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When talking with Hannah Kurtz during our interview at the coffee shop on the town square (after reading this post, you can read Part 1 of my interview by clicking here), I was reminded how great so many college students and recent college graduates are. Whether God has called them to serve Him as “full-time Christian workers” as engineers, doctors, or teachers, or to serve Him as “vocational Christian workers” as missionaries, pastors, or assistants at Revive Our Hearts, many of them are seeking God and wanting to honor Him by the work that they do! It’s extremely encouraging and a great reminder to all of us—no matter what our age—to do the same.

Three particular sets of questions and answers helped me learn more about Hannah’s preparation for her upcoming work (once her support level reaches 100%) with Revive Our Hearts. So today we’ll look at three things God used to specifically prepare Hannah for this harvest, and in the next post, we’ll look at the prospects for the harvest.

As you read Hannah’s replies to these initial questions, please remember that this is not about the college, the people that influenced her, or even really about Hannah herself. It’s about what she looked for in institutions and people that would have an influence on her. These are elements we should look for when choosing our own influencers.

Preparing for the Harvest through Early Choices

Brenda: Remind me. What did you major in at Northland International University?

Hannah: Church Ministries with an emphasis in Office administration.

B: And you majored in that because—?

H: Honestly, I think a big influence was that my mom was always in office work, and I guess that just through observing what she did, I always enjoyed that kind of work. Also, I guess my personality is that I’m more task-oriented and more detail-oriented, so I thought it was something that: 1) would fit my gifts and 2) it would also—well, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do after graduation or what I was really passionate about. But I knew that office administration was something that I could use in a variety of ways. And I saw it as something where, if the Lord had for me to get married, those skills would be good in the home, and they would also allow me to find a good job, depending on where my husband would go, so that was a big reason for why I chose it—because of the variety of what could come of it.

B: And you chose Northland because—?

H: Actually, that was the school I didn’t want to go to at first; it was too cold and too small.

B: Did you know I used to work at Northland? [I loved my time there, by the way!]

H: Yes, I did!

B: So you know that I can relate!

H: Yes! It’s cold up there, isn’t it? I went and visited my senior year of high school. My older sister was attending there at the time, so that was a big reason why I went to visit. During that visit, I was very struck by how real the people were; they were so genuine. I saw an authenticity that I had never really seen before. People—even just the teachers that I met—made the time to get to know me, and they asked about who I was and what I wanted to do. So I realized that this environment would be a place where I would grow, being surrounded by people like that. And so I think I fell in love with what we call the “Northland heart”—that heart of discipleship and just loving God.

Preparing for the Harvest through Eye-Opening Changes

B: So when you got there as a student, did you see that continue?

H: Oh, definitely!

B: I just wanted to hear you say that because sometimes you go somewhere as a visitor and everything is all wonderful and roses, and then you get there as a student or a member, and it’s like they no longer have any interest in you.

H: No, it wasn’t like that at all. It totally met my expectations and even beyond that! Right away, my RA [Resident Assistant] on the hall or my room leader were just pouring into my life. I wasn’t one who, before that, liked opening up to people; I think I just wasn’t used to it, and I am, by nature, very private. I didn’t like talking about what I was struggling with, and I thought I was the only person in the world who had these problems. So little by little there were people that invested in me, and through their transparency in their own lives, I realized, “Oh my goodness, she has the same problem I do.” So then I felt like I could open up. And through that, it just kept growing. And those relationships that you make in college are just incredible. And there, it was all centered on Christ.

Preparing for the Harvest through Exceptional Counsel

B: Who were one or two teachers or staff members that really impacted you? And I realize that, in the big picture, all of them do, but tell me a few who stood out.

H:  There are two families that immediately come to mind: First, Paul and Christie Whitt. He served in the Student Life Department for a while and then as the camp director at Northland. Now their family is moving on to collegiate work with Cross Impact, a campus ministry. They were my “campus parents.” He was the coach of the basketball team, and I got to travel as their statistician, and then I came back as a manager. His wife, Christie, actually grew up around here and went to school with my mom. So they “adopted” me right away! They lived right on campus and really did make me feel like I was their own daughter. I could go to their home and watch football games or just have fun. I also knew that I could go to them when I was struggling with something and needed solid advice, and I knew that they would give it. Offering words of encouragement was their gift too. They were sensitive to when I was struggling, and they would point me to the Word.

Another couple, well, I developed a relationship with them while attending Norway Baptist Church in Norway, Michigan. They were both professors at Northland, and now, since they have a young baby at home, the wife is taking care of him full time. But I rode to church with them every Sunday: Phil and Rachel Trach. Rachel was one who would take me to the coffee shop on campus and just talk. There were several conversations that I remember; she went through some of the similar situations that I went through, and we have really similar backgrounds, so I felt that she could relate and that she understood.

…I spoke with my pastor here in town as well [about the position at Revive Our Hearts] because I wanted his advice and counsel as my spiritual leader.

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We cannot expect to reap a bountiful harvest without proper preparation. We each need to do the same three things Hannah did as she prepared to serve the Lord vocationally at Revive Our Hearts:

1. We must make the early choices to determine who and what will get to have the power of influence in our lives.
2. We must be willing to—and even pray to—have our eyes opened to the changes that are needed in our lives to clear the “field” of the distracting weeds of sin, pride, and a self-focus. And then we must make those changes!
3. We must seek and follow exceptional counsel—not from those who will merely give us their opinions but from those who will point us to God’s Word for the answers.

Please come back tomorrow to read about the prospects for the harvest Hannah—and all of us—will, by God’s grace, reap through her work assisting Nancy Leigh DeMoss and the ministry of Revive Our Hearts.

To read more about Revive Our Hearts, click here.

If God lays it on your heart to help Hannah reach her needed support level by giving a gift through Life Action ministries/Revive Our Hearts, click here, and then, from the pull-down menu of alphabetized staff member names, select “Hannah Kurtz.”

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