Category Mission51

Are You On the Satan List?

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

I’ve been writing for Dare 2 Share Ministries blog the last few months, it’s been a fun adventure and we’ve seen some great comments on the posts. You should go there today and check out any number of great posts from the other contributors.

Which list are you on?

The blog that most recently was published really was inspired by my son!

The creative little dude with a fresh ‘do surprised us by creating a Jesus list and Satan list… I just may reveal nationally which list you’re on, check out the blog post at D2S here.

Praise God for the grace he has given us! I pray that all will know the love of the Jesus and that he will use us, including my little dude, to share that great news with his friends! It’s never too early to share that news!

Grace,
Brian

Urgent Message To Pastors & Elders

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You may have faith, but do you have a faith that anticipates a great work of God?

Your church may have a Youth Ministry program, but are you anticipating God to do a great work through the people that make up that program?

You may hope for revival, but are you willing to challenge your congregation to pray and anticipate that revival for 31 straight days?

“The work has been chiefly amongst the young; . . . few others have been made partakers of it. And indeed it has commonly been so, when God has begun any great work for the revival of his church; he has taken the young people, and has cast off the old and stiff-necked generation.”  ~ Jonathan Edwards, commenting on the First Great Awakening

Elders at our church gifted each family with Pray31

On Monday, October 1, 2012 our church and thousands of churches around the nation will begin Pray31, a one-month, (& approximate) five minute per day, prayer initiative that focuses on praying for our nation. This is not political, it is spiritual. Elected officials will legislate laws that may or may not help the nation look more ethical/moral, but it is only God who can change hearts.

I was recently interviewed by Tim Eldred, the National Spokesperson for Pray31. I am excited about this initiative and we stand together   in hope that God, through Pray31, will unite the hearts of Christians across this country. As a result, I believe we will even then begin to see God at work through the lives of our young adults/teens! To that end, I’m equally excited about something that we (Youthmark) will release very soon (hinted at in the video)!

 

It’s not too late to get involved. Click here and order enough prayer atlases for your church. If you order early this week you’ll be able to pass them out this next Sunday so your church can begin next Monday, October 1!

What’s stopping you? Let’s anticipate God together!

Grace,
Brian

 

You Telling The Whole Truth?

Brian Aaby Leave a comment

As a person who has trusted in Jesus, I believe that I have a wonderful opportunity… but it is an opportunity that I often forget or choose not to take advantage of! I have the opportunity to share the Truth, but I often just share the truth (small “t” vs. capital “T”).

The coffee shop is where I often get to choose Truth or truth

I recently wrote an article for the Dare 2 Share “Relational and Relentless Blog” that deals with the small T vs. capital T Truth. Check it out here and leave a comment, contribute to the conversation!

Grace,
Brian

 

The Northwest Is Cutting Edge!

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

We may be Sleepless, but we’re a pretty proud bunch of innovators!

Seattle home of… grunge music, the new-era of coffee and some rather larger machinery that flies.

Well, we’ve been selected as the launching point of another pilot, Open Seattle. 

If you are involved in the Student Ministry Field (volunteer, paid, parent of teen, etc.), this is a one-day (Saturday) event worth checking out. In addition to it being innovative in its approach, it is EXTREMELY affordable, just $25!

An event like this typically would cost a lot more, but none of the speakers is getting paid– we’re doing it because we believe it is something that is needed  in Youth Ministry RIGHT NOW (collaborating with others and mutually training one another)!

Come join us, Saturday, October 6! 

Youth Pastors/Directors: Bring a few (or all) of your volunteer team!

Youth Leaders: Bring the ideas you’ve been afraid to share in the past, here you’ll have an audience who WANTS/NEEDS to hear them!

Parents: Come partner with a tribe of youth leaders who so desperately need teammates!

The next stops for Open are Boston and Paris… that’s right, we’re first, AGAIN!

Grace,
Brian

P.S. I’d love to have you join me at my session, “The Virtuous Cycle”… We’ve seen the “vicious cycle” (one bad thing leading to other bad stuff, etc.), I’ll be inviting us to see the cycle of redemption that can exist where we lead with training students to live and share openly about their faith. A virtuous cycle of (warning: Big Theological Terms Coming) Evangelism and Edification!

Register Here!

Super Exciting BIG Youthmark Announcement!

Brian Aaby 4 Comments

Our little organization which has a BIG vision for Mission51 just got a MAJOR boost!

As I have talked about for the last few months and hinted at in a few blog posts, Youthmark has been in discussions with a few organizations about expanding the Mission51 movement!

