Daniel & Aaron’s Story
Sometimes you’ll never know how one friendship could alter the course of your whole life – Meet Daniel and Aaron, an example of how doing life alongside one another through mentorship, changed everything. Aaron, a young adult (YA) in our community who works in Tech Sales serves as a leader with our youth, leads a YA community group, is part of our basketball group and serves anywhere he can. Daniel, who formerly led a church, now owns a family food factory and has been at OneChurch.to for over 12 years. Together with his beautiful wife Maki and three incredible children, serve on different teams: the Cafe, NextGen team and Production team! Daniel also leads in many areas within our church community; his leadership is invaluable, and many in our community can attest to that.
Aaron was raised in church, grew up introverted and then broke out of his shell in highschool through sports and friendships. After going through college and discovering life outside of church, he went through multiple difficult moments (a tough breakup, internal struggles) and experienced much to help him cope with some of the pain/hurt he was feeling. In this season, Aaron’s childhood friend, also named Aaron, invited him to play basketball with him at OneChurch.to. Weeks later, Aaron had an undeniable experience of community and God’s love like never before at our Young Adults retreat. He says that his life and faith in God had been completely impacted from that night.
Some time after this, Aaron felt his next move was to step into a mentorship to truly go all in in his relationship with God. During one fall afternoon – Daniel and Aaron were paired together in a mentorship. Daniel quickly learned Aaron’s deep desire to grow. He could tell Aaron was earnest and teachable and that this would truly be a reciprocal relationship, a safe space to talk and process things together. Daniel says that this friendship has caused growth in him and steered him to be more intentional in many areas of his life.
A year later, Aaron would say he’s completely leveled up in his faith (with so much room to still grow) and noticed a full mental shift. One of the first things he asked to work on with Daniel was the way he approached the Bible. Through this mentorship he’s found himself being challenged in different ways to approach his relationship with God and his life overall. With how he interacts with people and with how he interacts with the Bible. It’s all really helped his leadership with youth and YA – so much so that at this year’s Young Adult retreat, so many referenced Aaron as a person that consistently showed up for them, prayed with and checked in with them through some of their toughest moments in life. Aaron points it all back to God – who always shows up for him and is grateful for the opportunity to help those around him.
Daniel concludes by reminding us all that God will use our experiences to shape our conversations, “In God’s economy, no experiences are wasted” (Daniel, 2024). He says, mentorship isn’t something to be afraid of. Everything you’ve gone through in your life: the mistakes, the trials, all the good things are all valuable. Daniel advises, for those hesitant to step into a mentor relationship, know that you don’t have to be perfect or afraid of what to say, things will progress naturally. God will use what you have to grow and learn from one another (Daniel, 2024). The only expectation is that you show up and you’re committed to each other in a safe space.
Aaron is grateful for Daniel’s constant transparency which has made his growth and this mentoring relationship so much more meaningful. He advises, “If you’re going to go into it, be committed. Respect each other and each other’s time. It brings the best value to the conversations. Be present, be 100% dialed in. It’s life so go all in” (Aaron, 2024).
Daniel and Aaron are examples of God using their experiences to shape conversations and friendships. A reminder that life is so much better when we do it transparently and honestly – but especially when we do it together.
While every one of us will experience moments of being alone, we are designed for connection. Join us for our Alone Series, to find out more.
Written by R.M