Author Brian Aaby

The Blessings of My Job (Part One)

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I’m thankful for the opportunities my evolving career is affording me.  Over the last couple weeks I can look back and divide my “position” into a few subdivisions, each one has been a fun blessing.  This week I’ll post about these blessings in a few different posts.

One of the blessings has been “Speaking.”

Highlands Community Church; Parents of Teens Class: What a wonderful classification huh?  The Parent’s of Teens class was a hoot!  They were fun, funny and hungry! It was nice to come and be an advocate for youth and youth workers in a way I could never before with the title of Youth Pastor.  Great feedback afterwards, I can’t wait to see how P-O-T’s and Youth workers begin to team more and more.

Jesus Focused Youth Ministry Forum: I spoke on “Building Leaders” at the forum.  I can look back the volunteer teams God has given me and truly say these people have blessed my life, and the lives of countless teens/families.  Speaking on this subject was a pleasure and honor–it afforded me the opportunity to reflect upon these great people!

North Creek Presbyterian Church Fall Retreat: This was a great group to speak to.  NC’s Youth Director, Jimmy McPherson, had a younger group in attendance and he utilized his older students in leadership roles and they stepped up to the plate.  The three student sessions and one leaders session were a lot of fun.

Highlands Community Church; Charting the Course Training: HCC devoted a full Saturday morning to training their lay staff.  They offered some 30 electives for the ministry leaders in Children and Student Ministries.  I taught on, “The Parent Factor,” in Youth Ministry.  I firmly believe we need to team with parents in reaching the young people today!  

This Saturday I’l be speaking at the “See You After The Pole” Party in Burien. This is a rally for all the youth in the greater Burien/West Seattle area (7:00 PM, Saturday, Sept. 27 at Highline Christian).  In a few weeks I’ll be speaking to some parents and leaders at a church in Covington.  I pray God will continue to bless me with opportunities to bless and be blessed!

Grace,
Brian

Mentoring, part 3

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Last January I was invited to a nine-month mentoring experiment/experience.  A large grant foundation (Murdock Trust) paid for about 70 people in the NW (AK, OR, ID, MT and WA) to go through training/review/etc. in the area of mentoring.  It’s been a good experience so far.  We’ve been given books to read and review and we are to come prepared to Canby Grove Conference center about once every three to four months for our on-site times.  This next week concludes my nine month experience.

It’s been neat to look back at my nine-month journey and see where God has led.  Nine months ago I was not positive that Youthmark would be my full-time ministry by now.  I was thinking about ministry and mentoring only within the context of my local church and network. I was not nearly as close with the likes of Bo Boshers, Jess Champers, Cory Freese and Mark Moder (they are all part of this experience and I’ve gotten to know each one well through this).  A direct result of the experience as been me discovering my own need to be mentored.  And as I have written about recently, I asked Barry St. Clair to mentor me.  

Mentoring is such a large part of what I hope to bring to the Youth Ministry arena through networking.  As I make all these phone calls and emails to set up times with Youth Pastors, my heart yearns for opportunities to influence and encourage our youth workers to be in relationship with youth/staff whom they mentor; but, perhaps even more importantly, that these youth workers be mentored as well!  Pray for the NW youth leaders and those they seek out to help shepherd them.

Thanks Murdock for affording me the opportunity to be blessed in many ways through this process!

Grace,
Brian

Youthmark Prayer Update

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I have a wonderful prayer support team!  Several months ago I was challenged to put together a fellowship who were committed to praying for the Aabys and Youthmark.  My hope is that this group will be able to gather three or four times a year and pray together (Youthmark Fellowship Gatherings).  We did one of these in August and I assume we’ll do another in November sometime.

With all that being said; you certainly get updated prayers here, but my email (which I hope to send out about once a month) will be more extensive and specific.  If you’d like to be part of this team, don’t hesitate to email me (brian@youthmark.com) and I’ll get you yesterdays email and put you on the list.  Some of you may have already requested to be on the list but didn’t receive one yesterday, please resend this, my apology.

