Kendahl Heckel
Junior High Director
Started on staff: 2006
Started attending WellSpring: 2006
Family:
Husband Dave
Favorite book of the Bible:
What I like best about my ministry:
I love junior high ministry because it makes me want to break all the rules. See, I used to be normal, conformist even, a fact that my parents bring to my attention almost every time we talk. I got good grades, never fought with them at home, went to youth group, refused to be emotional…heck, most days, I even wore shoes! I lived quite well within the boundaries of all rules, written or unwritten. And I truly enjoyed believing that things really were as simple as I made them out to be.
But things are never as simple as we would hope, never as neat and clean and boxed up as we pretend they are. For me, junior high ministry is a constant reminder of how unsimple life really is. If junior high is anything, it is real. Not real in the sense of mortgages and car repairs and 9-to-5 jobs – real in the mask-free, belching and body odor, honest-even-if-you-don’t-want-to-hear-it sense. It’s “I’m crying, I’m angry, I’m laughing, I’m not sure what I am but whatever it is, you’re going to know it” real. And this kind of
For fun I enjoy:
One of my most memorable service experiences:
Re-roofing a house in 100 degree heat in Greenville, North Carolina, with a bunch of junior high and high school students. Hot, dirty, exhausting – and where I first fell in love with working with teenagers.
What scares you:
Best book you've ever read:
What I've read lately:
Best movie you’ve ever seen:
If you could instantly be transported anywhere:
A significant milestone in your spiritual journey:
There is nothing quite like standing next to the hospital bed of the person you love, knowing he could die at any moment. For probably the first time in my life, as I watched my then-boyfriend, now-husband fight for his life, I experienced true unconditional love, wanting only what was best for him, even if it meant losing him; true faith, trusting that God was working and would continue to, either through his life or through his death; true peace, as His Spirit wrapped itself around me and allowed me to breathe through the fear and pain; and true joy, walking toward my “miracle man” on our wedding day.
What music you’re listening to right now:
Place you most want to be in the winter:
