Month September 2010

(SMS and) Three-For-Thursday: Evangelism Isn’t Optional

Brian Aaby 2 Comments

I recently ran into my good friends from Dare 2 Share; they were preparing to teach “Unleashing THE Cause” to a group of Youth Leaders who had gathered for this specific training.  In our brief chit-chat, while attendees began to populate the seats, we were able to discuss one of the biggest issues organizations like D2S and Youthmark face–Evangelism is just not a popular subject, in fact, one may say it is a very unpopular concept.  I honestly had someone write to me recently speaking about Youthmark Mission Venture training materials, the comment “this stuff is just too evangelistic.”  Thank you.

Picture this…

  • The Worship concert will draw a huge crowd, even in a bad economy.
  • The Class on “Manorexia” or the one on “Why He likes He” will both be packed.
  • The Discussion group gathered for a conversation about Water will be buzzing.
  • Evangelism… wait… was that a cricket I heard?

I have absolutely NO problem with the subjects listed above. In fact, if at a conference, I would be very interested in attending each of these.  I believe in worship, educating myself in issues of counseling and sexuality and certainly believe we had better look for ways to reach the needs of the worlds hungry, poor and orphaned.

Knowing that I certainly have more (Christian) adults reading my blog than I do high school (or younger) students, I will start by saying THIS BLOG POST IS FOR YOU!

Specifically, to the Christian… evangelism may not be your gift, however, it is your calling (Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Timothy 4:5, Mark 6:7, 12, etc.).

I have the privilege of working with youth and training them for what we call “Mission51” –that is, training for the 51 weeks of life outside the mission.  Yes, Youthmark provides top-notch mission ventures, but our long-term sustainability as a ministry and our life-blood is that each participant be committed to living out and sharing about Jesus for EVERY week of his or her life!

I believe that teens should be the best evangelists we have.  Wait? Doesn’t that contradict what I said above?  Didn’t I say this blog was for adults?

Let me repeat, I do believe teens should be the best evangelists we have in America.

  • They say, 80% of Christians in the U.S. trusted in Jesus at the age of 18 or younger.
  • It is also proven that nationals reach nationals far more effectively than a person from a different culture.

Therefore, I surmise, American teens are our best hope of reaching the lost in America.

Instead of us putting this on them (teens) and expecting them to do it, let’s look at three reasons they aren’t doing it.

  1. They fear they don’t have the right words to say (I wouldn’t know what to say if someone asked me about salvation).
  2. They fear rejection (I don’t want this person to hate or reject me)
  3. They have never had it modeled (why should I do it, you’re not)

Evangelism… I must admit, I’m not a big fan of the word itself.  However, I am HUGE fan of the scriptural mandate and the author of said mandate.  The reason I am not a fan is because so many have soiled the name, “evangelized” with the wrong message (namely, works righteousness) and de-graced the beautiful Gospel of Jesus.

However, these above three reasons for non-evangelism remain, and today’s “Three-For-Thursday” give the three ways YOU (Christian Adult) can help a teen become a better evangelist.

  1. Find someone YOUR AGE and share the Good News. What if we, those of us aged 19-99 (yep, I think you’re exempt at 100… joking of course), took the call from Jesus seriously and we engaged in evangelism at a peer level? We need to be in the business of peer-to-peer evangelism.  You’ll probably discover the three reasons teens aren’t doing it are the very reason you have chosen not to obey as well.
  2. Discover the best way for you to share your faith.  In order to discover something of this nature, you’ll find that you actually have to try it more than once.  Some really like the Four Spiritual Laws.  Others are really good at sharing the Romans Road; I know a number of people who like Dare 2 Share’s G.O.S.P.E.L. acrostic.  Me?  I’m developing a methodology for Youthmark, however, I will say that I firmly believe in a relational evangelism model that includes me sharing not just my story, but God’s story as well.  To be honest, I think ANY of the above (and many others) are great tools, but the key– you need to figure out how to relationally engage (and love) people and look for entry points into their life so that you can share the greatest news ever–Jesus dying on the cross and rising again to provide THE way of salvation for those who place their trust in Him.  With repetition you will discover the way you are most comfortable and confident in sharing your faith.
  3. Make evangelism be only one part of the real call… DISCIPLESHIP.  We are not called to just “evangelize” all nations, we are called to “make disciples.”  This simply means that we are to spiritually nurture others to maturity in Christ.  If a person doesn’t know Jesus, we must first evangelize in order to nurture.  So, as you work on number one and two above, understand that you are called not to have great words to say as an evangelist, but to be a person of discipleship.  Thank the Lord for the church, we are not alone in discipleship, we get to share in this journey… however, you, as an individual are called to do the work of an evangelist!