Here is the prayer update section from yesterday’s email:

Here is the thing that excites me the most!  I have seen the Lord faithfully answer our prayers while we have blogged during rural missions; the strange thing, I almost forgot to specifically ask for prayer while recruiting for these Youthmark Mission Ventures!  Please join me in praying for the following:
  • Please pray specifically for God to overwhelm us with the right groups and the right number of groups.  I am asking for 36 teams (teams of about 12-18).
  • Please pray specifically for the right towns to go to in the regions of: The Gulf Coast; Northern California; Central Idaho; British Columbia; Western Montana and Kauai, Hawaii.
  • Please pray specifically for many contacts to email back in the next 3-5 days so I can set up times to meet with people in late September (giving them time to think, pray, act on the invite in October).
  • Please pray specifically for Elisabeth (home school teacher/mommy for the first time), Halle (specifically for the right social opps), Audrey (in her new 4-y/o class), Will (continued growth, health, development) and me (keeping Jesus and my family as my priorities).
  • I am asking God to show me how to better serve the Youth Workers.  This is an oft-ignored profession and volunteer vocation.  We want to be sacrificial with our own time, talent and treasure to help, encourage and bless the youth workers in this region!  Pray that He shows us great direction in how to do this!
  • We pray for brokenness, humility and submission so we may do everything for His purpose. 
Thanks so much for joining us in prayer, whether it be through the blog and/or my email updates.  We NEED your support in this way!  
Grace,
Brian 

Long Distance Prayers

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Hello friends!  I would greatly appreciate your prayers for my friend, Joseph Thomas, and his family.  Joseph was one of our hosts on our trip to India back in 2000.  He works with orphans and lepers in/around Delhi, India.  His life and his ministry are in danger.  I have attached his email he just sent me, however, I will not include a couple of the pictures he sent me.  The persecution they face is very real.  The pictures of the suffering is horrific.  There are some very wonderful Christians standing strong and doing the work of the Gospel.  It brings the early church (Acts) to mind as I read Joseph’s email.  Pray that he remains strong (like Paul).

Dear BROTHER BRIAN AND SISTER ELIZABEH
pray for us in India we are facing lots of problem, the churches were burned by the Hindu people they are trying to kill all the Christan and they are mainly targeting the leaders and missionary in India, we need your prayers , last night we got warning from one group also they asked us to close all our schools which we run for under privilege children in 3 slums, we don’t want to close that schools , and also we are praying for our leper ministry, and our Sunday school ministry , pray for GODS revival in India ,
hold us in your prayers
 in HIM YOUR BROTHER
JOSEPH FOR LEPER MINISTRY IN DELHI 

WARNING:  I did include a couple pictures, which are not nearly as graphic as some of the others I received. There is one picture of a young lady who received burns, and others of some kids together after their families were killed.  

This was the house of a pastor

This was the house of a pastor

 

These kids lost their families

These kids lost their families

 

The Persecution is very real

The persecution is very real

Please pray for the persecuted church in India!

Lord Jesus, brings others to yourself as a result of this persecution.  Jesus, come quickly.  

Grace,
Brian

The Networks

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As I contemplated the launch of Youthmark, as I considered the question, “what am I most passionate about, and most gifted in?” I narrowed it down to a couple different things.  These are the areas I want Youthmark, and more so, Brian, to concentrate on.  So, a lot of the resources Youthmark will produce will be high on the administration side.  I want to free youth leaders, students and parents to be in relationship with one another, and not organizing the opportunity to be in relationship!  

The area of passion I have been able to really jump into lately is that of networking.  Over the last couple weeks I have been meeting with individual youth pastors/leaders but also with networks of Youth workers.  I have traveled up to Snohomish County twice, been south to Graham, north to Greenlake, west to Burien (every week, for one of my own local networks), and east to Maple Valley.  In the next week I’ll head over to a new network in West Seattle and as far south to Portland; in addition I will network with the youth leaders in Vancouver, WA too.

I wish all of you could see the heart of the youth workers in this area.  They are broken.  Broken for the teens (and parents) in the northwest.  In a couple of the meetings I have sat in, I have seen leaders begin crying for the teens/parents. 

We have 81 local youth networks in the Northwest… however, the northwest is defined by Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska.  81 local networks, that number is very small.  This means there are a lot of lonely youth workers!  A lot of guys/gals who don’t have that refuge, that iron-sharpen-iron place.  Pray for me and other who are trying to get some stronger networks rolling (and others started).  I will specifically be concentrating on the south end of Seattle.  A box from West Seattle east to Renton, south to Enumclaw and west to Gig Harbor.  It’s a big box, but one which needs to be filled with more encouragement, more brokenness and certainly more unity!

Grace,
Brian

Are we cursed?

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What is the deal with Seattle sports?

’08 Mariners–were overrated, then underachieved, and will lose over 100 games.

’07-’08 U.W. Hoops–were overrated, then underachieved and got passed up by the NIT

’08 U.W. Football– O and 3 and the ref in the BYU game just got promoted in the LDS church.

The Sonics– who?  

The one hope we had for the year, the Seahawks.  We have no wide-receiving corp now.  Engram out with injury.  Branch out with injury.  Burleson goes out in game one (and is out for the season), Payne goes down on his first catch in game two (today) and even our emergency wide-receiver, Seneca Wallace, goes down before the game.  This is ridiculous!  I played a little Tight End my Frosh year, perhaps I can help?