One way we will see this take place is through our strategic partnership with Youth Missions International (YMI). This alliance will enable Youthmark and YMI to:

  • Equip more people for Mission51
  • Better train for specific locations
  • Send to more places (domestic and international)
  • Increase customer service
  • Offer the most affordable package for missions that include before, during trip and post Mission Venture materials

For those who have experienced a Youthmark Mission Venture you will only experience an increase in what you have received for the same price (in fact, in some cases, for less cost).

In this partnership Youthmark gets to do what we do best: train, equip, send and return participants for Mission51 – the 51 weeks of mission back home!

Likewise, YMI gets to excel all the more in what they are known for: delivering custom-made domestic missions and fantastic YMI hosted mission trips to international destinations.

In this arrangement we will now be able to send church groups and individuals  on mission trips! EVERY participant gets the Youthmark (Mission51) training and follow-through while being ushered through the on-trip experience by the esteemed YMI!

The Short List of What’s Included:

  • Choice of trips on 5 different continents or any of the 50 states
  • Customized aspects for every Mission Venture
  • Personal consultant for the entire process
  • Complete Leaders Guide (the A to Z of missions)
  • Complete 10 week curriculum for the entire students ministries (not just mission team)
  • Mission Prep Workbook for every person going on the trip
  • Mission51 Training Retreat
  • Devotional for each participant on the mission venture
  • Guided Study for family members at home
  • Follow-up book to launch your study and application for after the Mission Venture

Domestic trips are offered for as little as $289-$349 (and include ALL of the above). Check out the BUILD YOUR TRIP tab at YMI and get the ball rolling! Don’t hesitate to call us at Youthmark, 800.455.1450 if you have questions or call YMI to talk about any specifics as well. YMI: (866) 487-7563!

Spread the word to others. Pray for this partnership and join in by pre-registering a group or individual now!

Can’t wait to see how God uses this for his glory!

Grace,
Brian

Big News For This Little Organization

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24… 40… 53…

…These numbers likely don’t mean much to the readership, but they were quite startling to me, especially last year when that 53 hit. These numbers represent the number of churches/mission teams Youthmark engaged for the purpose of training and missions in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Though the seed was planted in my mind after the summer of 2010, somewhere around the new year (2012), I began to aggressively change the way I viewed the future of Youthmark. As I have stated in a previous blogpost, it was never my intention for Youthmark to be a Short Term Mission (STM) Organization. My own core conviction is that the entire field of Student Ministry should be our focus. I want to see students, staff, parents and the church improve the way we are ministering to one another and the needs around us. Mission51 (the 51 weeks outside the mission trip) is my passion!

Linking w/other orgs will enhance M:51!

Instead of focussing on the short-term mission, I began to focus on long-term partnerships with those who would be able to carry the load of managing mission trips so that we (at Youthmark) can be focussed on providing materials, strategies, consulting, speaking, etc. for the 51 weeks outside of the mission trip. Even with much of my time focussed outside of the “trip” God still blessed us with a wonderful spring and summer for Youthmark Mission Ventures (close to 50 churches/organizations engaged again).

With that as the backdrop, there are three or four STM organizations who are in discussions with Youthmark to partner with us at some level so that their mission trips can be more than just a trip and begin to really engage participants to be on mission the other 51 weeks of the year as well.

In my next post I’ll introduce you to our first official partner! I believe this partnership will lead to:

  1. More options for churches and students in the area of mission trips (domestic and international).
  2. Better  (specific trip) training for all engaged in STM’s.
  3. More tools/training options for Mission51 (ahh yeah, you’ve only seen the beginning)!
  4. More excitement (and more equipped missionaries) for the 51 weeks outside of the mission trip!

Though the concept is a couple years old, I truly believe Mission51 “the movement” is about to launch!

Stay tuned…

Grace,
Brian

 

I’m Open, are you?

Brian Aaby Leave a comment

I’ve had some great opportunities afforded me the last few years to do consulting with several churches (especially pertaining to Youth Ministry and transitions of staff).

The most consistent theme is that the churches present a STRONG desire for change to take place. We all love the idea of change… until it is happening to us! Bottom line, as soon as I (the consultant) begin to introduce possible changes the guard goes up and the defensive attacks start.

For those of us in Student Ministry we all know that something is broken in ministry to young adults, the reality is, this side of Heaven, it always will be broken. But here is a case where I do believe in evolution, I believe that youth ministry needs to consistently evolve. We must explore change! Stagnancy stinks!

I’m excited about a gathering coming to the northwest where I believe both the professional and lay youth leader can be spurred on in his or her approaches in student ministry.

Please join me at Open Seattle. This an even that has taken on new (oh no, change!) approach. The speakers are not paid, the financial sheet is “open” for all to see, the electives are geared for both those who want to dream about new stuff and practical for those who simply need some great “on the ground” training! I love the mix of local and national speakers. I can’t wait to hang out with friends like Mark, Lars, Leena, Nick, Adam and hopefully YOU! Click here to get in for cheap!

