Category Mission51

How The 4th Of July Fireworks & Evangelism Are Similar

Brian Aaby Leave a comment

10. Both are ultimately about celebrating freedom.

9. They both are about light shining in darkness!

8. Nobody likes them done “in your face.”

7. For many it’s just a once a year occasion.

6. They are both a little dangerous and adrenaline inducing!

5. Some believe they both should be illegal.

4. They make us look skyward.

3. Some people don’t like them done on their property because the clean-up process afterwards can take too long.

2. They are both better done with friends!

1. Many people prefer to watch “professionals” do it.

I hope you have a great 4th of July celebration. Enjoy time with family and friends and look for opportunities to share life and build relationships with those who do not know Jesus! And not just for this one day of this one week. There are 51 other weeks of the year that we get to do life with our neighbors, coworkers and family members! It really is Mission51!

May our lives display the love of Jesus and may our mouths sound forth the grace of Jesus!

Grace,

Brian

P.S.: Got any other similarities you want to share?

The Number Four

Brian Aaby Leave a comment

Taking a four month sabbatical from blogging certainly did nothing to make my life slow-down, in fact, over the last four months there have been some really great things that have taken place. So, in celebration of the number four, I give you the Top 4 for the Last Four (months).

#4 Costa Rica Mission Trip

Costa Rica kids!

In April I was able to lead a group of eight college-age students to Nicoya, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. This Youthmark Mission is one-0f-a-kind. Distributing Bibles, speaking in schools and reaching out to entire communities where the Gospel had not been heard was such a blessing!

Joe and Hilary lead at the Portland M:51 Training

#3: Mission51 Retreats

This year’s LIFE Backwards theme will be a blog post in itself. But the “Six City Tour” was simply amazing. Many said “our best yet.” Coincidentally it was our fourth year of offering these things as well! As Youthmark continues to grow, morph and develop, we hope to teach many to do LIFE Backwards!

#2 Consulting & Coaching

w/ Grilled and Regular onions of course!

One of the areas of ministry that brings me life is the area of coaching and consulting. I am fortunate to be doing this on an informal basis with several but also in an official (contracted) capacity as well. One such “official” capacity is with Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, CA. I absolutely love the people there and have bonded well with their staff! A side benefit, of course, to traveling to SoCal is the frequent stops at In-N-Out!

#1: The Family!

The thing that brings me the most joy and the most life is time with my family! Over the last four months I’ve gotten to have several family outings, daddy-daughter dates & daddy-dude outings (can’t call it a “date”). Now, if Elisabeth and I could only find some more time (and free baby sitting… hint hint) for some more Mommy-Daddy Dates!

My hope is the next four months are just as much of a blessing as the last four!

Grace,
Brian

What’s Up With Youthmark?

Brian Aaby 8 Comments

The transformation started a couple years ago, roughly two years into our adventure that we call, Youthmark.  At that time I  knew already that the organization that I had founded was going to look dramatically different than it did then. I loved what I was doing and we were already experiencing a nice season of growth but I knew that increase was not going to be sustainable if something didn’t give. I knew steps would need to be taken for Youthmark to evolve and for it to remain manageable. I just didn’t know which steps to take. So we grew…

  • 24 teams our first year.
  • 40 teams our second year.
  • 53 churches partnered with us last year.

It was never my intention for Youthmark to be a Short Term Missions organization. I knew I wanted STMs to be part of what we did, but it was becoming everything that we were doing.

My heart and my passion has always been  the 51 weeks of life outside the mission trip. I LOVE coaching leaders to be shepherds all the time. A mission trip is typically just one week, but it can/should be one-part culmination of the year and one-part catalyst for what is ahead. But the reality is most Youth Pastors are still doing mission trips because of the trip itself. Whether they go with a turn-key organization (sign-up/show-up and everything is led by org) do a trip on their own (typically go to a church-supported missionary) or something in between, very few were/are doing anything in the area of preparation and follow through.