Notice that none of the above even deal with direct adult-to-teen training.  I am just more convinced today that the real issue for why students are not doing evangelism is that they have not had it modeled (reason #3 listed above as to why they aren’t sharing).

Adults, as we discover the words to say, as we begin to understand that the rejection we face is actually a person rejecting Christ (not us), we will then be able to have voice with a teen.  We will be able to talk about our “success” stories in evangelism… by the way, success in evangelism is just about being faithful with sharing, the Holy Spirit gets to do the work of saving!

Let’s be successful so that our best evangelists will experience great success in the future!

Grace,

Brian

Seriously? Umm… hmmm…

Brian Aaby Leave a comment

My wife and I just finished a wonderful three-day, two night date to Victoria, BC.

We were gifted this wonderful getaway a couple years ago, but were not able to get the stars to align for the trip until right now… it was wonderful.

I love Canada, eh?  However, I really did have to say “eh” when we walked through our hotel lobby and came upon a rather loud crowd all gathered for a convention.  Anyone want to take a crack at what this is all about?

Are you a Banner User?

Back to the good ol’ US of A and time to prepare for the National Youth Workers Convention, which I think promises to be a bit different than the above conference… I hope, eh?

Grace,
Brian

SMS: “Student Leader” a Dangerous Title (pt. 1)

Brian Aaby 7 Comments

I was at the mid-season of my youth-pastorate career, I had just arrived at my new church; my first Sunday was going to begin my assessment of the youth ministry.  The volunteer team was to lead all the normally scheduled events so that the new Associate Pastor could see what he was inheriting.  Conventional wisdom advises assessing a new ministry for a few weeks, not making changes for several months and getting your entire team on board so that eventual changes are owned by everyone.

So here I was, my first Sunday at the new church…

Staff prayer… check.

Sunday School… check.

“Student Leader” Lunch… chuck!

Not a typo… I wanted to chuck that baby out the window right away.

Let me start by saying I am not a fan of the title “Student Leader.” I had come in to this new position with that bias already in place.  But everything I saw that day confirmed that conclusion.

Understanding that the vast majority of the readers of this article have a “student leader team” I know I may be swimming up against a white-water wall not worth treading. However, maybe, just maybe, it will cause a few to think about handing out the title “student leader” just because you feel you need to have a student leader team.

I also understand a “counterpoint” can be made for about every argument I can give to not having a student leader team; with that said, I’m very open to those discussions, this is not a hill to die on nor is it something worth splitting those last few youth-pastor hairs over.

Let me state the obvious… there IS such a thing as a STUDENT LEADER.  Even as I write this I look back on my years of pastoring and can identify scores of students who were truly gifted as leaders in my groups.  They were the ones who easily could draw, inspire and move a group of their peers in a godly direction.  And better yet, they did this without the title of Student Leader.

Let me state the not-so-obvious… student leadership is more effective without the title! I believe there are inherent problems with giving the title of student leader and further believe that not giving the title creates a better atmosphere for your group.  Let me quickly give three reasons why I believe a student leader title is dangerous.

  1. “I’ve Arrived”: The Student Leader often feels he or she has arrived. Title is power.  I have seen this too often, when a student is given the title of “leader” and they see that as a power position rather than a service position.  This was the case in the church I described above. The youth group of 150 or so had a student leadership meeting of about 40 students.  Pizza was served, students sat in cliques and argued about what the next event was going to be and when it would take place.  They referred to “the kids” in the group and which event would be the most fun.  In my first three months at this church, the events would typically draw 50% of the student leadership team in attendance with anywhere from five to ten others at the event.
  2. “Burn Out”: The Student Leader often burns out early.  Student government, cheer, club or athletic team captain–it seems that students are bombarded with the challenge to strive for leadership. With the title comes expectation to perform.  “As a leaders you’re expected to do this, that and the other.”  I am not saying that we should get rid of all titles, but I think we often create performance-based spirituality that can lead to burn out (emotional and spiritual) when we give students titles.  In addition, students who are given such titles in their younger years (freshman/sophomore) are often so burned out by the time they are seniors that not only are they no longer leaders, they are often completely gone from the youth group.
  3. “In The Minors”: The rest of the group often feels like they’re in the minor league of the group (it breeds unhealthy spiritual competition).  When students hear “student leadership” what comes to their minds?  I have asked this question and in the youth ministry sphere, the person who comes to mind for a teen is the student with a guitar and/or a good voice, or the boisterous upfront peer (the one most likely to lead games, be in the skit, or rally her team to a dodgeball victory).  What about the servant leader? The private prayer warrior? The guy who is looking out for the loner who walks through the door or the kid who likes doing all the menial administrative tasks with you leading into youth group night?  These students are just as valuable as the upfront and boisterous, but are often made to feel that they are in the minors compared to the teen who wears the Major League badge of Student Leader.

