at Habitat for Humanity is a step up for him and his family from his previous job.

New Staff Members:
Corbyn Wascher, the Instructional Design Assistant at Sandburg, will step up and take over duties as the Leadership Coach for the Ignite Sandburg group. Corbyn has been involved with Ignite since the beginning of the year, and comes to us with quite a bit of missions trip and youth group leadership experience.

Ian Smith, recent Monmouth College graduate and former Student Leader of the Ignite Monmouth group, will periodically assist the leadership group at Monmouth College. Ian will gain experience leading leaders, forming messages and resources and more. Ian is currently enrolled at Asbury Theological Seminary where he is pursuing a Masters of Divinity.

Ignite President Jason Vana will assume the role of Leadership Coach for the Ignite Monmouth group until a suitable replacement can be found.

Get Involved!
Ignite is always looking for faith-filled individuals to help impact the lives of young people around the world. If you are interested in getting involved, check out our Staff and Volunteer Openings below!

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Ignite President Featured in Local Newspaper

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Ignite President Jason Vana was recently featured in the Register Mail, a Galesburg, Illinois-based daily newspaper, for being a religious leader in the area.

The article, published on Thursday, May 31, features a series of interview questions highlighting Jason’s work with Ignite Student Ministries and how his personal faith has impacted his life.

I’m very excited about being featured in the Register Mail. It’s a great opportunity for more people to learn about the mission and vision of Ignite and will hopefully provide more connections for us as we reach out to youth, young adults and university students in this area and abroad.

You can download a PDF version of the article below:

[button href=”http://www.jasonvana.com/downloads/vanaarticle.pdf” align=”left” bg_color=”#000034″ text_color=”ffffff”]PDF Article[/button]

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A nice post

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Ignite Monmouth Student Leader Gives Last Message

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Wednesday, May 2 marked the end of a chapter for the Ignite group at Monmouth College. Co-founder Ian Smith gave his last talk as a student leader.

Ian spent the time talking about the importance of knowing your dream, and doing everything you can to pursue it. He challenged Ignite students that it didn’t matter how big or how small their dream might seem, it’s still important and the world needs us to pursue that dream, even when it might seem like our dreams can’t come true.

He ended his talk by encouraging the group to write out their dreams, place them in an envelope and give them to Coach and President Jason Vana to hold on to until each student’s senior year. It was a powerful time for the group.

Ian has made a lasting impact on many of the Ignite members at Monmouth College, and were able to encourage him and share just how much he means them.

Ian will be among the graduating class of 2012, walking across the stage and receiving his degree on Sunday, May 20. He plans to pursue his Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary, studying online for the first two years.

He was drastically changed during his time in Ignite, which he recounts below:

 [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″ video_id=”KgkAPgJ3z3s”]

Read more of how Ignite impacted Ian Smith

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Photo Credit: Leland Francisco (Creative Commons)

Removing our Masks

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“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy”
Proverbs 28:13

We all wear masks.
We all have those facades we hide behind.

We tell people we’re doing great, when really, it feels like life is falling apart.
We pretend we have everything together, when really we’re clueless as to what is going on.
We act as if our finances are in order, when really we wonder how we will pay this month’s bills.
We show acceptance and love to those who have hurt us, when really, we’re dying from the pain inside.
We go to church, small group, help with the youth ministry and act as if we are close to God, when really He feels a million miles away.

We don’t like people to see where we’re broken.

We make a mistake, we sin, we step outside God’s plan for our lives and our immediate reaction is to hide.
Cover it up.
Pretend everything is okay.

It’s something we’ve been doing since the Garden.

When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, when the disobeyed God and followed their own longings, when their eyes were opened and they saw what they had done, they sewed fig leaves together and covered themselves.

They didn’t want God to see their flaws.
They didn’t want Him knowing their failures.
They didn’t want Him seeing their shame and nakedness.
They didn’t want to hear that they messed up, disappointed God and had consequences to face.

So they hid.

We do the same today.

We don’t want people seeing our weaknesses.
We don’t want others to know where our lives are falling apart.
We’re afraid to share our shame and guilt and sin.

So we hide.
We keep people at an arm’s length.
We cover it up with religious obligations.

And try to work out our weakness on our own.

But covering up our sin doesn’t change it.
Hiding our weakness won’t make it go away.
Pretending we have everything together doesn’t fix our lives.

It’s only when we confess, only when we share, only when we remove our mask, open up about our faults and flaws and brokenness, and let others see what is really going on, that we are able to find hope and healing.

We need others to help overcome our sin.
And it starts by taking off our masks.

And so, my brothers and sisters, as you come up against sin, may you remember that hiding it doesn’t help heal you. May you find a handful of people who you can open up to and share your weaknesses. And may you, as you remove your masks and reveal your brokenness, find healing and hope to change.

How do you try to hide your brokenness?

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