Nakeisha Jarvis is the Youth Pastor at Darfield Baptist Church in Canterbury.
As Christians, we are told to listen to God’s voice and to go when He calls. I was in a comfortable job, Youth Pastoring at Katikati Community Baptist Church, finishing my training at Carey Baptist College. I was convinced that I was exactly where God wanted me to be. When opening Ethan’s (our Baptist Youth Catalyst) emails, I was always interested in the job vacancies for Youth Pastors. I saw one for a small town called Darfield and thought to myself, I have no idea where this place is. I did a quick Google search and saw that it was a small town in the Canterbury plains.
As my time in the Youth Pastoral Track was ending, I started to feel that maybe I was to look more into this Job at Darfield. Conversations started happening, and I became more confused about what God wanted me to do. I went to the Senior Pastor at Katikati. He really wanted me to stay at Katikati, as did I, but he encouraged me to apply for the job, and God will make a way. To which God did! I applied, and within a week, I had an interview and visited the youth group. This was all in the first week of November, when we had the Baptist National Hui. Before Christmas, I got the call to move down to Darfield and leave my family and friends behind. This change was challenging. I have the best group of friends, and I love my family so much, but they were all very supportive and have been my best cheerleaders, supporting me in all aspects.
Since living here in Darfield, I have never felt so at home. I am in a church with such a beautiful family; the youth group welcomed me with such open arms. It was hard at the start, but now I see how God has been using me and how much I need to step out in faith to grow on my own. As I struggled with being far away, one of my friends said, “I know it’s hard, but I am so proud of you for leaving all you know and love to follow Jesus and His plan for you”. So may my journey of leaving the North Island to move to the South Island encourage you to listen to the call in your life. When God calls you, it can be hard, but you will see the fruits of His good work. And if anyone is in the South Island, feel free to come and say hi. I would love to say hi and show you around.
Photos supplied by Nakeisha Jarvis
Want to hear more about and from the youth and young adults in our movement? Head to the He Rito website. He Rito is a network encompassing all our ministries for 0–25-year-olds.