  • It’s cheap.
  • It’s time-sensitive (2/3 of your Saturday).
  • It’s historical (seriously, the first ever “Open” with Boston and Paris to follow).

Grace,

Brian

Not Just a Movie: The Breakfast Club

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When we started Youthmark Mission Ventures several years ago I wanted to make sure we had something to help students transition into life-back-home. A book entitled, Merge, was created. This book was a parallel Guided Study through the book of James and a modern day fable telling the story about a teen who had just started at a new school. Merge has since become a series of post-mission/camp books: Merge-Joshua; Merge-Ephesians and Merge-The Life of David (1 & 2 Samuel). 

I just recently started contributing to the Dare 2 Share Relational and Relentless blog; my first post is about two young men who started something vibrant on their high school campus after God sparked an idea in them that they found in the Merge books.

Check out that idea and the video of one of the young men at the full post here.

I’m excited about my partnership with Dare 2 Share, if you’re in Northwest, make sure you’re getting your group out to the conference in April! If you’re not in the NW, check out D2S here to see where their other conferences will be in 2013.

Grace,
Brian

Preparing To Imprint

Brian Aaby 2 Comments

I just returned from a fantastic four day trip to Arizona, where I teamed with friend, Timothy Eldred, to train Scottsdale Christian Academy students and staff for more than a mission! In fact, it was the first of a couple beta-tests for the upcoming launch of a movement we are anticipating entitled,  Imprint the Planet.

Scottsdale Christian High School is once again contracting with Youthmark for their missions program and we’re thrilled to help them with their 13-15 mission ventures for 2013, but even more exciting to me is seeing students (and staff) fired up to make a difference not just there but here as well.

This week we were able to see students STEP out in faith, RISK in relationship and return to their campus, club, community and churches prepared to LEAD together! I can’t wait to take the next steps for ITP with a local church retreat in a few weeks!

I am praising God for the many who risked in huge ways by seeking help in areas of brokenness as they began to understand grace in a new or renewed way. I’m pumped about seeing several students take leaps of faith in just a short 3-day time period. In addition I am thankful for the adults/teachers who honestly want to see Student Led, Adult Mentored (SLAM) take place!

Please pray for SCA and my friend Kevin Meyers (Teacher/Spiritual Life Director at SCA) as students return for their 2012-2013 school year and for the many who will take serious the call to Imprint the Planet! 

As Imprint the Planet goes through a few adjustments before it officially launches (soon), my prayer is that God would prepare this generation of students/young adults to be unleashed to use their gifts, skills, minds, relationships and voices to make an eternal Imprint on this planet– all for God’s glory!

Keep up with us at @imprintplanet (twitter) and here on Facebook to get the updates and news first!

Grace,
Brian

Addition links on Twitter you should consider:

@brianaaby and @timothyeldred

 

Are You Chicken?

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

My kids were captivated by the way we swept the leftover scraps off our plates last week in Montana. Rather than placing them in the trash or in the garbage disposal the remnant was tossed into a plastic bag.

We went outside to the gated off chicken coop and each my little ones got to put their hands into the bag-o-slop and toss a handful of scraps to the ground. The chickens were… well… they were chicken! They would slowly walk toward the scraps in order to peck at some sweet morsels of goodness, but would quickly retreat with the sight of the least bit of human motion. Spooked and freaked out they’d only come back when we weren’t around.

There’s a reason we say the phrase “are you chicken?”

Yesterday, August 1, was a day that many were divided about the chicken. This post, has nothing to do with that controversy. My writing has everything to do with “not being chicken” when it comes to asking God some great big things!

Yesterday, August 1, was the start of an awareness campaign for something that I believe will be great for this country!

Between now and October 1,  I want to make as many as possible aware of this fabulous opportunity! One month of dedicated prayers for this country. I picture churches, schools, home school groups, clubs and youth groups joining this prayer surge!

There is no way we can ever get one million people praying for our country without your help! Be it a tweet, a blog post or a status update, you too can help us get the word out! God wants to hear our voices united in prayer!

This is not about politics, it’s about prayer.

It is not partisanship, it’s about participation!

Those who know me know that my heart beats for the message of Jesus to be proclaimed! Well, I know that proclamation is only one part of the equation, prayer plays a major part! I pray we see hearts change, cities change and scores of people come to know Jesus! I believe 31 days of dedicated prayer will open the doors for even more proclamation!

31 Days of prayer for this nation may just change your very neighborhood!

Why not join in? Are you chicken?

Grace,

Brian

Some links: