Mission turned ministry

Michele Marr

Jon and Shawna Cardona aren’t parents yet but they have a several

dozen kids to give their hearts and souls and time to.

Jon Cardona is the youth pastor at Seabreeze Church. He and his

wife Shawna moved from Michigan to Huntington Beach 11 months ago to lead the church’s student ministry.

The couple met one summer while in Mexico working on separate

mission trips. Then both started college -- Jon at Cornerstone

University and Shawna at Calvin College -- in Grand Rapids, Mich. Jon

majored in interdisciplinary studies, studying the Bible and Greek.

Shawna majored in sociology and psychology.

During college, both were active with a variety of Christian

missions, youth ministries and outreach programs. And their

relationship grew into an engagement, then a marriage.

Out of college and newly wed, they had plans to go to Kenya for a

two-year mission with Shawna’s sister and brother-in-law who were at

the time members of Seabreeze Church.

But before they could go, Jon and Shawna were in a car accident.

“Healthwise we just couldn’t go,” said Shawna. “My back was hurt

really bad.” Jon said he remembers they began to pray about what they

were to do instead.

Not long after, Shawna’s brother-in-law called to say Seabreeze

was looking for a youth pastor.

“At that time I was not too hot on being a youth minister yet,”

recalled Jon. “It just wasn’t what I was hoping to do. But as soon as

I talked with the staff and caught their vision of what Seabreeze

wanted to do in the community. They are missionaries here in the

States.”

The couple’s goal is to create an environment where students,

Christian or not, will feel welcome and comfortable to explore what

Jon calls “this whole God thing.”

“So many kids come from broken homes, divorced parents or blended

families, and they go to such large schools,” he said. “Church youth

programs can be just one more place where they get lost in the crowd.

We really want to make sure that doesn’t happen here.”

To that end, the students often meet in small groups. On Sunday

mornings 60 or more junior and senior high school students, from

grades six through 12, first meet together for doughnuts, foosball

and ping-pong. There might be a drama or form of multimedia

presentation. There’s a praise band and singing. Jon teaches from a

lesson he and Shawna have prepared.

The gathering is called The Journey because, Jon said, “Life is a

journey and no matter what point you’re at in that journey, you are

welcome here.”

After Jon’s lesson the students gather in groups of five to eight

students, all the same age and same gender, with one adult youth

leader.

“They get to express their thoughts and ask questions,” he said.

“They get to be listened to rather than to have to listen to someone

else the whole time.”

Every Tuesday night 30 or more junior high school students meet at

the Lake Park clubhouse for Students Understanding Relationships with

God and Each Other. On Wednesday nights 25 to 30 senior high school

students meet in a youth leader’s home for Real Life.

At age-appropriate levels, the groups discuss topics that are hot

among students -- things like dating, world religions, what is God

really like. All opinions, said Jon and Shawna, are welcome.

“We try to help them understand that the Bible talks about issues

that they deal with,” Jon said. “We say, ‘Let’s look at them. Let’s

talk about them.’”

The ministry’s volunteer leaders take time to talk with students

individually. They call them during the week and send them notes of

encouragement. They attend sports games and recitals. They take them

out for a Coke.

Jon said he tells them, “Love these kids. Pour yourself into

them.” And he sees them doing it. The volunteers, he said, “make this

ministry happen.”

He is quick to acknowledge the ministry is not the flashiest

program in town but the students keep coming. More and more kids, he

said, keep coming.

Jon and Shawna chalk a lot of it up to relationship. They know

that life can be hard and confusing for the young students. Their

goal is to make sure that every student who comes is noticed and

cared for.

In addition to the other programs, they organize a back-to-school

bash for the students, a fall retreat, a winter camp, overnighters,

pool parties, beach nights and opportunities for the students to go

skiing, surfing and boogie boarding among other activities.

“We are here to offer love and support,” Shawna said. “Our door is

always open and our phone line is always open. We’ll do anything we

can to help them through the tough times. I really ache when I see

kids aching.”

For more information on the Seabreeze Student Ministry, call (714)

969-7622.

* MICHELE MARR is a freelance writer from Huntington Beach. She

can be reached at michele@soulfoodfiles.com.