California Parks Ministry

10-15-05
[PERSONAL]
[PRAYER]
[PRAYER:Answered Prayer]
Well today I got back from Sacramento with Earnie the current chaplain at Calaveras Big Tree to attend a board meeting with the California Parks Ministry. I went to learn more about the organization and so they could meet me, sense I sent my application in for Calaveras Big Trees State Park Chaplain because Earnie was stepping down from the position so he could travel more as chaplain for CPM. The meeting was from 9:00an to 2:00pm, I learned a lot about the organization and its connection with the Kiwanis. CPM is a state wide org. to encourage and build up the saints when visiting the state parks, most chaplains are pastors of many different denomination who are given a week of vacation by CPM to stay in one of the state parks and is asked to speak on Sunday, others are chaplain volunteers who will visit a park or travel to different parks through the summer to be a chaplain and speaker while they stay at the park, time very form 1 week, short term, to 16 weeks which are the long the chaplains,site paid by CPM. Then there is me, the Camp Host who can stay at the parks for free at the parks and have two rolls Chaplain, Camp Host, and how does this work with the separation of church and state?
Well the meeting went well and around noon the President and the Ex.Director asked me if I would be on the board of Directors (SHOCK) me, who me, are you talking to someone else so I turned around to see if there was someone near me, I said me, you don't even know me!!!! They said that they had received my application and resume and some of my references had already sent in information on me and Earnie talked very highly of me, so yes they said, would you like to be on the board of directors, I said I just came here to learn more about your organization, but let me pray about it and talk it over with my wife and I will contact you soon. they said we only have board meeting twice a your so we need to vote, so the did and every one voted me in, contingent on my acceptance in a few days.
Then the meeting started talking about other things like budget and retiring board member and the they mentioned wanting to make a new promotional DVD but no one knew how to and it wasn't in the budget to hire some one, so I raised my hand and said "I do that" and every one was astonished, so I said I will do that for you, then they were talking about wanting to have a web site www.californiaparkministries.com separate from the Kiwanis but linked to theirs, so I raised my hand and said "I do that", so I am setting that up for them and design a web site for them. then they said we want a blog site to be our calender and communications with in CPM, so I raised my hand and said "I do that" so guess what I will be doing that also. I can't understand why God is SO GRACIOUS to me?
Then the meeting ended and I started talking Chaplaincy and I found out that the next park we go to McGrath State Beach has a Christian park ranger, which I knew, and he wants a year round chaplain at the park. The summer chaplain left for the summer and I will be there in two weeks, and I may be the chaplain for the time we are there through Jan 06. I guess we will be working all the details and training and materials whan we I arrive at McGrath..... I COULD NOT HAVE ORCHESTRATED THIS ON MY BEST DAY......IT IS SOME MUCH ALL GOD.....
PRAY FOR US, That Gods will would be done.............

10-16-05
So Vicki and I have prayed and talked it over and we will move forward with all the above... Praise God

Sharing my Testamony

[CHRISTIAN:Prayer]
[PERSONAL]
[CHRISTIAN]
Today I climbed Mokelumne Peak 9500 ft high, with Bert MacDonald who is a friend from Calaveras Big Trees who was on my seniors trail maintenance crew. Bert ownes a vinyard of 6000 vines and was in the explosives business.
We stated climbing at 7:45 and arrived at the top at 12:15pm on a 6.5 mile one way trip. I can't explain the feeling of being on the hightest mountian around, Nothing is above you but sky and God. It is a very humbling experiance to work SO hard to get to the top of the peak whch is only about 25ft in diamiter, to see God creation spead out before you, you can't help but to cry thinging how much bigger He is, then looking 360 Deg. for thousands of mile and every thing is lower then you. the total climb was 4000 ft and it was 51 deg. on the top.
The climb went well no aches and pains untill the last 1/2 mile when my feet hurt and I was walking as fast as I could but still lost distance in Bert who is 66 years old and runs in tri-atholons. maybe because I ran out of water the last mile. We arived back at the car at 5:00pm
I also had a captive audance with Bert, I shared my testamony to him and had a very long conversation about time and space and how God is outside time and has multable demintions and how Gods spirit can interace with us in multible dimentions. At the end of the hike I didn't push him away or offend him, which allow God to work and maybe next year I can continue the conversation and share the gospel of Christ.

