Last month, on warm Sunday evening, eighteen people gathered at the Nelson Deanery around a very long table to eat curry and celebrate their time together as part of the Kākano Local Mission Incubator – just as they had done at the start of the year nine months prior.
The dining room had been extensively, and one must admit, rather enthusiastically, decorated with hundreds of metres of brightly coloured paper streamers by the children who live in the area. And as this group of friends ate, laughed, and shared what the year had meant to them – it was obvious that the Spirit had used these months to really shake up people’s lives and equip them for surprising things.
“This year for me has been amazing,” says Vix Marais from the Brightwater Parish, as he reflects on his past nine months with Kākano.
“My own past experience had been a more concept based discussion at church and small study groups, but never with such an intentional and practical focus. This all came with the privilege of meeting like minded people and doing life beside them for a season. Kākano has been a huge blessing.”
Connie Sherlock was also part of Kākano this year, along with her husband John. "Kākano for me has been an opportunity to intentionally dive deeply into reflecting on what God is saying to me about the condition of my heart, while also challenging me to share the hope I have with those he is prompting me to walk alongside," she reflects. "I've really appreciated the weekly huddles, keeping me accountable to the goals I set, and the genuine friendships that developed over the year."
Kākano translates as “seed” in te reo Māori, and conveys a sense of growth, development, and expansion.
Led by Paul Milson and myself, it was piloted this year as a nine month journey to form, equip and empower mission-minded leaders to intentionally explore discipleship, mission, calling and what it means to “gather the ungathered”. This involved heading away for three retreats in Golden Bay over the year to learn and plan, and weekly huddle groups where they were kept accountable for those plans hitting the ground.
Kākano is a key strategic initiative to raise up mission-minded leaders for the Top of the South, and especially lay leaders, who are hungry to impact their local communities with the Good News but aren’t sure exactly how to go about it.
“As a leader, Kākano was a very rich and rewarding experience for me,” reflects Paul Milson. “The main joy was in providing the opportunity for people to hear from God and see people follow his prompts – especially around disciple-making and mission.
We’re looking to run the Kākano Local Mission Incubator again in 2024 and are currently on the hunt for another cohort of mission-minded people who want to take the plunge. Email me if you’d like to find out more.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
Last month, on warm Sunday evening, eighteen people gathered at the Nelson Deanery around a very long table to eat curry and celebrate their time together as part of the Kākano Local Mission Incubator – just as they had done at the start of the year nine months prior.
The dining room had been extensively, and one must admit, rather enthusiastically, decorated with hundreds of metres of brightly coloured paper streamers by the children who live in the area. And as this group of friends ate, laughed, and shared what the year had meant to them – it was obvious that the Spirit had used these months to really shake up people’s lives and equip them for surprising things.
“This year for me has been amazing,” says Vix Marais from the Brightwater Parish, as he reflects on his past nine months with Kākano.
“My own past experience had been a more concept based discussion at church and small study groups, but never with such an intentional and practical focus. This all came with the privilege of meeting like minded people and doing life beside them for a season. Kākano has been a huge blessing.”
Connie Sherlock was also part of Kākano this year, along with her husband John. "Kākano for me has been an opportunity to intentionally dive deeply into reflecting on what God is saying to me about the condition of my heart, while also challenging me to share the hope I have with those he is prompting me to walk alongside," she reflects. "I've really appreciated the weekly huddles, keeping me accountable to the goals I set, and the genuine friendships that developed over the year."
Kākano translates as “seed” in te reo Māori, and conveys a sense of growth, development, and expansion.
Led by Paul Milson and myself, it was piloted this year as a nine month journey to form, equip and empower mission-minded leaders to intentionally explore discipleship, mission, calling and what it means to “gather the ungathered”. This involved heading away for three retreats in Golden Bay over the year to learn and plan, and weekly huddle groups where they were kept accountable for those plans hitting the ground.
Kākano is a key strategic initiative to raise up mission-minded leaders for the Top of the South, and especially lay leaders, who are hungry to impact their local communities with the Good News but aren’t sure exactly how to go about it.
“As a leader, Kākano was a very rich and rewarding experience for me,” reflects Paul Milson. “The main joy was in providing the opportunity for people to hear from God and see people follow his prompts – especially around disciple-making and mission.
We’re looking to run the Kākano Local Mission Incubator again in 2024 and are currently on the hunt for another cohort of mission-minded people who want to take the plunge. Email me if you’d like to find out more.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