This is where I feel Youthmark can and should have the biggest influence in the area of short-term missions. But with growth and demand I saw the ministry was becoming more and more about managing trips and less about vision casting, training, inspiring and follow-through. Simply because of demand, I was spending more of my own time on “i” dotting and “t” crossing of trips and less time on Mission51.

I believe the time is now! Change is in the air. As an organization we are moving forward within our area of passion. This re-focus will include:

  • Partnerships with other STM organizations
  • Expanded resource catalog in product, resources and services
  • More time in area of personal passion/giftedness!

I’m stoked about what is ahead and can’t wait to share more on this blog! Your prayers are appreciated as much groundwork has already been done but there is much more ahead!

Grace,

Brian

Partnerships Expanding… You Can Join!

Brian Aaby Leave a comment

As many of you know I have been involved with a start-up Bible School (geared toward the “gap year” between High School and College/Career or between Community College and University or between University and Life). It’s been an exciting year with this first class out in Ravensdale, WA (Southeast of Seattle).

Besides the growing relationships (I’ve really enjoyed the shepherding aspect of my “consultant” role) and am quite excited about taking these students on a culminating mission project (we have two trips going out simultaneously, one to Bithlo, FL and the other to Costa Rica). I invite you to read what I posted today on the Youthmark Blog about this.

We’d love your prayer support, the partnership needs to grow in order to accomplish this great mission!

Here is the post:

Hey friends and family!

Brian here on behalf of the CR team from Adelphia!  We are just about 2 months away from our adventure that will take us to Nicoya, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Having been to this region of Costa Rica, I can tell you that our team will be blown away by the beauty of God’s creation and humbled by the spirit of the Tico’s (native inhabitant of Costa Rica).

While serving in Costa Rica our team will likely have two or three main purposes each day. We’ll likely spend half a day in a public school (teaching english), half a day distrubiting Bibles and half a day doing a special project (like painting a school or community).

Before you get after me for my poor math– you can’t have three “halves”– we will do two of those three each day and rotate through so that our days are split up nicely.

In addition to these multi-hour projects, we’ll spend time visiting a couple local churches and will be able to play soccer against some much-better-than-us Latin American soccer (football) players!

Your support is needed! We are desparate to see the Holy Spirit move in Costa Rica. The Bible distribution project is an incredible undertaking. Teaming with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and Changing Lives in Costa Rica (CLICR), we are on the front edge of a 94,000 Bible distribution effort. Each Bible represents the approximate number of homes in Guanacaste (each home representing about 6-7 persons). Thus far, the effort has seen about 20,000 Bible distributed. The stories are amazing, not only are Bibles being distrubuted, but teams are sharing (often) an hour of their time and the Gospel with these families. Many have trusted in Christ.

Our American mindset and door-to-door salesman fears need to be prayed away; this is simply not the case in Guanacaste. Tico’s there are genuninely happy that we’ve come all the way from the US to share life with them. They are happy to hear about Jesus. Our prayer is that we have the opportunity to not just bless them with the Word of God, but trust that the Spirit of God will lead them to trust in Christ!

  • Will you pray with us?
  • Can you give towards this? (Each Bible distributed carries about $3-$4 actual cost to it–including shipping).

If you can give ANYTHING towards this Adelphia Bible School trip (Youthmark is leading), please send a tax-deductible check written to Adelphia Bible School.

Send to:

Brian Aaby

ATTN: Costa Rica Team

Box 58926

Seattle WA 98138

These funds will help get the team of 10 to CR and will cover costs for food, Bible Distribution and projects!

Thanks so much! Keep the prayers coming!

Grace,
Brian

Most Mission Trips Are Incomplete!

Brian Aaby 4 Comments

There was a moment in the movie Soul Surfer that made me laugh that probably wasn’t noticed by 99.9% of the audience. The movie portrayed Bethany Hamilton making a last minute decision to join her youth group on a mission trip to Thailand. She showed up at the airport as they boarded the plane and asked if she could come (and did)!