Sharing the Gospel

[CAMP HOST:Calavaris Big Tree SP]
[CHRISTIAN:Prayer]
10-03-05
For the last few days I have had the opertunity to share God and bible truths to one of the new campers at CBT. Steve is his name and is a disabled veteren staying at the park for a week. He seems to have some mental problems besides his physical problems, he has bad sholders hips and some scars on his face. he has have a very toubled life with all of the sins of the world.

One our first conversations he was talking about biology of plants which brought to my attention of servivle tenicsand how I'm learning what plants to eat and what plants not to eat. Then he was talking about how angry he was and part of the reason he was camping for a long period of time was to get away for people and the city to get back to nature or back to primitive man and the how man came from evolution. So I had to disagree and say that God created me and all other things with a purpose in mind.

he has said that he had had some kind of religios experiance in 1983 at which time he had walked the western coast of America. he had some kind on visual thing happen which was Gods name for him writen on someshing.

Sunday he had to take a trip to Yosemite to apply for a camphost position and when he got back he came over to visit and mentioned how happy he was and how his drive to Yosemite and back he spent the whole time talking with God.

Now it seems all of or conversation include things of God, he knows his bible very well and has hade some kind of experance with some kind of revolation, but never got any biblical training. So when he make a statement which is biblical but with a twist of how he doesent understand, I will chime in and correct and show him scripture and explain it to him.

Before we left to Vicki's moms to visit, Steve said he want to get together when we get back and go plant hunting and find some eatable plants.

Lord please prepare his heart and mine to share YOUR Gospel.

When I get back from Vicki's moms I will sit down with him and share the Gospel now that he seems to trust me.

10-7-05
Well I shared the Gospel of Christ with Steve when through scripture for about 2 hours because his mind doese'nt work right. But hen we got to the point of accepting the ferr gift of God, he decided not too, he believes he was saved by a vision that he had had in 1983. He knows the bible well but seems to have mis-sunderstandings or it. So Vicki and I will just have to pray for him, that God would give him truth.
Also he had a bad experiance trying to be a camphost, so he had desided not to become one, because he does'nt enter actt with people well, which is the camp host job of dealing with people.

Application

10-2-05
Today I was asked to fill out an application of Minister/Chaplin for the California Parks Ministry, so I did.
MINISTER / CHAPLAINS APPLICATION California Parks MinistryJim Logan – Executive Director 3542 Park DriveCottonwood, CA 96022(530) 347-6226www.kiwanis3.org/CaliforniaParksMinistry

Prayer Request

Sept 4, 2005
Last night I had a really Good dream for once, sense I've been a camp host I've had nothing but bad dreams about being worthlessness or that I do more harm to a situation then good, or that there is something wrong and I make it worse. But I finally had a good dream and felt good, so God and I had a conversation for an hour or so about 1:00am, mostly about my repentance and praying that He would draw me near to Himself and change my heart to desire to worship Him more deeply, to minister to Him, not necessary to His people or to be in any kind of ministry, but to be a pleasing aroma to Him.

Today I was asked to be the Camp Minister at Calaveras Big Tree Stat Park for next year with California Parks Ministry. There is a conference I will be going to in mid-October to start training. I almost sounds like I can me minister at any park I go to once I advise them of what parks I will be going to. Vicki will be involved with the ministry also. CPM prefers their ministers to live at the parks, which fits us well. Part of the ministry is being available also as a Chaplain for the park visitors.

http://www.kiwanis3.org/CaliforniaParksMinistry/chaplains.shtml

Jon and Vicki 

Resume Ministries

JON MEISSNER ><>
jonmeissner@gmail.com


SUMMARY

Pastoral Ministries Leader with the ability to utilizing strong organizational leadership and strategic skills by building teams that empower others to use their gifts and passions to ministry. Utilizing Gods Word and His wisdom in mentoring relationships with His people and applying (Eph 4:12-13).

EXPERIENCE

Cornerstone Bible Church- Glendora, CA 1995 – Present
Deacon/Director/Lay-Leader- As a deacon I ministered to people with marital and family issues, I minister to the home and hospital bound, I am involved in community outreach projects, I assisted the elders in carrying out the works of the church, and I have been trained for lay-psychological counseling.
· Director of Navigator Ministries at CBC and in1997 CBC Navigators attendance increase 150%, in 1998 CBC Navigators attendance increase of 300% over previous year. As a result of the success of Navigators Series, CBC has incorporated Navigators into their membership orientation program.
· Leader of Navigator, Colossians 2-7 series classes from 1996 through the present.
· Design and implemented local outreach programs to reach the community of unbelievers by purposely developing programs to meet the great commission (Matt. 28:17-18) .
· Leader of multiple Men’s bible studies and accountability groups, to grow in the knowledge of Christ and to become a witness of that growing faith, through being accountable for one actions.
· Developed and wrote the New Believers Bible Studies (4 mini-series) used in the Next Step-Pulpit Teams and Outreach Evangelism Teams, to assist in the follow up ministry of reaching out.
· Design and implemented and Director of Next Step Ministry: Twenty-three people involved in building up the saints through prayer and lay-counseling ministry.
· Co-Lead various Sunday adult bible study..
· Read through the Bible 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004 (a quiet time devotional study focusing on how to build a relationship with God through His Word).

