James & Carolanne

Serving God with Power to Change - Digital Strategies.

What I Do

I've heard a lot of people complain because they just can't seem to find any enjoyment in their work. Whether because they don't make enough money, or they feel like they're stuck in a rut, they just aren't happy.I work at an organization called PowerToChange, and I must admit, sometimes I get those days too, where it feels like Monday all week long. But there's one thing that keeps me going and keeps me excited about my work more than anything else. That's the opportunity that I have to impact lives all around the world for Jesus Christ.

Background:

I started working here at CampusCrusade (now called PowerToChange) in the summer of 1998. At that point I was fresh out of high-school, didn't have any official computer training, but had a passion for it and had an idea that computer work was the direction in which God wanted me to go. I've been interested in computer programming ever since grade school, primarily working with Basic as a hobby, and when the opportunity arose to "work with computers" here at CampusCrusade, I jumped at the chance.

Well, initially my dreams of becoming a famous computer programmer were short lived. I was assigned the task of promoting in any way possible on the internet, a fairly new website called "Power to Change". At this point, I knew virtually nothing about the internet and had to go through a pretty steep learning curve to get anywhere with this at all. But, I slowly started to figure out where I was going and was able to learn to promote the PowerToChange website quite effectively.

What I Enjoy:

As time went on and I continued to do a balancing act between work and school, I found my interests were still more focused towards the programming aspect of computers, rather than the promotion aspect. I'd begun to do a little work for another internet ministry within the organization, called WomenTodayOnline, and had an opportunity while there to begin learning some internet programming. Initially, I was just doing HTML work, but was soon challenged by a co-worker to learn an internet programming language called PHP. I found working with this language to be very enjoyable. Not only was I able to vent my creativity by building programs and applications, but I was doing something that mattered. My work was directly impacting the lives of both my co-workers, as well as people coming to the websites.

This is what I appreciate most about what I do. Even though it's sometimes fairly "behind-the-scenes" work that I do, it still directly impacts thousands of people very day who come to the websites. It's a totally awesome feeling to know that I am doing something I enjoy, using the gifts that God has given to me, and doing something that matters for eternity. God is using the work that I do to change lives. Suddenly, it's not just a 9 to 5 job any more... it's a life changing career ministry.

Life is an Adventure!

At this point in time, I'm still very heavily involved in PHP programming and web design, and continue to learn new languages and skills which I'm attempting to use for God's glory. I'm not totally sure what God has in store for me in the future in this regard, but I know it's going to be an adventure and I know that He is in full control. My life mission statement is "to bring glory to God in everything that I say, and through everything that I do, and to serve Him wholeheartedly no matter where He puts me." I trust that He will continue to give me the strength and wisdom to live up to that standard.

How YOU Can Help:

Just as on the battlefield the frontline soldiers need to have their supporting units in place, so also in ministry, those who are working on the front lines also need to be supported.

Copyright © 2024 - James Warkentin