Even with the Seattle Curse, I’m still a homer! I KNOW the M’s will be contending next year, the Huskies hoops will recover and ride Jon Brockman to a post season birth, UW Football will come back and save Ty’s job, and the Seahawks will still win the NFC West!  As for the Sonics… hmm? Go Blazers!

Gotta go, Holmgren is calling my cell, I have to report to the Seahawks VMAC (Virginia Mason Athletic Center) tomorrow for my first practice.

Grace,
Brian

The Inconvenient Truth

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I am sitting down a for a brief break in the middle of a weekend camp at Warm Beach Camp and Conference Center.  This weekend I have had the honor of speaking to a combined group of Jr. and Sr. High students from North Creek Presbyterian Church (Mill Creek, WA).  What a fantastic group of teens.  It has been encouraging to see their receptive hearts.

The theme, An Inconvenient Truth, has been a fun one to build around.  We’re not looking at the carbon footprint we are leaving, we’re not even speaking about global warming, oil drilling or Al Gore!  We’re talking about the inconvenience of living out the Gospel.  Before I am condemned for saying such a thing, think about it, is the truth of Scripture easy to live out?  It’s not always convenient to share my faith, tame my tongue, love my neighbor, put others first, obey my parents, etc.  But I strive to be like my Lord, therefore this inconvenient truth is one that I desire to become more prevalent and more lived out in my life.

I have done two of my three talks, and tonight I am going to still do most of what I had planned, but am going to open it up a bit to have the students ask some of their “tough questions” about what is inconvenient about living out the truth in their life.  Pray that they are bold, pray that they are vulnerable and pray that the inconvenient questions reveal so REAL truth from His Word!

Grace,
Brian

Speaking In

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A few years ago I was encouraged (and provided a scholarship) to attend a Jesus Focused Youth Ministry Forum.  This forum was hosted by Reach Out Youth Solutions, just outside Atlanta, GA.  Well, long story-short, three years later I have attended, helped lead a separate forum, been certified as a leader and this week, spoke at and was a leader for another forum.  While I really enjoyed the forum I thoroughly enjoyed all the “extras” that came with it this time.  Namely, the relationships.

Roger Palmer is the National Director the the JFYM forums.  Roger was my original small group leader at the forum I attended in Georgia.  At that forum and in the three or so I have been a part of since, we have grown in friendship and I am very thankful for his faithfulness to me (namely through prayer and encouragement). I was able to spend a solid four hours one-on-one with Roger on Wednesday of this week.  We had a “down day” in the middle of a busy week and he joined me in some of my network venturing.  This time with Roger was extremely rewarding to me.  I asked him questions about his ministry and family. He gave me some great insights and wisdom for my own marriage and family; it was truly a gleaning experience for me.

Barry St. Clair is the founder and president of Reach Out Youth Solutions.  Barry and I connected in GA as well.  However, in the last year, when God put it on my heart that I needed to be mentored, Barry was the name He gave me.  For the last 9 months I have been meeting (via phone) with Barry about once every couple months. He has given me many nuggets of wisdom.  However, this week was WAY different than those phone calls.  This was the personal foundation we needed.  Seeing him in his ministry setting and being able to immediately follow up and relate has been extremely rewarding.  On Wednesday morning I was able to bring Barry to my local network and he encouraged the five or six of us in attendance.  On top of that I was able to grab about an hour of one-on-one time with Barry talking about life and ministry.  I am thankful for his ability to speak into my life.

It was an extreme privilege to bring both Roger and Barry over to my house on Wednesday afternoon.  They got to spend about an hour with me and my family. I was so glad Elisabeth got to meet Barry and get better acquainted with Roger. Sharing life is so precious!

Great ministry friends like Chris Renzelman, Steve Bodwell, Tom Horton and Jess Champers were also involved in the leadership of JFYM this week; and having Brad Hostak, Eric Drumm and Jamie Jockwig (all friends) going through JFYM made it even more special.  I have much love and respect for each of these guys!

Grace,
Brian

 

Roger Palmer and Barry St. Clair hangin' at my house.

Roger, Barry and me at the house

 

Yes, we are grown men.

Yes, we are grown men.

Look Who’s Blogging

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She’s been a faithful reader; now we’ll see if she’s up to the task of being an oftenblogger (yes, I made that word up).  For a slightly different view of the Aaby happenings, I invite you to check out Elisabeth’s new blog. Warning: She’s a much better writer, so don’t abandon me just because you’re getting Filet Mingon over there; I still hope to provide a solid tube steak of writing!  You can check her out by linking off my side bar links or by clicking here.

Grace,
Brian