I am grateful for the privilege of serving in ChinaSource alongside colleagues who are also good friends. Dan Kennicutt has become a close friend in a short time and is highly respected and appreciated by every team member.
Dan has facilitated the ChinaSource strategic-planning process over the past eighteen months. His discerning guidance has been timely and invaluable and we’re very grateful.
As you get better acquainted with Dan in this edition of The Lantern, please remember to pray for God’s blessing on him and the entire ChinaSource team.
Kerry Schottelkorb
President
Introducing Dan Kennicutt
My Christian journey began over 50 years ago, when as a high school student I accepted Christ at an evangelistic Halloween party.
My interest in the world Christian movement was sparked in college through reading a biography of Hudson Taylor. But instead of heading overseas to serve cross-culturally, I entered the corporate world after getting a degree in accounting at the University of Illinois, spending a decade at Caterpillar.
Finally seeing my way clear to act on my original cross-cultural ministry interest, in the mid-80s I connected with OMF (formerly the China Inland Mission, founded by Hudson Taylor), and left corporate America to go to graduate school in the Wheaton College intercultural studies program.
This launched me into a ten-year adventure with OMF; beginning in Taiwan where I met my wife Char in language school and became the Taiwan Business Manager for OMF; and continuing in Singapore where I worked in the OMF international office on various finance and administration projects. Our two daughters, Gwen and Beth, spent their toddler years in Singapore.
After returning to the US, we settled in Denver where we have lived for the past 25 years. After two decades in a variety of finance and administration positions in business and government, I “retired” in 2017. During that same period Char homeschooled our daughters, and then pivoted to working in the OMF-USA office.
After our retirement, a series of God-directed circumstances led us to ChinaSource where we came on board as a “package deal” to work in the areas of finance and administration. Char has since turned over administrative responsibilities to the very capable Eunice Choi, while I am continuing as the part-time Director of Finance.
Apart from work, I have numerous other interests that keep me quite busy, the result of a high “CQ” (curiosity quotient) that pulls me in multiple directions. For example:
- I have continued learning Chinese over the last couple of decades, a never-ending challenge that is analogous to mountaineering, where conquering one peak means it is time to tackle the next one. My high level of curiosity provides a great motivation to keep going; I am always in a process of discovery—“ooh, here’s a new word, I wonder what that means?”
- I have over the years leveraged early music training and aptitude (everyone in my extended family is highly musical) to serve the local church through music ministry. One of my great joys is to sit down at the piano and just play, without a music score or musical destination within sight.
- With my finance background I have maintained an ongoing interest in financial markets. My current obsession is FinTwit (finance discussions on Twitter) which is a continual source of distraction, amusement/annoyance, and (occasionally) useful information.
On a more personal level, I am also spending a significant portion of my spare time working on sailing through life versus rowing through life. Coming out of a background with a heavy emphasis on Christian works, this later-life journey of discovering what it means to live and walk by the Spirit’s empowering presence is a two-steps-forward, one-step-back process, but a focus I hope to maintain through my remaining days as an expat, resident alien on this earth.
Ways to Pray
- We’re praising God for building a ChinaSource team of colleagues and friends committed to serving and honoring the global body of Christ, the church in China, and one another.
- Praise the Lord for the discernment and wisdom of mainland Chinese Christ followers, resiliently following our Lord’s call and guidance.
- Thank the Lord with us that the US-China Catholic Association jointly awarded the Matteo Ricci Award to our own Dr. Brent Fulton and Joann Pittman. We praise God for Joann and Brent and their zeal and commitment to serve the church and bring Christ’s Good News to China.
- Pray for those who need relief and protection from flooding in China. For this week (August 15-21) state weather forecasters have issued geological disaster warnings for eight provinces throughout the mainland.
- Pray for Jesus to be glorified in “Little Africa.” For details please see here.
- Pray that ChinaSource will follow Christ’s calling to promote voices of unity in Christ, while amplifying voices both inside and outside China, that model and accomplish the purposes of God.
News and Notes
- Brent Fulton and Joann Pittman of ChinaSource were awarded the Matteo Ricci for Service of God and China award on August 7 by the US-China Catholic Association (USCCA).
- On July 26, Joann Pittman gave a virtual China briefing to the global ministry team at Crossway.
In Case You Missed It
A selection of recently published items:
- An Encounter with Spirituality in the Dalian Christian Community, ChinaSource Blog, August 18.
- Chinese Churches Serving Those with Disabilities, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), August 17.
- China and the True Jesus: A Book Review, ChinaSource Blog, August 16.
- Jesus in Little Africa, ChinaSource Blog, August 13.
- From the Middle East to the Middle Kingdom (2): Hui Origins (AD 651–1270), ChinaSource Blog, August 11.
- China Christian Council and Luis Palau Association Meet Virtually, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), August 10.
- Too Much to Do Alone: A Reader Responds to the 2021 Summer CSQ, ChinaSource Blog, August 09.
- It’s Like Sipping from a Fire Hose: A Webinar for Learning about China, ChinaSource Blog, August 06.
- I Met Love during the Pandemic, ChinaSource Blog, August 04.
- Pray for the People of Henan, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), August 03.
- From the Middle East to the Middle Kingdom: The Hui, an Introduction, ChinaSource Blog, August 02.
- When a Canadian Swimmer Lit Up Chinese Social Media, ChinaSource Blog, July 30.
- An Invitation from a Friend, ChinaSource Blog, July 28.
- Learning from China about Student Ministry: A Reader Responds to the 2021 Summer CSQ, ChinaSource Blog, July 26.
- Zhengzhou! ChinaSource Blog, July 23.
Image credit: Friend of ChinaSource. Taken at 2021 annual Chinese Culture Days, Missouri Botanical Garden.
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