Intro: Kairos in Europe and the Middle East is an ecumenical missionary network of students and young people. Its main mission is to support young men and women leading Christian communities of students and young people within Europe and the Middle East. Kairos does this by facilitating a network, organising international gatherings, and providing supervision and leadership training. Kairos EME Newsletter recently interviewed Leah Moran, who does fundraising for Kairos. Here are some of the highlights of that interview.

Why did you choose that field of study?
I loved accounting and wanted to study a language and live abroad – a qualification in business seemed to make sense. At that time I didn’t plan to do Christian missionary work! 

How did you start working with Kairos?
It was really through being given the chance to serve on various Kairos programs, like Adelante 2011, that the desire to do this kind of work grew in me. At the same time I realised what an impact Kairos programs had had on my life and faith journey.

How so?
It was really the Bible Week back in 2007 that was my first significant Kairos moment. Receiving prayer at that time really had a big impact on my life. After that, it was annual Kairos Weekends, a mission trip to Uganda and serving the programme at Adelante.

What did you do in Uganda?
We were running a conference for university students who were trying to set up Christian groups on three different campuses. Our job was to give them the tools to do that. It was all new to us. For me it went beyond what I thought I was capable of – but as I stepped into it and worked together with more experienced people I was able to see God using me. 

Why do you do this work? Why say yes to Kairos when you had so many options?
Part of it was recognizing I had received a lot through the Kairos mission, and especially through others investing in me. As I saw that, I appreciated more fully how important Kairos is for the next generation. The Community of Nazareth in Dublin, a member community of the Sword of the Spirit, has a lot of young people coming up, but growing up in a Christian community doesn’t make you a Christian! It helps a lot, but at least for me there was a deeper and more personal decision to be made… There are many paths to choose from. I think the work of Kairos is crucial. I want our young people to have the same input and help as I had.

What’s your main role within Kairos?
Fundraising is the main thing right now – both with individuals and with foundations and government organizations like the European Union. I’m also looking at our communication network and trying to build relationships with other Christian groups.

What is it that you love about your job?
The people that I work with, the Christian environment. I also like the nature of the work - it’s not all simply results driven, though we have a lot of goals. There is a greater purpose to what we are doing.

What is that purpose and how do you see it fulfilled?
Essentially it’s helping people make decisions – the Kairos decisions. Supporting and enabling people to make good kingdom decisions at this time of their lives is crucial. I see us building people up and equipping them to make good decisions that will bless others. I see us training people to be able to lead and help others make those decisions. I see examples of this all the time. Just the other day I was talking to someone who seems to have changed through a Kairos Household programme in Glasgow last month. The Bible has come alive for him.

Your hopes for the future?
Seeing people take ownership at local levels. Seeing young people make sacrificial decisions. Seeing a Kairos generation ready to serve. And I think, beyond our Kairos world, seeing the greater contribution we are supposed to make to the kingdom of God.