Unfortunately the truth is, a lot of youth group short term missions are actually done in a similar fashion. Many churches operate with a sign-up/show-up mentality. Students sign-up in April, participate in a few car-wash and bake sale fundraisers that are done predominantly by the parents and then the Youth Leader hosts a couple meeting where favorite scriptures are shared and packing lists are distributed. Come June a few have dropped out due to funds, family vacation or a break-up. And on the flip side a few have added because funds, family vacations were changed and a new relationship sprouted and “the Lord wants us to serve together.”

Sadly… very little prayer support has been generated, many congregants just know you’re going on a trip (camp? retreat? vacation?), students view the mission through the eyes of a consumer (what will I get out of this) and too many youth pastors are hoping to produce a spiritual high.

Though a sending team WILL get a ton out of the trip; spiritual, emotional and practical preparation must be done before, during and after the trip. Focus and attention must be given to the people and organizations you’re going to serve and a sustainable change after the mission can and should be the goal!

I am proud of what we’ve been able to do with hundreds of ministry partners over the last few years at Youthmark. But leading short-term missions has never been our primary goal. Our goal is MISSION51! We want to see participants equipped for the 51 weeks of life outside the mission. We believe the mission trip is simply a catalytic and/or culminating event in the midst of the other 51 week mission to our own Jerusalem!

Whether you’re signed up with another great organization, planning a mission to support one of your overseas missionaries or up in the air on what you’re going to do this summer, Youthmark would like to help augment your overall mission experience (and transform it to MISSION51!). Check out our newest “Strategy Pack” that can be used by a group who especially already knows what they’re doing for their trip!

Call 1.800.455.1450 to inquire!

In addition, those of you in the Southern California, Houston, Colorado and the Northwest, Youthmark offers a Mission51 Retreat (24 hour evangelism equipping retreat). For a limited time we’re offering this retreat for only $51 per person (normally $79) when you purchase the Strategy Pack. Please call us 800.455.1450 to inquire.

  • San Diego: March 9-10
  • Houston: March 16-17
  • Seattle: May 4-5
  • Seattle: May 11-12
  • Portland: May 18-19
  • Denver: June 1-2
Please check out more information about all our packages here and don’t hesitate to call me at our 800 number!
Grace,
Brian

Get In The Game

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

As we approached the church for a youth leader lunch I remember being greeted by a guy who seemed somewhat familiar, maybe I’d seen him at some other regional gathering? He pointed us in the right direction and I thought it was nice that either the organization or the church was nice enough to send out a greeter to make sure we all knew where we were going.

After about 30 minutes of sharing lunch with my Seattle-area youth leading friends the greeter from outside popped up and introduced himself as Greg Stier, the President of Dare2Share (the organization hosting the lunch and training).

Flash forward about seven or eight years and I’ll tell you that the greeter/speaker Greg Stier I remember from that day is the same Greg today; furthermore the organization he leads, operates with the same humility he demonstrates by being the door-greeter at their training events.

I was in Florida all of this last week, I had several meetings with other organizations and was scouting for a few mission trips Youthmark has coming this spring and summer. Knowing that I was going to be in town I decided to double up and check out the Gameday tour for Dare2Share. Arrangements were made for me to not only attend but to serve behind the scenes for D2S. From set-up to tear-down, I’ll have you know that the team of employees, talent, speakers and volunteers were there for one-reason: to serve teens, leaders and one another so that the gospel is heard, taught, trained and sent!

Something we introduced last year through Youthmark, called “Speed Witnessing” was adopted by D2S as “Speed Training” for this years tour. And though I was excited to see this, I can tell you any “proud” moment I had for that was morphed by the pride I felt for the body of Christ serving together to put on a training conference that was so rich in content, so practical in application and 100% focused on Jesus and the good news he gives by grace alone through faith.

It truly was an honor to partner with Greg, Zane, Prop, Brenton Brown (and band) and scores of “others” that were never seen. From security to finance, from tech to talent, there was absolutely no pretentiousness or rank. Humility, grace and a sense of purpose permeated all that was done. All the parts were needed and though many in the crowd see the “personalities,” the personalities see “team.”

