Shannon Laurence

I am excited to share about a wonderful opportunity I get to participate in this August - drum roll please… I will be going to Ireland to volunteer at a Christian festival called Kinfire!

I learned about the trip through a newsletter of my friend Amanda, who works with Action, and was immediately intrigued.

I didn’t know before that less than 1% of southern Ireland is considered Evangelical Christian. One of the founders of Kinfire described the landscape as a “spiritual famine.” Deep-seated religious tension exists across Ireland and Kinfire wants to bring unity and hope to Christians throughout the country.

Their web site says it best: “Kinfire is an annual Christian festival dedicated to serving all of God's people across Ireland. Our 5th Annual festival will celebrate how Jesus is drawing together one people, united by His Spirit, empowered for His mission through the local church. We welcome all ages. We embrace every province. We celebrate all abilities and every cultural background.”

Watermark, the church I call home, emphasizes 10 markers that we value highly and aspire to. Being a “unified church” is one of those markers where we want to champion other churches and share in the joy of how the Spirit is moving across our city and the globe. Kinfire provides a beautiful setting to do just that!

What will the festival be like?

Kinfire is hosted on a college campus across 4 days and features main-session speakers, breakout sessions, times of worship, activities for kids and families, and more.

What will I be doing and who am I going with?

I am going with a team of six volunteers through Action. We will be meeting other volunteers from across the US and locals of Ireland. There are many serving opportunities available, but I get to be on a kids team! I have loved caring for kids throughout my life – from church preschool classes on Sundays, to Vacation Bible Schools in other countries, being a speech therapist, and serving in our Additional Care ministry in the Watermark Institute – being with kids is always a joy, and combining it with sharing the hope of Jesus makes it even better!

What does our trip entail?

10 days total including travel and pre-festival culture training. We fly into Dublin where we will stay for training then head to Kilkenny where the festival takes place.

How can you participate?

1. I would love your prayers! Prayer is vital to every ministry effort. Please pray for our team to be Spirit-led, gospel-centered, joy-filled, and ready to serve. And that God would do a beautiful work to encourage and unite the hearts of Irish locals to know and love the Lord and each other to a greater degree.

2. If you would like to contribute financially to my trip, I would be honored! The total cost will be around $3,500. This includes the “Land Package” through our travel agency at $1,900, flight around $1,500, and various other expenses.

3. If you would like to be sent updates about our trip (an itinerary, prayer prompts, a recap afterwards of my experience), please let me know your email address.

Thank you for taking the time to read about this opportunity and for your support! I appreciate you!