Testimonials
2010/8/21: Regarding the book “Human Resources for the Church”: “Please find enclosed a book by a friend of mine, Ken Godevenos. Ken attends Bayview Glen Church here in Toronto. He works in the area of Human Resources which means to me that his is in hot water about half the time! The book is actually meant to to hep keep leaders out of “hot water” and to help us think forward. It has been a good help to me as I work with elders’ boards, staffing issues and thinking through some of the mechanics of ministry. Not very much of my college and seminary training prepared me for the strategic thinking that is asked of me on a daily basis. This has been good for me. It is one of those books that I pick a chapter here and there according to the situation that I’m facing. I hope it will be the same to you.” — Dr. John Healey, District Superintendent, Eastern Canadian District, Christian & Missionary Alliance, in a letter sent to pastoral and other church workers in his district.
2010/7/07: From a Strategic Planning day: “Some times words like “thank you” cannot express our true emotions. I am not sure, I have processed it all. But give me a week because by then the euphoria will become normal feelings. Insightful, sharp and focused were the morning sessions. The decision to (here he explains the recommendation we gave him) gave me euphoria. But the afternoon was mind blowing. . . . The outline was practical. . . . It certainly was profitable and insightful. So in a sense, it is a simple thank you . . . Ken, for willing to put (your) strategic mind to Godly use, sharply.” — M.A., author, USA.
2010/7/06: From a Friend on Helping Another Person: “Ken, you have ‘gone beyond the call of duty’ on this one. The more I correspond with you the more pleasantly surprised I get. You are a real professional, yet you remain kindhearted and giving of yourself. That is a rare combination in today’s world (even among Christians). Hopefully someday I’ll be able to return the favor.” — R.R., New Brunswick, Canada
2010/5/19: From a General Manager on Training: “Thank you! Yesterday’s session was excellent. I feel very confident now about understanding the (collective) agreement and the related issues.” — JM, Toronto
2010/5/01: From a Church Leader in India: “Dear Sir: The Board meetings (were) successful and we wrote everything in the minutes book; I will be sending the copy to you soon. Thanks for all your encouragement, we love you. Keep praying, thanks.” — Pastor Y.S.R., Samalkot, India.
Pastor Y.S.Rao.
2010/4/29: On Presentations to Boards: “Hi Ken and Esther, . . . I’m glad the meeting went well . . . . I received a big compliment about you from our Chair, . . .. He said this is one of the best reviews (this one on Executive Compensation) he has seen (and I suspect he has seen a lot of them). . . . Thanks.” — R. D., Executive Director, large charity, Toronto, Ontario.
2010/4/02: On Facilitation and Stimulating Discussion: “Ken, you sure know how to get the ball rolling on any subject! I like that. I see some things in a simple way then the comments from others shine light on angles I never thought of. This causes me to think these issues through more deeply. I love it. Keep it up . . . you stimulate our thinking and make it necessary to delve into the (text) to get answers that are both correct and relevant.” — B. N., Carleton Place, Ontario
2010/4/01: On Helping People Think: “You’re a good man Ken - you have a knack for prompting analytical thought from people. Sometimes I let my convictions get in the way - as you have seen! Anyway, I always appreciate what you have to say. . .” — B.C., Boise, Idaho
2010/3/22: On Faith: (The following was written to me in response to an email I sent a contact who declared himself an atheist) “I know this took, well, months (to get back to you) but I didn’t know what to say. You had said something that I couldn’t really comprehend, something that seems so alien to me. When asked what your burden of proof would require for establishing the existence of something, you said it must not contradict scripture. I’ve never really interacted with anyone who would make such a statement, and though it would seem innocuous to you, it is to me an entirely different world. I had written many large responses to your email, only to scrap them time and time again because of the idea conveyed in that simple statement. So many months later I believe I finally have a starting point for how to go about responding.” — A.P., British Columbia
2010/3/8: On HR & Compensation Consulting: “Hi C_, First of all, I wanted to thank you for setting me up with Ken Godevenos. He is doing a great job.” — R. D., Exec. Dir., Health Sector Non-Profit, Ontario, in an email to the individual that referred Accord to them.
2010/3/8: On Ministry: “Thanks again for spending time with us today morning. You have no idea how significant that meeting was at this point in my spiritual journey! I am so blessed to get to know people like you who are doing really ‘out of the box’ ministry in the Kingdom and I can’t wait to finish reading your book.” — M.J., speaker, author, Ph.D. candidate, Toronto.
2009/12/12: On Mediation: “You are a skilled and competent mediator. (Our church) appreciates you a lot.” — Dr. S.L., a pastor, Ottawa.
2009/11/19: On Mentoring: “You are right, they (honesty and dishonesty) both have associated costs sometimes, having thought about it. Great mentor.” — R.R., a friend.
2009/11/06: On Personal Professional Coaching: “Thank you so much for . . . the advice, I have done my best to live out your suggestions and I feel so blessed that you are here for me to give me Godly instructions to deal with my work situation. I do not know how I would do without your help, I have had a better week. . . .The job itself does require many technical training and most importantly interpersonal skills. I had some misgivings that my EQ is not high enough for me to deal with some persons with questionable character, nevertheless, you gave me the much needed instruction to show love through my action and my attitude regardless what other persons are doing.” — A.H., Mississauga, Ontario.
