Nick Kigeak started his Diploma in Arctic Ministry with the Arthur Turner Training School (ATTS) in 2020. He is currently in his second year of the program. ATTS is a theological school in Iqaluit, is aimed at equipping Inuit and Indigenous peoples in Christian leadership and ministry in the North. To learn more about ATTS, please contact the Administrator at atts.admin@arcticnet.org or by cell at 1 (867) 222- 5502.
An interview with Amy Dow, Administrator of ATTS
Amy: Where were you born?
Nick: Gjoa Haven, Nunavut.
Amy: What is Gjoa haven like?
Nick: It is a warm and welcoming community where they help each other. The younger people know to respect their Elders and Leaders. The elders generally speak Inuktitut. The younger generation speaks primarily English.
Amy: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Nick: I grew up in a Christian home. I have one brother and two sisters. I would visit my grandparents a lot when I was a toddler till the age of 6, especially my dad’s parents and my mother’s mum. My dad would go out hunting when he got a chance and my mother still works at a government office. They are now full-time grandparents to a 10-year-old boy, a 6-year-old girl and a soon to be 5-year-old. I spoke mainly English and a little Inuktitut when I was little. Now, I speak English fluently and can speak some Inuktitut. Growing up, we would go out onto the land a lot during the warmer seasons where I would help my parents. Living in a small town is different. It was freeing to be on the land.
Amy: Tell us a bit about growing up in the Church there.
Nick: I went to the Church of the Messiah in Gjoa Haven where I went to Sunday School. I led music a lot. I started playing instruments when I was 8 years old. When I was a teenager, I shared many testimonies. I had been going back and forth from Taloyoak for youth revivals. I dedicated my time volunteering with the Anglican youth committee there during my youth.
Amy: How many Churches are in Gjoa Haven?
Nick: There are two. An Anglican one and a Roman Catholic Church.
Amy: What or who brought you to ATTS?
Nick: I feel that God has been calling even before I was born. As the prophet Jeremiah says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jer. 1:5)
Amy: What is your favorite area of study?
Nick: The Bible.
Amy: What do you want to do after you have completed your Diploma?
Nick: I am going to go where God wants to put me. I’m willing to go where He calls me. As the Gospel of Mathew tells us,’ When the man with leprosy came and knelt before him, he said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am wiling” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy’. If Jesus wants me to do his will, I am willing to do his work!
Amy: Can you tell me about an experience in Ministry that really made a difference, or left an impression on you?
Nick: Music. I see Bible verses in some of them. Bible based music really affects me. It is also my greatest source of strength.
Amy: What is your favourite hymn? And where did you learn most of your music from?
Nick: ‘Trust and obey’ (By John H. Sammis). I learnt the music I know from Church. I started humming the hymns when I was a year old. Before I turned two, I would follow with the words. The choir sang in Inuktitut. Most choir members were Inuktitut speaking people. Church bands also inspired me to play music and a local community band call the King William Band. They formed before I was born. I learnt to play the guitar by a friend who taught me some basic chords. I can play the guitar (It is my favourite instrument to use), organ, drums, accordion, bass guitar and I’m learning the mandolin.
Amy: What area of ministry do you gravitate towards?
Nick: Visiting with people.
Amy: Who are the people in your life you look up to? Why?
Nick: My late aunt Salomie Arqviq and my Mother Sara Takkiruq. They always taught me about the Bible, in terms of what to expect later in life.
Amy: What do you want to tell other friends out there discerning a call to Ministry?
Nick: People in the Old Testament asked, ‘Why me?’ Like Moses and Jeremiah. I believe that God answered them by saying that He would be with them. They were given a task to do!
Amy: What do you think people need to hear if they have lost hope?
Nick: In the Bible it says in John 14, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am. You know the place where I am going.” Through Jesus, there is hope. It leads to eternal life. Our soul is never ending. God has a plan for you! He will guide you, restore and bless you.