Instead of Student Leaders, shouldn’t we be affirming students in their areas of gifts and strength?  Student leadership will be raised and judged by the quality of student and his or her giftedness and not in title.  If he is a student leader, you will know because others follow him based on skills or example.  If she is a leader, you’ll know not because of the title, but by her actions.

Jesus didn’t name his disciples as “leaders,” he actually called them to be “followers” (Mark 8:34-35).  Let’s lead by being the best followers of Christ and call others to follow Him (and us) closely and make a sharp turn toward the cross!

Stay tuned (or take heart, for those who do have a SL team), next week I’ll speak to the practical ways you can use students in your ministry while avoiding the possible pitfalls I listed above!

Grace,

Brian

CONTEST: Who Am I?

Brian Aaby 6 Comments

It’s been a long time since I ran a contest.  Here’s the scoop, if you personally know this dude, you can’t guess (cuz I know a few people who have met him).

Here is semi-random shot of this celebrity from the early 2000’s… any guesses on who it is?

If you’re the first to get it right (and have never even met him) then you will win yourself a Youthmark T-shirt (a whopping $8-$10 value)!

Guess away.

Grace,
Brian

Three-For-Thursday & SMS: Hindsight for Personal Care

Brian Aaby 3 Comments

We were graciously gifted an XM Satellite radio subscription a couple years ago, typically I am listening to ESPN radio, the DP show and occasionally “The Message.” That is, unless my kids are in the car.  When they get in the car the request line is open, and the request is always, “Daddy, can we listen to Radio Disney?”

The request is pretty much always granted.

Just the other day while taking my kids on a daddy/kid date, we left our house 6:30 for our picnic.  As the car started and the channel changed to Disney there was a song playing that my kids had obviously heard before, Selena Gomez “A Year Without Rain.” They grooved and moved to the beat and sang out the chorus like I may do an old Mili Vanilli Classic (I’m kidding…I promise!).

We enjoyed our time at the park munching down the pizza (thank you Little Caesars for the $5 date) and playing on the monkey bars, fishy bounce, slides and swings.  Then we were back in the car by 7:20.  Guess what was on Radio Disney?  Yep, Selena Gomez “A Year Without Rain.”

Now I know why my kids know this song.  They hear it three to five times a day even though they only have the radio on for 10 minutes.

What does this have to do with a 3-for-Thursday and/or an SMS Post?

As I have struggled to find time to post this week, I have had a number of conversations with Youth Leaders who have reminded me of some of the repetitive messages I wish I would have heard as often as my kids hear a popular song on Radio Disney.  Repetition etches something into memory.  Today’s “three” create a list of three things I wish I would have heard more often in my ministry yesteryears. Three messages I hope the younger generation of the Youth Leader family can not just memorize but live out.

