Category Mission51

SMS: March Madness

Brian Aaby Leave a comment

The “Dinner Discussion Starter” at the Aaby home a few nights ago: If you had to pick your favorite holiday of the year, which one would you pick and why?

“Christmas!” (with a really quick) “and Easter”

“Easter”

“Umm… Umm”

Halle (9), Audrey (almost 7) and Will (almost 3) respectively. Both Elisabeth and I answered “Christmas,” mainly because this last Christmas was such a special season for us, we really seemed to be in a groove.

I know several people, including myself, who would like to to see “March Madness” and especially the first two days of the NCAA basketball tournament be declared a national holiday. Two days that every workplace should shut down, since most slow to a crawl anyway. I love March Madness. It’s the only time of the year that most find ourselves excited that James Madison, Butler or Princeton is about to pull-off a win!

Real holidays, like those mentioned above, or fake ones, like March Madness got me thinking about Youth Ministry Madness. What is it that gets you pumped up in Youth Ministry? Today’s Student Ministry Stuff addresses the broad-stroke areas of youth ministry that get me the most fired up during the Youth Ministry Year.

Small Group. Any given Wednesday! If you had to strip everything away from me and I could only do one thing in Youth Ministry I would lead a small group of guys for several years. I loved my small groups. I always chose to go through a book of the bible, verse-by-verse with the guys. Along with a co-leader, I would grab the group as fr Though the Bible study portion was important, doing life together was what made the Bible study so great. These are guys that are still near and dear to my heart!

Mission Training/Trips. I emphasize the word “training” in the training and trips. I really struggle with those who don’t put time into training students for more than just a mission. Obviously it’s why Youthmark exists, but even while serving as a Youth Pastor, I didn’t understand the “sign-up and show-up” mentality that some YP’s had. To me it just feels manipulative in some ways. Some YP’s just want to give students an experience outside of him or herself. Without roots firmly planted (Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17) I feel like we’re teaching students how to be blown and tossed by winds of emotion. I loved gearing up for a trip by getting grounded in the things that we need to be practicing all the time, not just “there.”  This included time in the Word, fellowship, practical service training, gaining support/networking, etc. I COMPLETELY understand the motivation that a “trip” provides and I believe we should simply take advantage of that motivation by using it to do it now, not just then!

The mission trips themself were an absolute gold-mine for service, evangelism and discipleship. What took place on the field typically accelerated the growth process in individuals tenfold (it seemed). I loved the intense times with students and leaders! It’s great looking back at the places served as well, we always left feeling mutually blessed (sending team -us, and receiving place- them).

Camps/Retreats. Because I didn’t overdue the “program” side of the weekly ministry (not a huge “hoops and whistles” guy) I would try to do at least one or two events (including a camp) that was really more programatic. I really geared up for these and though it was a lot of work the culmination of the event felt a little like “March Madness” to me! These were typically outreach events and we really saw our students respond to the opportunity (especially in response to the mission training and trips they had been a part of). But, like a mission, a camp is only “great” if it has proper roots and proper foll0w-up strategies and structure in place!

I can think of a ton of other things that I’d love to list (one-on-ones, staff retreats, even a Sunday School structure we implemented), but for now I’ll call these my Youth Ministry Madness evoking events!

What Youth Ministry areas get you jazzed?

Grace,
Brian

Unpleasant Reminder of 1994

Brian Aaby 2 Comments

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan (and other places) has served as an unpleasant, but needed reminder…

The earth shook violently as I curled into the fetal position and covered my head with my arms. As I was shaken awake, I looked up and was able to read the illuminated 4:31 on my alarm clock that sat about a foot from my head in my college-dorm room.  The January 17, 6.8 Northridge quake rocked my world. The freshly purchased Snapple bottles rattled. Books and Picture frames were being tossed around the room.  Within minutes the entire student body would be gathered out in grassy areas outside of our dorms we were forced to evacuate. With the power out, reports were only received through a few radio stations broadcasting in the wake of the disaster.

“The 5 and the 14 collapsed” I heard someone talking about the freeways that were only a five minute drive away.

“A cop literally responding to a 911 called drove off the freeway and fell to his death.” A college classmate relayed what he heard.

The next few hours were filled with confusion, disorder and questions.

My small Christian school began to pray.

The next few days were filled with confusion, disorder and questions.

I began to pray.

I was 21 years old, a junior, a leader (RA) on campus and the Youth Pastor at my church. Caught up in who I was in me, rather than who I was for Him.

When it was all said and done communication was restored, roadways rebuilt and life returned to “normal.” I, unfortunately, slowly allowed myself to become calloused. I don’t know even know if calloused is the right word to describe it; maybe intentionally ignorant or self-absorbed?

I’ve had other rude-awakenings; the orphans in India. The sex-trafficking in Costa Rica. Stories from  my own students about drug, alcohol and sexual abuse in their own homes. Perhaps the “feeling” is best described as a wake-up call. These are earthquakes and aftershocks that help me to see the immediacy to wake-up, get-up, gear-up and get-out to proclaim the best news I have to share.

The death toll will rise in Japan. Hundreds, if not thousands, if not tens of thousands will perish.

Death is imminent. Death is immediate. But Death is not permanent.

Created by God to be in relationship with Him. We have eternal souls; life is eternal and in the end we will either spend that eternity with God, glorifying Him or spend eternity (forever) separated from Him. Because of our sin we would-be eternally separated from Him; but the ultimate rescue mission was performed some 2000 years ago. Long before this quake and tsunami, Jesus, took the current of our sin upon his back. He came to restore life eternal with God for those who put their trust in Him. His life, death and resurrection all proving that He is who He said He is. The tsunami of our sin which leads to death is blocked by the blood of Christ.

But not everyone knows this news. I imagine the majority of those who died as a result of this earthquake and tsunami did not. The news is immediate and the messengers (Christians) must wake-up. I must get-up, we must gear-up and the Church must get-out and share the loving story of grace through faith alone!

If you know Christ, share Christ. For His glory and as part of the ultimate rescue mission with Him.

If you don’t know Jesus, understand that we don’t know when the next natural disaster, cancer or car crash will come. Know that eternal peace is possible in Jesus. He has come so that we may have life. Life eternal with Him.

I am praying for those suffering in Japan right now. Loss of life is devastating. Recovery will be hard for those living. As a human I want to help. As a believer I want my help to be both practical (physical and emotional restoration) and eternal (so that they may know Jesus, forever). Likewise, for my neighborhood (because we don’t know when death will appear), I want to help, eternal life is at hand!

Anyone else waking up?

Grace,

Brian

SMS: Connecting Nationally

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

I believe it was my 7th or 8th grade year the three-point shot was added to the basketball courts for middle-school basketball! I loved shooting downtown and now the shot from 20 feet was worth an extra point. In an attempt to avoid the bunch-ball bombing that our coaches feared, our coach issued a challenge; unless you were able to hit 5 out of 10 at practice, you wouldn’t get to shoot them in a game. On top of this challenge, he gave an added bonus. Whomever made the most during this 10 shot challenge was going to have a set play run for them during the next game, freeing that person up for a three point shot!  Connecting from long-distance became my ambition!  I won the contest (7 of 10) and nailed my long-distance beauty on an out-of-bounds play the next game!

This last weekend I got to connect from long-distance once again.  I traveled to the Simply Youth Ministry Conference (SYMC) in Chicago. Because I value these long-distance learning and networking experiences so much, I offered this or one other national conference as an incentive to our “early bird” registrants for a Youthmark Mission Venture. Most of the early-birds are heading to San Diego in the fall to the National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC put on by Youth Specialties) but one Youth Pastor (Nathan) decided that the SYMC and Chicago was for him.

I’ve posted in the past about networking and the value I sense in connecting on the local level through city, regional and area networks. But from time to time I think there are some major benefits to connection nationally. I decided to make this the subject of todays Student Ministry Stuff (SMS) post.

Connecting Nationally Provides a Refuge. Though the refuge of “being known” in your local network is huge, the respite of not being known has advantages as well. I had the opportunity to work with The Shelter at the SYMC. Three different times I met with Youth Leaders who just wanted to talk and be coached through specific issues by someone they didn’t know. Sometimes an outside source, completely separated from your context can provide such a valued view. In addition to providing this refuge, I had conversations with others who provided that sort of view for me. Guys like Doug Franklin (LeaderTreks) and Brian Cress (International Justice Mission) were a couple of the valued conversations that stood out to me (veteran guys who have forged the way). In addition I was able to connect with folk that I’ve known better on line than I had in person, taking friendships to a new level (guys like Brian Ford).

Connecting Nationally Gives Broader Training: The SYMC in particular gave me opportunity to learn at a greater depth from ministry leaders in the context of Forums and Workshops. I really like the NYWC and SYMC (and I’m sure others) because you can get some real broad-stroke training from people you wouldn’t normally hear from.  For instance, those who are not in a city where Dare-2-Share comes for their tour would benefit greatly from their training.  My first exposure to Doug Fields and Purspose Driven stuff came at a conference like this. At the NYWC in particular I have sat in on seminars that I specifically known that I would disagree with the presenter, it’s very helpful to know a different point of view rather than just be inundated with views from people who you always hear from.