If you are a Youth Leader within a days drive of one of the remaining D2S conferences this year, you really ought to consider bringing your group to the event. And if you’re a Dare2Share alumni from the last couple of years, check out their new Lead The Cause University this summer. I am super pumped about this because my good friends, Everfound are leading worship at LTCU and then next year for the 2013 “Follow” tour by D2S. So fun to see my friends partner together in ministry (and selfishly, I am excited, because Dare2Share is coming back to Seattle for Follow).

Greg, thanks for being courageous in the faith, serving teens, youth leaders and the kingdom through humble and relentless leadership and thank you for taking the time with every student or adult who wanted to talk… those small times of “greeting” really do make a difference!

Grace,

Brian

Long Term Vision for a Short Term Mission

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

Runners (especially those of the marathon type) I have three words for you: You. Are. Crazy. I have no desire to EVER run a marathon, I greatly admire those of you who do (like my friend and fellow Youthmark-er, Kirk). Though I joked you’re crazy, the reality is, the vast majority of you are very wise! The way you go about doing a marathon is the way I believe youth ministries should practice the art of a short term mission trip.

The Marathon Starts Months Before the Actual Marathon Starts.

Kirk began training for his last marathon several months before he reached the start line of his 26+ mile journey. Likewise, mission trip preparation on every level should start several months before the actual trip. Out with the “sign-up and show up” mentality too many Youth Pastor employ. Whether you’re organizing your own trip, doing a turn-key organizational led trip or a combo, the trip itself may be well planned, but endurance and momentum are built well before the trip.

The Marathon is More Meaningful When Done Together.

Most runners enjoy running with someone (setting the pace for one another), but in addition having someone on the sides cheering them on, nourishing them with energy found through food, drink and encouragement does a world of good for those participating in the run. Likewise, on a short term mission, intentional partnerships with teammates, prayer partners (and prayer parents) back home and the nourishment of guides studies setting the pace will serve as soul-nourishing goodness.

Stretching Out After the Marathon is the Wise Way!

Stretching after the finish line can prevent a future soreness that may exist after a long-run. Missions often feel like a long-run and like a marathon, the spiritual muscles need to continually be worked out. However, all of the pre-race structure you felt leading in to a trip is a lot harder to sustain post-run (or mission)

Now What?

Because I am not a runner I cannot speak to the myriad of other similarities a runner  may blow me away with. However, I can say that I am just (if not more) passionate about the 51 weeks of life surrounding the mission trip as I am the actual mission trip. I believe it is time that we start seeing and treating mission as a full-time, right-here and over-there proposition. Our training is not just for a trip, it’s an investment into current and future mission (in “Jerusalem” all the way to the “Ends”). Some things to consider:

  1. Caution: Don’t be Lazy: Some of us don’t see training as a time-option. We’re “busy” so doing anything besides sign-up/show-up seems like it’d take too much time– you’re wrong! There are ways to incorporate your training into every aspect of your youth program.
  2. Wake-up: Some have every intent of including parents, prayer partners and guided devotionals, but you’re unaware of how easy it could be to solicit these partnerships.
  3. Financially Cautious: The mission may already feel like it costs a lot. I can tell you investing in something that lasts just weeks may serve as the nourishing grounds for something that extends an eternal lifetime!

There are other orgs out there doing some of this, but I am very proud to say that Youthmark has thought of ALL of this (and more). We want to see students equipped to reach out in all directions so that the end goal can be reaching his or her campus, club, community and church with the gospel of Jesus! We want to train you and your group for Mission51. Please check us out in order to dig-in for a far-greater preparation for what is ahead! Whether you have a trip or just need some materials for before, during and after, we’d love to partner with you (info here).

Grace,
Brian

Has Anyone Modeled Evangelism To You?

Brian Aaby Leave a comment

I get really excited about the Spring! Though we are five months away from our retreat season, we are busy putting together the framework for our 2012 tour.  The Mission51 Retreats give us the opportunity to train all who attend our Spring Retreat in the area of life-evangelism. We truly believe that mission is not a trip. Though trips are great, I believe that the other 51 weeks of life beyond the mission is where the real work of mission takes place (for both the sending team and the receiving communities).