  1. Have an Outside Mentor. We are called to make disciples, but keep in mind, this means you were “made” and you were made to be discipled to so that you can make disciples.  After becoming a Youth Pastor (or even as volunteer youth leader) it is easy to just pour in to others.  Just a few years ago (after 16 years of Youth Ministry) I finally sought out someone who would intentionally look out for me and mentor me (even at a distance).  I suggest you find someone who is outside your immediate sphere, someone specifically outside of your church and perhaps even out of your ministry circles.  Think about it this way; a person who commutes from the suburbs to downtown for work will turn on the radio to hear from “Chopper Dave” who identifies the traffic patterns, warns of blockage and identifies the best routes.  Why not have a “Chopper Dave” in your life? Seek out a person with whom you can be completely honest and is able to identify patterns and warn of upcoming hazzards.
  2. Take Your Day Off! I remember one summer that I worked something like 58 days straight without a day off.  I just knew that the Senior Pastor would notice the incredible work being done.  I was convinced that the elders would be blown away by my work ethic and give me that much deserved raise.  The reality is, it was a great summer, much was done and kids did grow a lot… but I was the only one celebrating the 58 days straight.  Sr. Pastor didn’t notice.  Elders were completely unaware and my pay check didn’t change at all. What scared me the most was at the end of that streak and the kick-off of our fall programming (and maintaining a crazy fall schedule) I went to the National Youth Workers Convention, took their advice and skipped a seminar or two to intentionally have down time.  I had NO idea how to take down time.  My mind was so accustomed to being busy, always thinking that I literally didn’t know what to do for “down time.”  So, young leader (even if you’re unmarried), take time to yourself.  This call is a lot easier to remember if you listened to the first piece of advice above (mentor).
  3. Stick to Your Primary Position/Job/Calling. This could also be titled “learn to say no.”  If you need to be at the elder meeting, go.  If you must be part of that committee, do it. If it is required for you to lead four different ministry teams, so be it. If you are required to preach once a month, then you better do it.  However, too often, I see Youth Pastors (eh-hem, I saw myself) doing these things voluntarily.  Here’s something novel, if your primary calling is to be the Youth Pastor, do that.  Work well with students, staff and parents as your numbers 1-3 priorities (and these priorities should be about equal).  Again, I see YP’s doing what I often did–trying to have a voice at the table, sit on that board or try to be in front of the people as much as possible– this actually leads to not being able to fulfill your primary calling.  Again, sometimes these things are required (but may be something you can negotiate out of your position description).

Each of these three should certainly be better developed, I have a lot to say, but I am going to stick to my own advice here and call it a post. I have much to do and blogging is not my primary calling!  However, I will try to post a few more times about these important matters, because after all, repetition could mean that others will commit it to memory! If you’re interested in talking about any of these in a comment or would like to hear more about any of these specifics, don’t hesitate to contact me!

Grace,
Brian

If You Had To Give $50k to Someone…

Brian Aaby Leave a comment

I love coming up with outlandish “opening questions” for group settings or long car rides.  Discussion starters, if you will.  So, today’s question…

Someone has gifted you $50,000 to give to someone else, who would you give it to and why?

Most of these questions I ask are obviously make-believe scenarios.  However, with the above question, you and I, and all those we recruit have the opportunity to gift teens in America who stand waiting for someone to mentor them.

If I heard the story correctly, last year Pepsi opted out of paying millions upon millions for advertising during the SuperBowl instead opting to create a funding program for non-profits and businesses with creative ideas to “refresh everything.”  Good work Pepsi.

The National Network of Youth Ministries (NNYM) is vying for one of these grants through Pepsi.  Specifically they are looking for funds for their, “MentorYouth” program.  Today, we have 4 Million more youth looking for a mentor than we have mentors.  As Americans our cry is often, “what is happening with the youth today?” Well, perhaps our youth are actually saying, “I wish I had an adult loving and helping me today?”

I realize that I am probably preaching to the choir, in that if you’re reading this post, you most likely already do care deeply about teens.  I’m asking you to care a little bit more and little bit differently over the next 10-11 days.

$50,000 of FREE money, you can help give it away!

Each day you can vote three times for the MentorYouth idea.

Vote Online: Click Here (and for you to copy/paste the url if forwarding this: http://www.refresheverything.com/find-mentors)

Vote by Text:  102430 to Pepsi (73774)

Vote by Facebook: Click Here (and for you to copy/paste:  http://apps.facebook.com/pepsirefresh/idea/set?auth_token=c45e864e6f94e0d2d7cd180ea214734b)

Please note that with the online option you’ll click “vote for this idea” and then it’ll take you to a sign-in page (with word verification) and then back to the “vote for this idea” page.  Make sure you actually click “vote” because the first time ONLY took you to the sign in page, it did not register a vote (you’ll actually get a confirmation on the page and your remaining votes number will change).

HERE IS THE REAL CHALLENGE!!!

With only 11 days remaining (from the time I wrote this), it is ESSENTIAL that you’re not the only one voting.  Here are some idea I’d like to give you to get this MentorYouth idea up into the top 10 (currently ranked 168, top 10 ideas get the funds).