Connecting Nationally Gives Great Exposure: The SYMC is pretty particular about their “vendors,” “speakers” and “talent;” choosing to only partner with those with whom they have relationship. Youth Specialties on the other hand has a literally hundreds of vendors and many more speakers and a broader stroke of artists/talent. I love the different approach that these conferences take. At YS I am exposed to other ministries in both the exhibit hall and the teaching times. Whereas at SYMC I got to know more about the practicing partners of Group Publishing (parent company of Simply). Orgs like Youthminstry360 and the already mentioned, LeaderTreks are a couple that I’m really impressed with.  One nice thing for me, I was pleasantly surprised by how many people upon meeting me said, “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of Youthmark, you guys are the ‘Mission51‘ people, right?”  How cool.  I guess we even have some exposure!

Connecting Nationally Allowed Me To Connect Nationally. Along the lines of the last point, I was able to greater network Youthmark. Besides the existing friendship I already had with many national folks at some of the previously mentioned organizations, I was able to meet leaders from many other organizations. Though some would see them as “competitors” I really feel that through the relationships built we are all on the same team. I genuinely like just about every person I meet at these conferences. One “competitor” that stood out is the parent organization of Youth Specialties (YouthWorks), I say competition in jest, YW has probably 20,000 students out on trips each summer (Youthmark is hoping for 1000); but Eric (a “high up” with YW) and I hit it off at SYMC, we spoke a number of times. As my iPhone powered up after my flight home I read on my Facebook Wall something that blessed my soul!

“Youthmark is gonna really push the youth ministry world to invest in prep and especially follow through on student short term mission experiences. Hoping they change will not suffice.”

Thanks Eric! I am praying that this is true and that Mission51 becomes a theme for all ministries, because then, the KINGDOM wins!

If you are in youth work and have not done one of these national conferences, I would suggest you try to get to one every year or two. It’s one part refuge, one part teaching, one part exposure and whole lot of connecting! I return feeling like I just hit a fadeaway three pointer at the buzzer; ready to take on the world!  Let’s do so, together!

Grace,
Brian

Consulting and More

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

Chopper Dave to the rescue!

“Chopper Dave” is a faceless guy we’ve all come to trust.  Sure, his name may not be “Dave” but you know who I am talking about, the traffic voice on the radio with the thumping sounds of a helicopter in the background. It seems the position description is changing as I see more “TV-traffic-gals” showing up on the morning news giving us the high-tech traffic maps showing the highways to take and the roads to avoid during the morning or afternoon traffic rush.

Sometimes it just pays to listen to the person who has a different view than we do from the road.

I enjoy the role of “Chopper Dave” in ministry.  Over the last few years I’ve had the opportunity to do this for a number of churches. This is something I would love to do more! I’m able to do so at a very affordable rate where everyone feels like it is a “win.”

Who Would Benefit? My most common consulting has come in the form of Student Ministry, however, I have worked with Senior, Lead and Executive Pastors as well.  Here are the most common forms of consulting I am doing:

  • Transitional Consulting: Churches that are in transition between Youth Pastors have hired me to consult them through the transitional process including the assessment of needs, training of lay staff to carry the load and developing a philosophy of ministry.  In addition, I have developed the search process, team and the position description.
  • Ministry Remodel: Some ministries just need fresh eyes and an assessment that can lead to some new strategies.  Quite often this starts with a new philosophy of ministry.  This is most-often done with an existing pastor/director in place; but can be done with key volunteers implementing the changes as well.
  • Specialized Consulting/Training: Sometimes there are smaller aspects of a ministry that need tweaking, retooling or specialized training of staff.  Administration is often an area of weakness for Youth Ministries, I have been able to train Youth Pastors with key admin systems for communication, calendaring and training of volunteers.
  • Staff Training: Weekend retreats, one-night training seminars or a couple sessions with a volunteer team have proven to be ideal settings to bond a team, create momentum and infuse groups with practical “how to” knowledge.
  • Interim Role: I haven’t done this… yet, but I would consider a well defined interim role with a church to help establish the things needed for long-term success in a ministry area.

Perspective and Ownership!

