Stories from Immerse: Kaylie Arsenault
Kaylie Arsenault joined the Immerse program in September 2020 and it quickly became apparent that she had an aptitude for scholarly work coupled with an intense desire to share the love of Jesus. Dr. Archie Spencer, Kaylie’s academic mentor, was so impressed with her work he encouraged her to go on to do a PhD!
Kaylie worked on her Immerse studies and applied herself in the practical implementation of what she was learning while employed at Village Church in a capacity of roles, including the start-up of a prison ministry at the Surrey Correctional facility and discipleship ministry at the Village Church Surrey campus. In all aspects of her role at Village Church, Kaylie’s leadership competencies and her love for sharing Jesus continued to grow.
After her graduation from Immerse with an MDiv (in a record-breaking 2.5 years), Kaylie celebrated by going on a trip with her mom to Spain and Portugal that included spending a week in the Mediterranean on a Norwegian Cruise ship. This part of their trip coincided with Easter and they found themselves in the company of a missionary couple who were celebrating 30 years of marriage before heading to the States to visit family.
This missionary boldly asked the crew of the ship if it were possible to host an Easter Sunday service. To his surprise, the crew not only agreed but gave this man the use of the main stage auditorium and posted the event in the daily newsletter.
On Easter Sunday morning,1000 people showed up to hear a simple gospel message and when invited to accept Christ, so many people came forward that Kaylie and the missionary couple were not sure what to do. Kaylie told me she spent the rest of the cruise engaged in discipleship by the pool!
This experience changed Kaylie forever. She returned home with a clear understanding that God was calling her to share the gospel with people in unreached parts of the world. With the support of Village Church, she tendered her resignation and embarked on a journey with Operation Mobilization. Currently, Kaylie is floating about the South Pacific sharing Jesus in otherwise unreached places in the world.
Take a minute to watch the video interview below we did with Kaylie before she left Canada and know that Kaylie represents the kind of leaders we are investing in for the future of the Fellowship in the Pacific region and beyond. And if you know a young leader who we should be investing in through the Immerse program, now is the time to have that conversation and encourage them to apply!
Applications will be open until April 30, 2024 but we only have seven spaces left for this fall so don’t wait too long!