Dustin Funk on the Importance of Camp Ministry, Local Church Renewal, and Annual Rhythms of Rest

In this episode, Jason sits down with Dustin Funk, Lead Pastor of Oasis Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Dustin shares his journey from encountering God at summer camp as a teenager, to stepping into leadership at a small Italian-speaking church, to guiding that same church through a remarkable season of cultural transition and growth. 

Dustin reflects on the lessons he’s learned over 27 years in pastoral ministry, how to lead through change, how to apologize well, and how to stay grounded in the faithful work of local church leadership. He talks candidly about what it was like to preach through an interpreter in an ethnic church context, how his church embraced a portable season before building a permanent home, and how he has come to embrace annual rhythms of rest. 

In this conversation Dustin shares about: 

• How a camp experience shaped Dustin’s call to ministry,

• Preaching in a language he didn’t speak,

• The transformation of Oasis Church from an ethnic congregation to a multi-generational community,

• The highs and lows of 12 years as a portable church,