Why? I believe that long-term ministry needs to have sustainable strategies that are rooted in Scripture and carried out by the Spirit through willing vessels.  I love working with individuals and teams to create the ownership needed to carry out long-term ministry.  Specifically in student ministry I believe that ownership in the program comes from Students, Parents and Leadership!  In essence, I eat, sleep and breath “Mission51” so in this context, it means helping a group understand that we are on mission all the time, let’s train and live in such a way that we understand our own Jerusalem is our mission!

Does your church/ministry need a fresh perspective? I’d love to talk to you.  Again, there are creative ways to make this work financially (in other words, we’re creative and affordable).

Do you know of a church in transition? Feel free to pass on my information to them and we’ll see if it could be a fit to help the church or organization the time of transition.

Don’t let distance detract, because of regularly schedule “other” stuff that Youthmark does, I am able to take on consulting roles virtually in any location; let’s chat we may be able to work it out where “travel” is not really an added expense!

Contact: info@youthmark.com

Grace,
Brian

So To Speak…

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, The United States and India of all places.

Summer 2010, Speaking with former Laker Mike Penberthy and worship led by Everfound

I know it’s not a lot, but it’s fun to reflect upon the places the Lord has given me the opportunity to speak. In addition to these countries, I’ve been afforded the opportunity to preach and teach in some pretty scenic settings; I think of the chapel viewpoint in Port Alsworth, AK. How about the scenic camp on the top of the ridge in Maui? Colorado is pretty much beautiful everywhere and I’ve done numerous camps and retreats there.

When I think back to ANY of these camps, conferences or retreats it’s never the scenery that stands out to me.

I sat here for 10-15 minutes struggling to remember the places.  But in each place I remember the faces.

The stories these faces told:

  • The boy in Oregon who by the age of 14 had been in and out of too many foster homes to remember. He trusted in Christ when he finally understood the pursuit and passion of a loving Father who doesn’t abuse.
  • I remember the look on the Mother’s face two years ago while speaking at Exposed, I said, “I think that our teens addiction to texting may end up being a worse epidemic than driving under the influence of alcohol.”  She later came to me crying telling me her husband was killed two weeks prior by a teen-texting driver.
  • The teary eyed girl on Vancouver Island who admitted to years of an eating disorder and knew Jesus wanted her to surrender all of herself.
  • The vibrant young man just this last summer who said, “I’m all in!”- I’ve followed him on FB ever since; by all indications, he’s lived all in since! He’s leading others to Christ!

  • Live and Love Loudly tour

    I remember hundreds of the faces of students with arms outstretched toward God or one another singing “How He Loves Us” at the top of their lungs just this last spring at each of the “Live and Love Loudly” spring retreats.

There are scores of other stories I could post. And I hope many, more faces to know.

Over the next few months I have several speaking opportunities I am really excited about, but I am willing and ready to take on a few more. A few weeks ago I added a “speaking page” to this blog. I’ll keep an updated list for each month; if you’d like to add your group or organization to this please do contact me (Youthmark has a toll free line: 800.455.1450, or email info@youthmark.com). Whether it’s a one-evening event, a retreat, a church service, parent gathering or Youth Rally, I’m intrigued by all of these and more!  Let’s chat!

Elisabeth speaking at women's event

In addition; any ladies group, women’s ministries, MOP’s etc. I would HIGHLY recommend you contact us to get in touch with my wife; I’m biased, but I think she’s just about the best I’ve heard; but I know the groups that she’s spoken to are not nearly as biased but many would share that same view!  Elisabeth speaks with such grace, Biblical wisdom mixed in with great story-telling and appropriate humor!

Speaking of speaking, just checked out the website of an upcoming opportunity I have this summer; I love the video near the bottom of the homepage, Summit is going to put on a great camp; check out their site here.

Grace,

Brian

 

Feeling Friendly: Design

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

You have to know the backstory on this “Feeling Friendly.”

MTV’s The Real World pretty much started it all; reality TV. Several years later it really hit the mainstream with the breakout show, Survivor. I immediately became (and two this day am) a big fan. It was nearly 11 years ago and I credit the show for one of my favorite Youth Ministry memories as well.

The New Year’s Overnighter and the yearly outreach fall retreat, entitled “The Great Escape,” were the two events in which we’d pull out all the stops programatically. Because the year 2000 was an election year, Jimmy (our Jr. High Pastor) and I decided in the spring the theme “Decision 2000” would be a hoot to build a program around for our fall retreat some 6 months later. Think: campaigns, scandal, delegates, etc. Now fast forward a couple months after we had already announced and promoted the theme, Jimmy and I sat down for our customary brainstorming lunch (nothing like some Azteca spices to get the juices flowing). Well, no “election” juices were flowing. After an hour or so it came to us… the ol’ switcheroo! We spent the greater part of two months pulling off a secret thematic switch.  All of our advertisements, decorations, registration forms and announcements continued to push our “Decision 2000” theme.  But everything behind the scenes was spent discretely creating the most creative program I had been a part of.  There were literally four of five of us that knew about this (not a single student or volunteer leader).