  1. Get your youth group to text in a vote EACH day. Text your entire group each day for the next 11 days.  Say something like, “text 102430 to 73774 to help get 50k to teen mentors” (an initial text/email/fb message will be helpful to explain the idea).
  2. Get your Facebook friends to vote via Facebook. In your status update you can give the link and an update like, “teens nationwide can use mentors, your vote each day will help get 50k! (insert url link)”
  3. Get you church to go online and vote. Send an email, perhaps copying instructions from this blog post to church members and see if they’ll vote as well.
  4. SYATP Viral Campaign.  Have a student on Wednesday (at SYATP) get everyone at the flagpole (before or after prayer) to get everyone to pull out their phones and text 102430 to 73774.
  5. Teens are the best voters! Get your teens to believe in this cause.  If you can get your students to get the word out, especially through texting and facebook, we may see the rankings shoot up quickly!
  6. Blog: If you’re a blogger, either link to my blog, or create your own post with this information.  Let’s get the word out and see the rankings go up!

This will literally take you 2-3 minutes today and 1-2 minutes each day over the next 11 and we could see 50k come through!

Last Note: NNYM is a great organization that has been around for 30 years, in no way am I being compensated for this effort.  I simply believe in NNYM and want to help in any way I can.  In an economy like this, funding like this can be HUGE.  I am praying God is glorified in our efforts to raise awareness that teens need mentors, regardless of whether they get the 50k!

Grace,
Brian

P.S. If you do nothing else… will you vote one of these three ways right now, please!

SMS: The Hopper

Brian Aaby 3 Comments

This blog post is really a request for future blog posts, read below and see if you can help…

It has seemed the clock has been moving at a faster pace and that the calendar pages turn even quicker these days.  I hate to use the overused word “busy” because it seems everyone uses it; so I’ll just say that my days have been filled and I’ve found little margin to do a lot of writing for the blog.  That’s okay, this is not my number one priority.  With that said, I love doing it, but there are times when I know the SMS post is going to require more of me than I can give at that time, thus, THE REQUEST…

Right now I have about seven different Student Ministry Stuff (SMS) Post titles ready to be written; however, most of them are subjects that I know will need a bit of development.  My hope is that you can help me come up with even more subjects for the hopper (those waiting to be written).  Right now I have subjects like: Youth Leaders and Campus Investment; Youth Pastors and How to Spend Your Working Hours; When Saying “Yes” is Saying “No” (and vice versa); The Rookie years of Youth Pastoring (age 20-24); The “Experienced” Years of Youth Pastoring (age 25-28); The Veteran Years  of Youth Pastoring (Age 29+).

What are some other subjects you’d suggest I tackle in the weeks to come and/or which ones of the above would you most like to see me tackle?

Looking forward to finishing up a few major projects so that I can develop some of these SMS thoughts!

Grace,
Brian

“All In”

Brian Aaby Leave a comment

I remember laughing the first time I saw a live Poker Tournament being televised on ESPN.  I mean, c’mon, seriously, who would watch Poker on TV, isn’t that like watching paint-dry, or worse, viewing a bowling match?

Well, they had me at “the river card.”  I don’t know why, but Texas Hold ‘Em had me hooked as I watched some guy with the last name of “Moneymaker”  win millions of dollars… SIDENOTE:  Chris Moneymaker is his real name.

Well, here we are, seven years after viewing my first ever “Main Event” and having seen many people go “All In” on TV, I am speaking this weekend where the retreat theme is “All In.”  It’s a fantastic theme to build around.  Jesus own words explain the theme well, “if anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross and follow me.”  In other words: if we want to be followers of Jesus, we must go all in.”

  • Stephen, he’s a guy who went all in… I love when he, in Acts 7, rebukes the Sanhedrin and says, “you stiff necked people…You always resist the Holy Spirit.”
  • Peter was a gambler with his tongue, he sometimes went all in (cutting off a dudes ear) sometimes for the wrong things; but ultimately, was the one who went all in in speaking up after Jesus ascended.
  • The Ethiopian in Acts 8, all in.
  • Priscilla and Aquila, a couple we read about in the early days of the church… they were all in.

In the post-apostolic age we read of and see many others (and know many more) who are all in for the Gospel.  Are you?

What does it mean to be all in?

This weekend we’re going to explore that with the students from Lake Sawyer Christian.

I think Paul gives us a great hint at part of what it means to be all in; Romans 1:16 says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”  I believe it, am growing in boldness to proclaim it and try to live in light of it for His glory and so that others may know Him!

