Kairos is the church community that I have grown up in. I can hardly remember Sunday mornings before driving down to Grant Park in 4th grade. At Kairos, my sister and I have been confirmed, switched schools, grown and now are both in college. An ever-changing yet ever-supportive community has looked after the Pinkston kids over the years.
From getting confirmed with help from my mentor to doing an Eagle Scout project, Kairos has meant so much to my family and I, yet I will never forget sitting down in Grant Park and seeing on the back of the yellow Order of Worship that AV help would be needed at the new church. After a few weeks of seeing this announcement, I elbowed my dad and said, “That would be interesting for us to do together.” More reluctant than I was, my Dad brushed it off until I pressed him the next week. Four years later, I ended up writing a college essay whose prompt asked to describe an “impulse” that sparked creativity in my life. In response to a prompt that seemingly was well out of my wheelhouse, I wrote:
“I’m not an artist or musician but have discovered that there are many ways I can be creative without picking up a paint brush or a clarinet. Four years ago, my church relocated across town and needed a volunteer Audio/Visual Technician. While hesitant at first, I stepped out of my comfort zone and into the sound booth where my job was to configure the sound board, set up monitors for the musicians, and make the music sound wonderful. At first, everything was a challenge. There was a new lighting system, new stage, and new musicians. The musicians and I simply tried to avoid those ear-piercing screams of crazy feedback. We made it through the first Sunday, and as I gained confidence in the next few weeks, I fully grasped how much I could contribute to my church community.”
While in my essay I said that serving on the AV team sparked my creativity, those early Sunday mornings fighting with the acoustics and tangled wires really cemented my appreciation for the Kairos Community. I’m thankful for eight years of growth and teaching at Kairos.
– Grant Pinkston