Because the Great Escape had such a great reputation, students, though skeptical of the theme, invited their friends to “Decision 2000.”  We packed the camp out with a record 190 students and nearly 30 adult-leaders.  The anticipation was electric.  Then it started.  The camp chapel decorated in red-white and blue.  The lectern sitting up front as if a political speech was to begin; the Decision 2000 video started. It was filled with slow patriotic music, black and white pictures and a voice-over filled with boring facts about the U.S. Governmental history.  Students literally started fidgeting; our core students began questioning in their minds why they brought their non-believing, church-skeptical friends.  Jimmy and I were receiving the glares; then about two minutes in to the bore-fest the video went static; an announcement came across the screen, “Sorry for the interruption, Decision 2000 has been Cancelled, to bring you the next episode of…”

The Survivor theme song came on with a wonderfully spliced video with our unknowing leaders highlighted in the video (our staff retreat just two weeks prior had initiative games in which we used bandanas; the leaders had no idea we were capturing snap shots and videos to use for this Survivor video).  While students paid close attention to the projection the entire Chapel was transformed in one-minute (we had let our work-crew know thirty minutes prior).  The “election” stage scene became the set for a Survivor Tribal Council.

The weekend was a HUGE success as 16 leaders (supported by their teams of about 11 others) competed for the crown. The advertisements, graphics and video really set the stage and enabled us to pull of the big surprise!  We were not voted off the island!

This memory has made me “Feel Friendly”

Feeling Friendly is a weekend series I started a few weeks ago. Because weekend readership fluctuates so much I thought it’d be fun to get something consistent going on the weekends. It is essentially a plug, advertisement or “Brian approved” product or service! I know that word-of-mouth marketing is the best form of marketing out there; so this is my word to you about some of the folk I have used, will use or really like! To see past “Feeling Friendly” posts, click here.

Jimmy and I were the ones who master-minded the theme, but there was NO WAY we could have pulled off this heist without Peter Beringer.  Peter was our intern at the time.  Peter masterfully did the graphic work and produced all of the videos.  It was seamless!

Since 2000, Peter went on to be a Youth Pastor for a number of years while still dabbling with design work, web site design, photography and video.  A few years ago he launched PeterBDesigns.

I am privileged to have Peter and his family as close friends, but I’m also blessed to have Peter as one of my graphic design guys (I’m also honored to have the graphic design guy from our Publishers at Spire!).

Peter works so well with his clients.  He is gracious in both pricing and time.  I’d HIGHLY suggest you contact Peter if you deal with any of the following (or anything sort of related):

  • Cover/Poster Design
  • Logos/Icons, etc.
  • T-shirt (or other apparel) graphics
  • Advertisement Graphic Design and Layout
  • Business Cards (or all things letterhead/stationary, etc.)
  • Photography

He may even be open to some simple video work as well (ask him, I didn’t seek his permission to say that!  ha!)

Pretty much anything to do with graphic design, vector files, photoshop, etc. he would love to help you with.

Here is a link to some of Peter’s portfolio of work, a number of these items he did for me/youthmark.

In addition, I have added a couple designs you may recognize recently from Youthmark.

Contact Peter and he’ll hook you up with a quote!  Just mention me, because then his quote will be better (again, didn’t ask him for permission to say that!).

Grace,
Brian

Peter developed this logo for Youthmark

and this one for our spring retreat in 2010

You Know What I’m Thinking?

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

Jerry Seinfeld had a great line in one of his stand-up acts, he was talking about the difference between men and women and our thought processes.  It was something like:

“Women, you want to know what men are thinking?” (sounds of applause from women).

“Nothing!” Seinfeld answers his own question, “we’re just walking around, looking around.”

Well, there are times when that is me; but lately, I’ve been thinking a lot! I’ll give you a few of those snapshot thoughts.