Going all in!

Grace,
Brian

SMS & Three-For-Thursday: Combos Worth Trying

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

You’ve heard of steak & eggs; Pork chops and applesauce and a myriad of other combos that at first don’t seem like they should go together, but in reality are great fits.

I have some unique food combos I really enjoy, like, Pepperoni Pizza with Tapatio Mexican hot sauce on it.  Or the one that turns many heads, mustard on my french fries (I LOVE it)!

So, it’s Thursday, which means I typically post a “Three-For-Thursday” list.  However, it is also getting to be late in the week and I have yet to post my normally early-in-the-week, “Student Ministry Stuff” (SMS) post.  So here we go, another combo worth trying.

Today the Three-For-Thursday/SMS post is about three combos worth trying in Student Ministry.

  1. Retreats or Missions with other Churches: I’m talking about intentionally doing a camp, retreat or mission trip with other churches in your immediate area (not necessarily talking about a Conference Center pre-programmed mass-camp, though this certainly isn’t a bad thing).  Perhaps out of your network you can get three or four of the Youth Pastors to plan a retreat together.  Obviously there is a lot to consider because of theological i-dotting and t-crossing differences between the churches, but let’s be honest, most students do not find themselves in heated debates over dispensational or covenantal theology (I know some adults who should learn a lot from these students).  The advantages of doing a combo retreat on occasion (notice I am not saying to do this all the time) far outweigh the negatives, especially when you’re hand selecting your partners.  Students who get to fellowship, worship and grow together at a camp, will then see each other on their campuses, in their clubs on their fields and within the community.  I’ve done many-a-mission and camp with my youth pastorate family; it’s been so fun to see the gifts/strengths augment the weaknesses as the body came together in leadership!
  2. The Sacred and Secular! The word “secular” can have such a negative connotation; “oh my, you listen to SECULAR music?”  Hmm, yep.  And guess what, I’m not a satan worshipper.  I realize, the majority of people reading this blog would never take issue with secular music (keeping in mind, that yes, there is bad stuff that should be avoided), however, music is not really the point of this point.  My suggestion really is trying to answer the question of how we can take the Gospel out of the four walls of the church.  First, I believe that YOU need to model the Sacred/Secular combo.  I suggest for you paid youth workers to maintain a secular presence (be on campus, office at coffee shops, coach at a school, get a p/t job in a secular setting).  Next, I’d ask, how can you get your group into a secular setting?  One of my favorite ways I have done this was something we did when I served as an Associate Pastor in Phoenix. We’d rent out Seattle’s Best Coffee for the two hours after their official “close” time on Saturday, essentially keeping them open until 10:0o PM instead of 8:00 PM.  Because it was officially a “private party” we were able to do mini-concerts and our students would pack the place out & bring non-Christian friends.  I arranged for SBC to offer 1/2 price drinks to everyone and then we suggested everyone tip a buck to the baristas (literally in two hours the baristas would often walk out with $50 each).  People from the public would come in seeing that SBC was hopping, our Christian kids would engage them.  Baristas were blessed by great tips and the students would sing their hearts out and testify about their faith in Christ.  If you’re interested in this idea, please contact me, I can tell you how I arranged this with the coffee shop… believe me, this was a HUGE ministry opportunity, where we did see salvation take place!
  3. Mission Trips and Missional Life (What Youthmark calls “Mission51”). Okay, so this could be seen as a cheap plug, but I will unashamedly speak about the idea of Mission51 (living on mission not just on a trip, but the other 51 weeks as well)!  Don’t know why it happened/happens, but the church does a great job of glorifying the mission trip and typically does a poor job of emphasizing “our own Jerusalem.”   Missions has been seen as “over there” instead of “everywhere, including over there.”  Years ago, I decided to combine our mission trip training with our every-week Sunday School.  I know that not every student is going to go on our mission trip, but if I believe the training for the mission trip is important, then it better be something I am doing for everyone in our group, not just the mission team.   This is something at Youthmark that we have made a HUGE improvement for this coming year.  Our new 2011 training package does WAY better in streamlining the the training process to include the Youth Group (and even the parents) in the process, not just the mission team, because, after all, we are all on Mission!  I can’t wait to preview these materials in about a month!

Hope the combos I offered stir up some thoughts for you, one thing I can guarantee, these combos are WAY better than Orange Juice after brushing your teeth!

Grace,
Brian