Camaryn Ellis Accepts Residency

November 6, 2021 | KSC News

Almost every week, we send out an email to our church family which highlights a key event, ministry, or element in the upcoming worship services.  Below is the text from the email from October 21, 2021.  If you would like to receive our Weekend Preview email, click to sign up.

 

We are excited to announce that Camaryn Ellis, who has already been serving in an intern capacity with both our RESET and Agape English ministries, has accepted a new role as Local Outreach Resident, and she will now expand her ministry into new areas while she is with us. Today we wanted to let you get to know her a little better.

Camaryn grew up as a pastor’s kid, and ever since she can remember, her family was in the ministry in various places. In 2009 they moved back to the Chambersburg area and started a Bible study, which soon became a new church. At the age of 8, Camaryn was praying in front of the small congregation as part of the service. As she grew older she helped to lead worship.

“I always loved being at church and being a part of it,” Camaryn says. “I just loved serving any way that I could.” Her dad took her everywhere he went, to meetings and ministry events, and Camaryn absorbed every experience.

When she was in her senior year of high school, Camaryn’s parents divorced. In the midst of that turmoil, her mother began to attend King Street Church where she heard about our Local Outreach Summer Internship. At the time Camaryn had no idea how pivotal this moment would be in her life, but she was eager for a new opportunity that would lead her into ministry and was thrilled when she was hired in June of 2020. She began working with some of our local outreach ministries and absolutely loved the work.

With She’s Somebody’s Daughter, Camaryn was able to complete some valuable research for the ministry and prepare presentations for them to use in explaining their work to others. “That was really good experience for me, and fighting human trafficking is something that I’m really passionate about.”

At Agape English, Camaryn helps people during the week when they come to study independently with Rosetta Stone software in the Ministry Center. She also teaches a beginner English class on Saturday nights.

“I have learned a lot about different cultures and interacting with people I normally might not have ever met,” Camaryn says, “It has ignited a love in me for the Haitian and Hispanic populations here in Chambersburg.”

She continues, “It’s really hard to learn English and live in a foreign culture but the people we are working with really persevere and I respect that so much. It’s been very impactful to me. I really feel like I’ve learned more from them and their character than I’ve been able to share in return.”

A big part of Camaryn’s internship has been working with RESET on Monday nights. Camaryn smiles as she recites the opening lines of a typical welcome as though she is on the stage: “RESET is a worship service and a support system that has the goal of lifting of Jesus as our hope in the messiness of life. We are building a community and a family, a place where we can name what is broken and be accepted and welcomed.”

Camaryn shares that she sees a lot of life in the community at RESET, “Good relationships are being built there all the time. It’s a space where people with different experiences and struggles come together, but there is unity between us because we are all looking to Jesus.”

In the beginning Camaryn was just an observer at RESET, but as she has grown in her confidence and understanding of the ministry, Pastor Adam has offered her increasing responsibilities. She began to offer a welcome and open up our worship time. After Pastor Adam heard her speak at Camp Falling Spring over the summer, he encouraged her to share a message at RESET. Now it is something she does frequently as part of our worship services.

A favorite feature is “Two Scoops with Camaryn,” which was her own idea. On these special nights, Camaryn interviews one of the RESET participants on the stage so that they can share the powerful ways that God has worked in their lives.

“I think it helps to bring intimacy to the community,” Camaryn says. “It’s important to hear peoples’ stories.” She meets with the participants in advance to hear the longer version of their testimony, and some great relationships have come from the bonds formed during these discussions.

“It’s been inspiring to see how God works through the lives of these people. When they speak to me they don’t necessarily understand how their experiences apply to others, or they might not see the overarching ways that God has been working in their lives. I try to draw out the lessons that will resonate with others.”

Camaryn has felt very supported at RESET, and is humbled when participants share that God is using her gifts to impact them. In fact, it was some of these experiences that led her to consider a different career path.

She says, “It has been really influential to my faith journey that people have invested in me and have spoken truth into my life.”

Camaryn explains that this past fall she began her intended plans – to attend Penn State and study Psychology/ Counseling – but not long into the semester she realized that she wasn’t supposed to be there. It was then she learned that there was an option for her internship with us to be extended.

She returned to her work here at King Street Church and is now taking classes online at Liberty University to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Religion with a focus on Christian Leadership.

“It makes sense!” she says, “The first job I ever wanted to do when I was a little girl was be a pastor! God was shaping me for ministry at a very young age.”

When Camaryn recognized her calling into ministry she became eligible for a residency here at KSC. We have a long legacy of supporting young people in their desire to follow the Lord’s leading into Christian work, and so, Pastor Adam Keath and Pastor Steve Flint began to craft a Local Outreach residency that would bring benefit to the church and also support Camaryn’s vision.

Pastor Adam says, “Camaryn has been an invaluable member of our ministry team over the last year or so. As she pursues her education in Christian Leadership, King Street Church has the unique opportunity to invest in her growth while being blessed by her many gifts.”

Camaryn’s internship will allow her to work more directly with our ministry partners. She will have more responsibility in certain areas, increased leadership, and will work behind-the-scenes with a wider variety of local ministries. She has a hope to help our church family connect in more meaningful ways with these partners.

“Camaryn has a unique ability to relate to so many different types of people,” Pastor Adam affirms. “I’m excited to see how God shapes her into whatever pastoral role He has for her in the future.”

Camaryn is ready to dive into the new position.

“I am extremely grateful for this opportunity,” she says. “And I’m grateful to God for closing the doors that He closed and for opening these doors. He is so faithful, and I’m so excited about what He is going to do in the future. I know I’m going to learn a lot from my advisors and mentors, and I hope so much to make a difference at King Street Church as well.”