Valley Crest Landscape- Orange Co., CA 2004 - Present
Enhancement Department
Department Manager- 2 millions in annual sales of commercial landscape and irrigation design, installation for three branches, Anaheim, Irvine and Laguna CA.
· Managed and supervised all operations, employees and subcontractors, to fulfill all aspects of a successful light construction department (under $500,000 per job)
· Designed and installed landscape construction projects for million dollar homes, multi-million dollar apartments, condominiums, shopping centers, commercial projects, private schools and City redevelopment projects.
Develop business and marketing strategies for new business throughout Orange County and maintained growing relationships with existing and referral accounts.

Monrovia Nursery- Azusa, CA 2000 – 2001
$350M Annual Revenue
Project Manager- Implemented an Enterprise Resource Program System for a nursery that manufactures branded, quality plants through six location and 3000 employees nationwide.
· Managed a $2million ERP project, including process re-engineering and best practices.
· Coordinated implementation of business intelligence systems fostering a clearer understanding of profitability and cost of goods sold.
· Coordinated company’s IT infrastructure and high visibility backup systems nationwide for new company merger.
· Implement wireless data collection systems for warehousing control and activity tracking to be used in business intelligence software.
· Managed Internet ebusiness re-alignment programs to assist the more than 60 outside sales representatives and the 24,000 customers nationwide.

The Land Manager Co.- Glendora, CA 1979 - 1998
$240k Annual Revenue, sole proprietorship landscape contractor
Owner- Sales of landscape design, installation, and maintenance:
· Managed and supervised all operations, employees and subcontractors, to fulfill all aspects of a successful operation for 20 years.
· Developed business and marketing strategies for new business throughout Southern California and maintained growing relationships with existing and referral accounts.

SKILLS

· Project management: ERP Systems, Process Re-engineering, Best Practice Development, Implement-MS Exchange-Outlook, Lotus Notes, Internet-Intranet, Windows 2000, Medical Programs, Integrates Computer Systems, Inventory Tracking Systems, Help Desk, New Product Development, Landscape Construction.
· Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Access, Power Point, Project, Outlook, Publisher, Explore 6
· Others: Lotus Notes, Web Sphere, Domino, Visio, Adobe Premier, Photoshop, QuickBooks, PrintShop7, Norton Products, McAfee, Palm Products, Page Maker.

EDUCATION

B.A.- Organizational Leadership, Biola University- La Mirada, CA
Member of the Student Leadership Council. (GPA 3.85)
Thesis: Developing and Nurturing Spiritual Growth within the Church

Prayer Request-FINANCES

Vicki's HOUSE

We need to have Vicki's house in Texas Rented or sold, it causing our finances to be very low, almost half our income. Please pray that Gods will will be done...

Right of Passage Boy- Ministry

[CAMP HOST:Calavaris Big Tree SP]
[PERSONAL]
Today I worked with My Boys (Right of Passage Kids), we graded gravel in front of the bathrooms at Oak Hollow Campground and Group Picnic. I took one of the kids with me to plant some sign posts and a stobber, and you know me I started to ask questions.
I learned a new good definition of Pride or the difference between good pride and bad pride

GOOD PRIDE: having empathy for others, being good for the sake of others. He described it as having a relationship with others and understanding that being good and not bad benefits others and make ones own life easer, you don't have your pears getting in trouble for something I did or I'm not getting in trouble by my pears. So having empathy is mutually beneficial and one can take Pride in knowing you are doing something good for others.
BAD PRIDE: Thinking of ones self first, Doing only what seems good for your self, whether it's caring only for yourself or not doing good or even doing bad to others for your own self interest.

These insights came from a 16 year old kid, who was put into this training camp as a last chance for being a habitual offender and felon. His parents were in and out of jail all of his life and finally were put in prison and he went to live with his grandmother when he was 8. His final offences were grand theft auto and assault and battery at 151/2.

I'm AMAIZED at how and what they teach at this camp for boys.