  • I’m thinking: We have a great family at Faith.  We’re truly blessed by our church.  Though I love the worship services, teaching and other programs, it’s not at all what I think of when I think of our church, I think of the people.
  • I am really thinking: I’ve allowed doubt and discouragement play too major of a role in my life the last couple weeks.  Spiritual attack is evident, but that does not mean the enemy can defeat me/us.  Praise God for His grace!
  • I’ve thought: I am not as disciplined as I’d like to be. My biggest “time” enemy is balancing out what needs to get done for me/Youthmark and meeting the needs/wants of others.  I am social and really enjoy relational ministry, but I can only be free to minister best when I’m done with what needs to be done.  I’d like to create better balance by being more disciplined with the number of meetings and even better, the length of time I spend in these settings.
  • Another thought: Of all the things I get to do with Youthmark, the Spring Retreat may be the thing that excites me the most. Creative thinking, time with teens and youth leaders and inspiring us all for Mission51 gets me pretty pumped. April and May are going to be awesome! (Here is a highlight video from last year if you want to see in two minutes what one of our retreats is like.)
  • I’m thinking: My wife is truly a gifted woman of God!  I really dig her. I love dating her and I really appreciate learning from her (she’s a wonderful Mommy and by her example spurs me to be a better Daddy).
  • Another something that I’ve been thinking: Spending money can be easy and not spending money can actually be fun.  Weird thing to think, but it took us not spending money for me to discover this. We’re excited about some of the cost-saving measures we’ve made and I’m actually pretty pumped about some of the time, family and financial ramifications these measures will have.  However one more thought about this; medical bills stink.
  • Something else I’ve thought: I still love Youth Ministry!  Seriously, it’s so much fun to teach college students each week.  I love some of the discussions we get into.  But I’m just as jazzed about my work with Young Life.  A couple weeks ago we had one of the most fun discussions with a group of 12-15 high school students, most of whom would admittedly say they aren’t Christians.  We gave the group the opportunity to bring up any subject they’d like to discuss.  “Creation,” “Porn,” “Relationships,” and several other questions about Christianity topped their list.  These students WANT to talk about spiritual matters and have a lot to say.  I wish Pastors and Youth Pastors had a little more time freed up to be with these wonderful wanderers!
  • I’m sitting here with this thought: I don’t think the Mariners will be very good this year. I’m hoping for .500, but honestly, I’m thinking 75 wins and 87 losses.
  • I’m also thinking about my 4Runner.  It needs work, but I can’t afford it and even worse, don’t know how (or have the confidence to do it myself); secretly I’m hoping that someone reads this blog and says, “Brian, I know how to replace brakes and do some other general maintenance things on cars, I’d be happy to do that for you.”  Like I said, I’m just secretly thinking that.

Sorry Mr. Seinfeld, this time you are wrong, I’m a man and I’m thinking a lot of stuff.

Grace,
Brian

Here, There and Social Justice

Brian Aaby Leave a comment

I was on a conference call yesterday with a couple prominent leaders of two different humanitarian aid organizations. These men are solid believers who want to see not just physical needs met, but spiritual needs met as well. “Social Justice” has been a buzz word the last few years; and Humanitarian Aid organizations are a part of the buzz.  Some have even become polarizing among churches and individual Christistians because of the organizations practice of providing aid  (food, water, shelter, medical, etc.) or aid-plus (the Gospel, education, etc.).  We’ll return to this phone call in just a bit…

About a week ago I posted the first in a series of posts that touch on a similar theme.  Through these posts I am basically asking the question about how a youth leader, church or leadership team should go about choosing a mission trip. The first was entitled, “Their Needs vs. Our Wants.” It built a case that we should be more mindful of the “need” of a receiving area then just meeting the “wants” you have as a group.  The second was entitled “Us/Them.” This post essentially gave a little balance to the first by making the point that you can both meet needs presented to you and see discipleship/growth take place in the lives in your group.  I believe this is done through training and has little to do with your destination.

Today, we bring in this “Social Justice” aspect.  We’re just a blink of an eye away from another natural disaster, whether something happens today, next week or not for a few months, something will happen on this planet that will tug on our heart-strings.  It may not even be a natural disaster like an earthquake, hurricane or tsunami; it may be a Depravity Disaster you become aware of (sex-slavery, violence and crime-rings, neglect of children in the inner-city or rural setting, etc.).  Regardless, our hearts will break and we’ll feel a natural, Spirit-born desire to do something about it.  And we should!  Sometimes the call is for financial support; other times we’re called to action… called to go.

Even as I write this blog a “tweet” just appeared in my TweetDeck from a nationally known Pastor “find a need and meet it.”