In the spring of 2010 our theme was “Live and Love Loudly” for our Mission51 retreat. We focused on the first letter from Paul to the church at Thessalonica. It’s a great letter and it gave me some fun ideas. One of those ideas I will give you as a “freebie” to use in your youth group, small group or just for personal thought!

The video below was used to help set that stage for evangelism training. When we hear the word “evangelism” or “share your faith” we see many begin to squirm. Quite simply, people are afraid to share because they fear failure and rejection. But the reality is, their fear and failure stems more from a lack of model than anything else.

Who has modeled witness to you? Who have you learned from when it comes to evangelism?

For those who haven’t had it modeled to them, I invite you to find a mentor. For those who are active, I invite you to teach others.

With a very small budget, a decent camera and some very low-paid (read: “no-paid”) actors and some okay editing equipment we put together this little piece we call “read, daddy.”

Grace,

Brian

Would This Really Happen?

Brian Aaby 2 Comments

Picture this:

After much prayer a dedicated, Jesus-loving family decided to move overseas to become missionaries with the hopes of sharing the gospel with any and all in this foreign land. They moved to their new community, invested in new furniture and prepared their living room for the folk they planned to be there. Missionary-man rented space in an office for dedicated times of prayer and study of the Word. While mom home-schooled the children, dad  commuted to the office where he studied evangelism and met with the three or four young missionaries he was brought in to train. The office space was conveniently located near the city center where thousands would gather daily to eat lunch in the city-park. 

Though their house was open for dinner every Tuesday and Thursday evenings, the three or four younger missionaries were the only ones to show up. Months passed. The missionaries grew close to one another and really began to understand the theological basis for evangelism and discipleship. Most Thursdays their prayer time was interrupted by the loud noises coming from the kids and families at the nearby “park nights” sponsored by the government. 

The Obvious Questions:

Why didn’t the missionaries eat lunch with the people gathered near the office?

Why didn’t the missionaries participate in the park-nights?

Why did they call themselves missionaries?

The Unfortunate Reality:

The above story looks/feels too much like what may be happening in the youth ministry realm. Many Youth Pastors/Leaders (and churches, to be quite honest) have gotten away from the most obvious mission field that is in our own backyard–The campus!

I published a post a couple weeks ago about the areas of ministry I believe many in student ministries have gotten away from. Just a few days later I flew to Kansas City to attend a Campus Alliance gathering of about 45 Youth Ministry leaders (presidents of youth ministry orgs/denominations) to tackle the subject of reaching the 67,000+ U.S. campuses (middle school/high school) with the gospel. This was a rich time of prayer, partnership and planning.

It will be worth nothing if we don’t do anything about it!

Part of the Solution, Not Just Naming the Problem:

Many have rallied around the books and movements that name and blame the church (and youth ministries) for our shortcomings/problems, but rather than just naming them, I want to see us take action to change the blame-game and get back on the actual field! This is what I am committed to. This is what Youthmark is committed to. Are you (and your ministry) going to commit yourself to sharing the ONE hope we have?

I am committing Youthmark to this alliance with other ministries who are committed to reaching the campuses of America with the good news of Jesus. We are committed to not just “living” it, but loving the people on these campuses enough to share (with Word and actions) about Jesus and his plan of redemption.

Politics can help us with some temporary changes in law and standards. Government may help the homeless for a short time. Humanitarian aid may give short-time sustainability to thousands in need after a disaster… but Christians should give long term, even eternal relief through the gospel. The gospel lived out brings physical, emotional and spiritual solution.

Youthmark is committed to what we call Mission51. Though we are short term mission sending organization, our heart beat is for training for the 51 weeks beyond the one-week venture. Where is Mission51?

Campus. Club. Community. Church.

Youth Leaders and organizations, the mission field is the campus! It is in our back yard. There are over 67,000+ of these centers around the country and you are the shepherd for those who can and should be the best missionaries in the United States! We should gather, we should train and we better release our missionaries (students) to this HUGE mission field. But they need to know they aren’t going alone! May they go with prayer, may they go prepared and may they go partnered!