2009/10/26: Giving Quality Advice: “So the suspension went without incident. [He] will be returning to work on Nov 2nd. He will receive the ‘expectations’ speech and then he will be meeting with our EAP re. anger management promptly afterwards. I have a total of three sessions scheduled for him that week. Thanks again for the timely help.” — C. D., HR Co-ordinator, for a German owned company in Hamilton, Ontario.
2009/10/11: Some Undeserving Attributed Wisdom from someone whom I have not met: “Henry, whoever Ken Godevenos is I like what he said. He seems to be a wise and fair man. Of course I agree with him.” — T. G. on Facebook, based on a response given to a friend.
2009/10/06: Lasting Effect & Relationships: “I knew we had a special bond! Glad to hear you are still busy doing the neat things you do. We are sure loving DRIVE church… like, seriously LOVING it! We often reflect back on the time you came to help us. That was a huge help to the start of it all even though we weren’t sure what all we were doing at that time, it still helped so much. With love, Heidi.” — H. Wilson, a congregant of a church client, USA.
2009/09/30: Quality and Promptness: “I have (been) very impressed with your work and the promptness with which you act. Good job.” — Dr. Stuart Lightbody, Christian and Missionary Alliance.
2009/06/01: Products/Services That Last And Are Transferable: “I’m so excited about our family summer plan. On our way back from a recent trip(to Northpoint in Atlanta) I told (my husband) that I wanted the kids to really work with us this summer…we are having a different summer than normal because we’re not going to go on a vacation that we can’t afford AGAIN. So, we made this big plan on the plane and I was determined that the day school got out we would work our plan…but I was TOTALLY overwhelmed as to how I could pull this off without pulling my hair out. I told (my husband) that I really wanted him to take control of it and it was a pretty intense conversation because I’m pretty overwhelmed with what I feel I am responsible for. So, he really surprised me when he opened up the whole plan you did with our “original leadership” when you came. We started with our vision and so far today we’ve made it through our objectives. Wow. I’m so happy about this. What a great way to plan our summer. We have a lot on our platter that I often feel completely inadequate to handle and this really helped me feel like we could do it. You would’ve been proud! Thanks Ken.” — A happy spouse and partner!
2009/04/01: Management Consulting: “Thanks Ken. I’m glad to be part of the process, though in a limited capacity. We are fortunate to have your expertise and insight to guide us through the process (of negotiations). Cheers.” — D.H., Member/Owner of Co-op, Toronto, Ontario
2009/03/03: Management Consulting: “I have used Ken for several different HR related projects over the past 10 years and without exception I have been delighted with the outcome. Ken has the ability to move quickly from strategic direction to tangible results. His work always meets the required outcome and is delivered on time. His knowledge of HR especially in the areas of Compensation, Job Evaluation, Performance Management is excellent. I do not hesitate to recommend Ken and Accord Resolution Services to others.” Tracy Lapointe, Executive Director People Services, Nelnet [from Linkedin]
2009/02/22: Church Consulting: “Hey Ken (& Chrysogon), our third group of people just got back from Northpoint. We are now starting up our youth program…totally different than the Tiki Club that was in place. The Lord has given us more awesome people and we’ve done a little shifting so that everyone is only volunteering for 1 thing…so no one gets burnt out. I can’t tell you how exciting it… has been. I still feel like I’m in a dream. Thank you for your investment in our lives. Our lives have been transformed…and you both had such a real part in that. Thank you for really caring for us when you came. Love to both of you, Erin.” — From a Pastor’s wife in Boise, Idaho after Accord helped their church with a Strategic Planning Exercise.
AND 2009/02/12: “Re: Community Groups. Remember __________ …that wasn’t coming (out any more)?? well… he and his wife are hosting a small group. They have 10 in their group and they are literally all people that he and his wife have brought to church! So awesome. Ken, amazing things are happening. Thank you again for your investment in our ministry! Life is good. We are soo happy and so is everyone else at church!!!:”
2008/05/23: Our Writing: “Very well done. This issue (disaster relief) is so important to our readers right now, and you really offer some great insight and advice. We’ll be putting it in our e-newsletter, as we usually do with your blogs and columns. Thanks again. . . .” — John Carlisle, Associate Editor, Virgo Publishing LLC, Phoenix, AZ
2008/04/23: Church Consulting: “Thanks Ken. You’ve been a tremendous help for this church and I know you will be blessed for it. Yesterday I ordered the book “The Prayer Saturated Church”. Things are really starting to heat up here. Frances says hi. Give our love to Chrysogon. We did so enjoy your visit here.” — Jay L. Bolt, Church Elder, & Managing Director Idaho & Utah, COMSYS Information Technology
2008/04/16: Church Consulting: “I feel like some family members were here and now they are gone. It was such a great weekend. We are so blessed to have had you h ere. . . .We are all, as a church, embracing and moving forward with the plan you have helped us start. My wife and I came here as two people with couple of kids and a vision to serve God as best we could, using the tools we had. God gathered a group of people using us as his instruments. The gap was there, however. How to get the people to help us and what was the best way to incorporate their help. God has used you to fill that gap. We are so excited. I am reminded of Paul’s helper, Ananias (not that I am a Paul) and how he helped Paul see. You have helped me see how I can include people in the vision God has given us here. I knew I could not do it all on my own, but now I know what I should do about THAT. Anyways, I love you Ken and thank God for you. This has all been a wonderful experience. Pray for us as we meet again this Sunday.” — Pastor T.B., Idaho
