A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Kevin August

A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Kevin August

Pastor Kevin August moved to Portage a year and a half ago. He was not born here, but was called here to serve by God.

“We came here for the sole purpose of planting our Christian community,” Kevin said. “We serve as His ambassadors. We try to set up the opportunity for people to meet Christ instead of telling them what to think.”

Kevin did not find his own faith until he was in his thirties. He was a Kent State University Graduate with 9 years of Public Relations experience and 7 years of Radio Broadcasting history under his belt. He was already a married man and a father of two. Yet religion had never really come up in his life. Kevin did not know anything about God or his word.

It was at a funeral that he realized what he was missing. A pastor stood to say some words about the deceased. They were vague though well intentioned, spoken about a man the pastor did not really know.

“There has to be something more to life than this,” Kevin remembered thinking. “I wanted my kids to have something that I did not have: community.”

He and his wife sought out a church they could belong to. They took classes and went on a weekend retreat to learn more.

“I had gone through a time of brokenness. We’re taught right and wrong but we don’t understand how we are hurting others. We were designed to lift each other up. Life gets tough and we make wrong decisions. We’re looking to fill a hole because something is missing.”

His belief fulfilled him in a way that nothing else could. It gave Kevin another way to look at life.

Becoming a pastor was a natural path from there. People around him suggested it, his God confirmed it, and New Hope church in Decatur, Indiana, hired him to preach to a congregation. Kevin stayed there until he was told, through prayer, that it was time to move on.

Kevin felt guided to Portage.

He started going to the Tuesday night prayer group at the Portage YMCA. They asked him to be Chaplain, and began collaborating on ways to “bring the Christian back to the C.”

So Kevin and his wife founded their church, The Well, at the Y. They now meet Sunday evening for a Bible Study. Kevin prefers to teach the gospel through stories that people can relate to. The Well’s goal is to reach millennials, a demographic underserved in our community.

“We want you to know, no matter your belief system, that when you come to the Y you will experience a support system of love based on Christ. Even if you’re not spiritual, you need a moral compass. You need to invest in that.”

The Well strives to teach the values behind spiritual growth, authentic relationships, and biblically centered lifestyles. They lead by example.

Kevin runs a few different Christian groups through the YMCA, like H2O for young adults or the Alpha Youth Film Series. They encourage community outreach, like food and clothing drives. Kevin is particularly fond of a local program called Stripes. Lynn Jordan, its founder, collects unwanted t shirts and turns them into rugs. She sells them to raise money for organizations that rescue young girls from the slave trade.

“Love your neighbor as yourself,” Kevin says. “Learn to love others as he would. It sounds simple but it can be really hard when we try to do it by ourselves.”