I am honored to be a partner with Campus Alliance!

Grace,

Brian

What We’ve Gotten Away From…

Brian Aaby 6 Comments

I’ve been involved with in Youth Ministry for just about 20 years now. Though there have been many tweaks and occasional shifts away from the norm, the typical youth ministry program has included some form of  hang time, game time, worship time and teaching (“talk”) time. These four elements are about a predictable as my desire for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert!

Our youth ministry forefathers formed something that we’ve had a hard time re-inventing (and to be honest, may not be the primary area in need of an overhaul). I believe the real change in youth ministry doesn’t have anything to do with re-envisioning our mid-week programming, but an examination of some key things I believe youth pastors/leaders have gotten away from in the greater landscape of student ministry.

  1. We’ve Gotten Away From The Campus. Most youth pastors haven’t even attempted to get on the public (or private) school campus. I hear them say “the campus is closed” yet they haven’t once made an effort with the administration of the said “closed” campus. I am telling you, I have NEVER been turned down by the admin to be a volunteer on campus. Be smart, don’t look at your time on campus as a time to proselytize, rather as a time to serve the school, the teachers, the administration and to build relationship with anyone God brings you in contact with. Just being present (even just an hour a week) will pay large dividends and build major trust! It will bring a whole new ownership when attending games, musicals, concerts and award banquets.
  2. We’ve Gotten Away From Evangelism. A “discipleship-first” model is honestly the safe choice. Parents are quite happy that you’re providing a “safe” place for their child(ren) to participate in ministry. Service-based trips where we work with our hands building, cleaning, painting and serving meals are now called “mission trips.” I am a big proponent of service, it often creates an entry point into spiritual conversation, but I believe we’ve gotten away from sharing the gospel with our WORDS! I think youth missions can/should include evangelism opportunities because it is an extension of what we’re doing at home as well (what we call “Mission51” at Youthmark). I believe youth leaders (and parents) have allowed youth ministry to turn away from evangelism because we’re typically not involved with it in our own peer-community. It’s hard to teach what we’re not doing. What if evangelism and discipleship were not mutually exclusive? What if youth leaders, pastors and parents began to model discipleship that included evangelism first?
  3. We’ve Gotten Away From The Gospel! This may sound a lot like the last, but I believe student ministry as a whole has gotten away from sharing the gospel and settled for a “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”-message. The gospel is good news, in order to have good news, there must be bad news as well. This “bad news” is HORRIBLE news. Without Jesus there is no hope. No hope is hell (bad news)! Many of our programs talk about the bible, Jesus, prayer and accountability without talking about the “why” we need these things. A failure to share about the wonderful grace of God actually leads our followers down the path of works-righteousness. Students begin to “work” on the practices of faith without actually having grace-based faith.
I want to be part of a solution, not just point out what I see as some of the problems. So, I have a few suggestions for myself and other youth leaders (or pastors).
  • Start with prayer: pray for your own heart response and examine whether or or not these things are true of you and your ministry. Ask God for a peer-level harvest field for you to work in (so many youth leaders don’t even have non-Christian friends). Pray and ask for prayer. I believe your prayer will lead you to care and then your care will lead you to share!
  • Make contact today: Get up, drive to the local middle school or high school or make an appointment with the administration and simply ask the question “how can I serve this school… how can I help?” Don’t abuse the privilege to be there, keep the campus options available to other Christians by being a smart missionary if given the opportunity to serve the school. Your present on campus (or campuses) will lead you to opportunities to experience the harvest field.
  • Share the gospel in youth group! Don’t assume that even your core-students know and understand that gospel. Be clear in your presentation of the gospel. Always include the need for salvation (because of sin), Jesus’ life, death, burial and resurrection. As you share this more and more not only will it permeate your other conversations, but as more for your group place their trust in Christ, it’ll permeate their conversations outside of your group!
May your hang time, game time, worship time and message time  be an extension of everything that is taking place outside of your program! I’m ready to see us get back to some of the things we may have moved away from.
Grace,
Brian