Deacon Candidate Jonell Kluver

1. Share your testimony. How did God draw you to faith in Christ?
   I received Christ as a 9-year-old. We went to a showing of the film Thief in the Night and afterward I answered the call. While we attended a Lutheran church on a regular basis, I don’t remember much talk about spiritual growth in my home. In high school, I participated in Young Life, learned more about growing my own faith, having a quiet time, and developing a more personal relationship with the Lord. When I was in college, figuring out how to make my faith my own, rather than the Lutheran teachings I had grown up with, my father was diagnosed with cancer. I wrestled with the doctrine of the sovereignty of God while I wrestled with the questions of why my father might die at age 51. I wrestled with the question of why some people get healed and some people die. I was going to a charismatic church at the time, which taught that healing was a matter of faith. What emerged from that crucible was a rock solid conviction that God is either Lord of ALL or he is not Lord at all. The only way suffering makes sense is if there is a God who is sovereign, who knows all and has known all from eternity past to eternity future. Our suffering here may not make sense to us now, but we can trust that it is working for good in us and that God means it for good even if we will not know why on this side of eternity.
2. Why do you want to be a deacon?
   Serving as a deacon seems to be a natural extension of my vision for ministry, what I am already doing, and what I have been training for through completing three certificates from CCEF (Christian Counseling & Education Foundation) and a 12-month domestic violence advocacy course. I have been praying for several years for the opportunity to be more involved in ministry, should God open those doors. I have told God that I was willing to serve however he wanted to use me. I see serving as a deacon as a way to serve the practical needs of the church.
3. Are you currently serving Bethlehem Baptist in any ministry area?
   We host a small group in our home, which I colead with my husband, Kelvin, and one other person. I also mentor someone through the (former) Titus 2 Ministry, and have led group discussions in Women’s Bible study.