Have You Met Kevin Eastway?

Late last fall the Western Great Lakes Region of Young Life hired Kevin Eastway for a new position, that of Associate Regional Director. We thought you should get to know him a little better so here’s an interview we did with Kevin that should help you do exactly that.

How did you get involved with Young Life in the first place? I went to club as a sophomore at Grand Rapids Christian, I followed a girl there actually. I loved it and never looked back. I was a Young Life kid for three years and I still talk with my High School Leader these days.

Tell us about your family. I have a lovely wife Sarah, originally from North Dakota, a son Jackson and another son due at the end of May.

How did you feel about leaving California for this job? I moved to California for a Staff Associate position in LA and after that I was the the Area Director in Sacramento for 10.5 years. We started from scratch in California and the Lord helped us build a really fun ministry with lots of great people. We always thought about moving closer to home and when our son Jackson was born the desire to be closer to our families grew even stronger. We’d been praying about it for years and kept hearing the Lord say “Nope, not yet” then last spring we got the go ahead, what we think was the Lord saying “yup, go ahead.”

I spoke with my boss Randy, which was hard because he’s one of my best friends and role models, I’d hate to disappoint him, but he was really supportive. We looked at Young Life jobs in Michigan and Minnesota, when Chris mentioned the associate Regional Director position I thought that was pretty interesting. After we’d made the decision to come Sarah and I were like “How does it Feel?”  It felt like the right decision, but also sad. But, now we live close to my family and can easily drive to see hers, Thank God, none of which was a possibility before.

Tell us what an Associate Regional Director does. There are 10 volunteer areas in the region, none of them have an Area Directors overseeing them. Each of them have things going on like club and committees, but they need help with Administration. Through this position the region hopes to help them reach their potential, there is so much goodness there that we can grow. So together with our amazing volunteer staff we will develop resources, committees and leaders in those areas. As new areas come up Chris and I are tag teaming those.

What’s your best Young Life story? Well, last week a twenty-four year old man told me he loved me, I think that’s my best story. I met him when he was in 8th grade we’ve been through a lot together. He even lived with us for a while and is coming to visit us this Easter. He still lives in Sacramento, but is very much a part of our family. This is my favorite thing about ministry, being in it with people for the long haul.

What’s a little known fact about you? Actually, I’m a gourmet cook, when we were in grad school I did all my homework while watching the Food Network. When we were in California we were friends with chefs and people in the wine industry so the interest kept growing. In our former Area we would auction off a meal prepared by me for a donor and 8 of their friends and it did pretty well, people love to have me cook for them.

Okay, what’s the best thing you ever ate? I love Foe Gras, which is fattened good liver, it’s by far the best thing I’ve eaten. I also love Abalone which is a type of shellfish  sort of like a sea scallop, you can dive for them in California but I never did.

What’s your favorite thing to do with your son? Lately we love to shoveling snow together, he always wants to go outside and shovel show with Daddy. Also my parents have deer so we will put apples out for them and make peanut butter pinecones and watch outside life together.

What’s a crucial part of your morning routine? Getting Jackson out of his crib is my favorite part of the morning, it gives me so much joy. Sarah is pretty pregnant already, so she can’t lift him out of his crib at this point, so it’s my pleasure.

So are you a sports fan? Oh yeah, the Detroit Tigers are my #1 team and after that, Michigan Football.

Thanks Kevin for taking the time to do this interview. So, do you have a question for Kevin Eastway? 

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