Winter Update Letter!

Grace and peace to you and yours!

I pray that you are receiving this letter at a time of joy and comfort this holiday season. I am writing because it is that time again. What a blessing it is to be able to share life with all of you in a variety of ways. So many things have happened since this summer, I hardly know where to start.

My summer internship at Central Ave. UMC turned out to be a fantastic experience. It has served as an opportunity to learn more about myself and God’s will for my life, as well as a springboard for future opportunities. It was designed to facilitate an exploration of calling and I discovered a calling in multi-site church development. I hope to pursue a vocation in this field of ministry but only time will tell. As a result of this discovery, I decided to drop my religion major to a minor and take additional classes of interest. So far I’ve taken a class on Entrepreneurship and a class on Personal Selling.

In addition to it being a great experience, I was able to walk away from the internship with tangible skills. One in particular is the ability to tell my story as more than a testimony, as a sermon. Since this summer, I have traveled to a couple of churches to preach and I enjoy every minute of it. Through relationships I’ve made this summer, I have been able to speak in other contexts as well, such as a Young Life leaders retreat.

Since the start of the school year, I have also been attempting to build my professional network. I’ve had the opportunity to meet with leaders in multi-site churches and church consulting from Ohio and Tennessee. The meetings are always interesting and educational. I have made some great connections! As I continue to work on models and processes to assist churches with multi-site development, I know the information gathered through these connections and the connections themselves are priceless.

Unfortunately, due to the amount of time and energy I have given to these endeavors, I’ve had to shuffle around my campus activities. I am no longer an active member of the golf team, as of the end of fall season. I will continue to support the team in the spring, however, I will not practice every day or compete. My other campus activities have continued. I lead two small groups, one as a Bible study and one as a life group. I am the Event Coordinator for the Collegiate Entrepreneur’s Organization. I sit on the Student Advisory Board for the Communication Department of the Arts and Sciences College. Last but not least, I sing in People of Worship which is an outreach ministry through the chapel.

My last new development is…a job! Beginning on January 5th, I will work for the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church as a conference consultant specializing in youth work. The contract runs through June and only demands 15 hours of time a week. It’s a step in the right direction!

At this point in my life, so many things change so quickly. For more frequent updates and thoughts, follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/TAShanks, on Facebook at facebook.com/tiffanie.shanks or on my blog at tiffanieinministry.blogspot.com. I’m not sure what life will look like after graduation in May but I know that God is in control. When the time is right I’ll know the plan. Until then I’m enjoying the ride!

In Christ,

Philipians 1:3
Tiffanie ♥