Let me get back to that phone call with the two humanitarian aid organizations (both have national and international influence).  We (Youthmark) are specifically looking at a specific area of need,  an area I have been aware of for about the last six months and consistently been thinking about how we could be of help.  I discovered this need after the publishing deadline for our mission brochure, but am certainly adding it to the places we want to serve.  Listen to what was said of this destination during this phone call:

  • “It’s not uncommon to see a 12 year old girl with all of her adult teeth already rotted out.”
  • “Just last week one of the 14 year olds we work with told us she is pregnant, I wish this wasn’t just accepted as ‘normal’ here.”
  • “We have women who walk to the store with completely unkempt hair, because their moms never ran a brush through their hair, they don’t know any different.”

When I asked about possibly bringing in a group or two they said:

  • “We’d want you to work with the children and youth the most; we’d have to put up flyers weeks in advance, you’d have to go door to door, because nobody has Internet… but you’d get a ton of youth to show up, they have nothing going on.”
  • “Some of these kids have NEVER been outside of this community.”
  • “You’d be such a blessing to this community, thanks for even considering this.”

To me it almost sounds like an underdeveloped, typically labeled “Third World” country.  But it’s not.  It’s a rural suburb (if there is such a thing) outside a major US city in the sun-drenched south… very close to what others have called “The Happiest Place on Earth.”

Social Justice causes will always exist; but I’d like to see a team raised up to meet both the physical needs in this community (stuff as simple as painting, assembling park equipment, repairing hurricane damaged trailers, etc.) but then extend that aid by providing education, hope and have all of it done with the Gospel in mind!

This year’s Youthmark training is entitled Anywhere for a reason, I truly believe God is calling us to all places.  No matter where we are we’re to be a missionary showing grace and compassion and always being ready to share why!  It’s because we are recipients of that very same grace, compassion and the Gospel!

I’d love for you to spread the word about these opportunities and the others.  Ultimately we want participants trained to be missionaries ANYWHERE!  It’s all about Mission51, but let’s do the “other one” (the one week mission) really well too.  Perhaps your “other one” this year would be to Florida? That would be pretty Socially Just of you! Contact us at 800.455.1450 and find out the details.

Grace,
Brian

Us/Them

Brian Aaby 2 Comments

Several days ago I introduced the topic of Us/Them in my post “Their Needs vs. Our Wants.”  In it I essentially ask the question of youth leaders and churches: should we look to do mission trips to areas that best serve our purposes and meet what we want next for our group, or should we plan a trip by responding to needs that have been presented?

It’s something that I’ve certainly been wrestling with at Youthmark and it has influenced the way we market our Youthmark Mission Ventures to churches here in the states.  On one hand I fully recognize that a Youth Pastor really should be assessing his/her youth ministry and considering what it will take to get them moving forward. The “cool” factor of going to a “destination” may get more participants involved (and on that path).  This was certainly a major consideration I had when I was a Youth Pastor.

In 1998 I pitched a mission trip concept to our church elders.  Knowing that my students were not confident (nor active) in sharing their faith, the concept of taking a “mission trip” seemed a little silly.  I really wanted my students to be missionaries at home before we took them “over there” to do missions.  So, my choices were: (A) do a “service” trip; one that emphasized working with our hands or (B) properly prepare and train our students to be missionaries wherever God may have us go.  Because I decided on the latter and then designed a discipleship program to train and equip the students I knew that our “destination” should be one that had the “cool” factor as well.  I simply wanted as many students trained and equipped for mission at home and I’d use the mission trip as the motivating factor!  IT WORKED!

We ended up taking five teams of with about 12 people each to five rural communities.  In most of these communities we did some sort of children’s ministry by day (VBS), service projects in the afternoon and then Youth Outreach at the local ball field/park at night.  Youth came out of the woodwork in these rural communities!  Our students became bold in their sharing, were blessed by meeting practical physical needs and gained great experience by serving the children as well.  Because we had 5 teams, the trip itself served as a great training ground for my volunteers as well; because I could only be in one place I learned to trust my leadership with the other four towns served.

My motivation was certainly what I wanted for our group! I wanted to see them grown in their “at home” witness by training them for an “over there” trip.  But we did it with wisdom.  There was no language barrier, there weren’t the huge financial burdens  yet there was still the “destination” motivations.  Our students returned with a passion for their lost friends at home.  Students began boldly proclaiming Christ… at home!

This summer Youthmark has some trips to similar “destination” places.  Let me tell you about “Their Needs.”

Alaska: We’ve now served in 7 different locations in Alaska.  Each has unique needs.  Let me relay some “facts” from last year about one of these places:

  • Before the Trip: The Pastor was hesitant about a team coming, he said, “we have 3-4 youth we ever see, so don’t come with expectations that a lot of teens will be reached.”
  • After the Trip: The Pastor was praising God for the work done through our Youthmark team. “There was one night we had about 50 people at the beach Brian, several students trusted in Christ, it was nothing short of a miracle!”

Hawaii: The most common statement I hear when I announce we have “Hawaii” as a mission location is, “Oooh, I bet that’s tough (sarcasm)? Sign me up, I’ll do a mission to Hawaii!”  Well, the bottom line, we’ve had ONE team “sign up” and go to Hawaii so far.  Unfortunately, church leadership teams, parents and others don’t see Hawaii as anything other than a “vacation” destination.

Let me tell you about Anahola.  Anahola is where we served two years ago.  1200 people call this village home (most are native Hawaiians).  In the 10 months before our team arrived the community experienced three teen suicides.  It has been the toughest place I have ever been to in terms of a mission trip.  There are true NEEDS in this place, the biggest need is the Gospel to be presented so that the people can know the grace of God is present!  They need hope!

In addition to the great ministry, our teams got to experience some awesome “stuff” in both states (typically with the teens we ministered with/to). Meeting the needs of a community and the wants for your group is entirely possible.  Maybe you know of a group still considering what to do this summer?  It may not be Alaska or Hawaii they are looking for; perhaps a different state so they can save on flights; or perhaps Canada, Mexico or Costa Rica? Additionally, you may know of teams simply looking to enhance their training for a mission. Youthmark would love to help equip them for Mission51– not just the mission, but the 51 weeks beyond the mission as well. Please have them contact us at 800.455.1450 and we can talk specifics (or pass on the brochure here)!

Consider passing this post on to Youth Leaders, Pastors and churches you think of that could/should consider partnering with Youthmark!

Grace,
Brian

Feeling Friendly: YTN

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

Most weekends I will be posting a series entitled “Feeling Friendly.” In essence, its a heads-up about a great ministry opportunity or extension of ministry that you, the reader, should know about.  Last week I highlighted a sound and tech offer from my friends at Impulse Audio.

Let me start today with a poll question…

I assume you’d be able to give a few reasons for your answer.  The USA Today gave their reasons in this article.

Regardless of a hard and fast answer, the fact remains, all of the teen years have varying degrees of challenges that need to be addressed, many which could lead to another statistic we should all be concerned with. I’ve heard varying statistics for the last five years, but the number that seems to be the most consistent is that approximately seven out of every 10 students will leave the church post high school.

If you are in your latter years of high school, if you are an educator involved with teens, a youth leader or a parent of teens (or soon to be teens) I would highly recommend you consider taking part in one, if not both, of the opportunities coming up through Youth Transition Network (YTN).  I’ve met and been around Jeff Schadt a few times (founder of YTN).  His ministry is very unique and a tough one to market, simply because his target audience is this teen-in-transition and the parents of these teens who already have so much on their plates.

After you read about this, I’d suggest you pass this blog post (or the links) to other teens, educators and parents of teens.  The future is now and our teens can/should be our best missionaries and hope for change on our campuses, at our clubs, in our communities and at our churches!  Youthmark is doing our best to equip students for this mission field, but we need the word to spread and I believe the ministries of YTN will help as well.  Here are the two VERY AFFORDABLE opportunities:

  • Shepherding Your Teen: This conference is specifically designed for parents of 8 – 18 year olds.  It examines the transition we need to make as parents to set our kids up to flourish on their own. According to attendees Shepherding Your Teen is very different then any parenting conference or book they have encountered previously.  For those in the Seattle area, the live conference is taking place February 25-26; for those outside the area, a live webcast is being offered, pass this on to your pastors, leadership and others and get it set up for your area.  Check out the details here.
  • Succeed 2011: The event is based upon research conducted with over 2,000 teens and 400 video taped interviews with students who made the transition, some well and some with disastrous consequences. This research was combined with research from UCLA, Ohio State, and Fuller Seminary to build an event designed to penetrate the often distant hearts of young people who cannot wait for their freedom. Geared for parents and juniors and seniors in high school, this conference is being held on March 19 in Bellevue, WA, but their site has free resources and a webinar as well.

Spread the word about YTN and these two events.  I’d love to see a viral word-of-mouth campaign begin and ultimately see students not just equipped to make better choices, but live fully for Him in these so-called “tough” years!

Grace,

Brian

Will you consider posting a link to this blog on your Facebook, on Twitter or even through email to parents of teens?  I firmly believe that we will see better equipped teens become true missionaries for Christ on our campuses!