Completed!
Reflections to come!
Grace,
Brian
Category Mission51
Steering the Titanic!
Last week I was in “The O.C.” Orange County California is a fun place to visit and it was even more fun to be there as an invitee to the Youth Ministry Executive Council (YMEC). There were about 45 people gathered, the Presidents/Leaders in Student Ministries of the major church (denomination) and parachurch organizations. I was honored to be representing Youthmark at this gathering.
I knew and had interacted with well over half the people before and was blessed to spend some quality time in conversation with many of these familiar faces. I also enjoyed the new relationships and hearing different perspectives and strategies from others in Youth Ministry.
YMEC was done differently this year; a change I couldn’t have been more pleased with. Through the use of “Open Space Technology” many conversations were birthed. Instead of inviting a speaker to “speak at” the participants, we the participants were invited to speak into a variety of subjects and then see what rose to the top in our conversations.
I was very excited to see personal evangelism surface as an area that we, national leaders, better be emphasizing. It was very interesting to me that in most conversations, including these at YMEC, most people are very quick to give a head-nod of agreement that we (church/parachurch) should be emphasizing evangelism, but when it comes down to it it isn’t much more than a verbal recognition. Well, I felt the tide began to turn at YMEC. The voices that were speaking seemed to give it a little momentum and I actually felt like the proverbial Titanic could get turned around before it strikes a rock and sinks.
My friend Greg Stier described the moment I believe this started to take place in a recent blog post of his (read that here). Friends of mine like Greg, Mark Moder, Bo Boshers, Chuck Klein and Mark Matlock seemed to keep the ball rolling for the last half hour of the conversation, so much so that I literally was getting a little teary eyed thinking that if (and please pray) we really want to get serious about seeing the church, parachurch and individual call to evangelism taken seriously then we had better seriously take His call to prayer seriously!
I am praying for these three things right now.
1. Praying that my personal prayer life would grow tenfold and that a major component of those prayers would be for other orgs and churches as well as the lost!
2. I’m praying for unity to continue among these denomination and organizational leaders (and am willing to play my part in keeping the conversation going).
3. Praying that we (adults, leaders, parents, pastors, elders, etc.) all would understand that if we want to see evangelize/make disciples then we had better model it ourselves.
I’m willing to risk and be obedient to the call. I hope you are too. Let’s change the course the Titanic is on!
Grace,
Brian
Our Mission51 Field!
Sunny and upper 70’s in Houston!
More sunny and low 90’s in San Diego!
Sun, Clouds, Snow and Winds (temperatures ranged from 23 to 73) in Colorado Springs!
This weekend I feel completely at home, because I am at home!
Lake Retreat in the Southeast Seattle area plays host to not just this weekend but next weekend as well for our Youthmark Mission Ventures “Together” retreat. The first three retreats/training times have been an ABSOLUTE blessing. I have heard more compliments and convictions this year than ever before. I cannot wait for our largest crowds over the next three weeks (May 20-21 in Portland).
The Northwest is my “home court” and my Jerusalem. It is the place that Mission51 takes place for us northwesterners. It is one of the most unchurched regions of the United States. Therefore I am the most excited for these three retreats! I want to see students equipped not just to go on a short-term mission trip this summer, but I want to see them equipped for the 51 weeks of life outside of the mission trip experience (Mission51)!
If you’re passionate about the NW then please pray for these three weekends. If you’re at a church with students not coming to these weekends, there is still room at LR next weekend and Portland May 20-21. We have approx 50 spots open at each before we get too full. Here is a link for these retreats.
Can’t wait to see these teens and leaders grow in confidence in loving on their Jerusalem. The Harvest is truly plentiful, looking forward to the increase in workers for our field!
By the way, classic NW weather for this one… clouds, showers and mid 50’s!
Grace,
Brian
SoCal SoGood!
I returned early Sunday morning (in time to be with my fam at church) from San Diego; the first official “Together’ training weekend took place at Oakbridge Camp in Ramona. What a weekend it was! I was really pumped going into it and am even more pumped coming out of it. Of all the retreats we’ve done, this has the most “Mission51” appeal and training. Students and staff, I believe, really come home inspired to reach their home area!
I’m humbled and inspired by what I read from Jeff Lowry (a Youth Pastor who attended the retreat; you can follow their youthmark blog here):
This past weekends Together Retreat was stinkin’ awesome. From the very first worship set, to the closing prayer, it is evident that God’s hand was all over the weekend.
We learned a lot this weekend, all of us, myself included. It’s amazing to watch young people acting on their faith and sharing the G.O.S.P.E.L.. For some of my youth, I think it was their first time to do that. Sure it was a controlled environment, and nobody was going to get chased down and beaten for sharing their faith, but the butterflies that go along with it were the same, myself included. I’m a youth pastor right, I should be a natural at that. For too long, I’ve done what Brian Aaby talked about, and encouraged kids to do it, but never jumped in myself. Ahhhh, the sweet smell of conviction.
Now on to the coincidence part. This Sunday at church, we were going to have our regular youth service, but I felt this check in my spirit to stay in the main service. Would you believe God spoke to us about Love. And loving the “unloveable” and reaching out to the lost. Amazing. I don’t believe in coincidences, just that God wanted to confirm in our hearts the work He started at Together.
I also added 2 more mission trippers this weekend! Total team is up to 13 now! I am totally stoked!
Thanks Jeff! You and your group were a pleasure to hang out with this weekend! I’m praying for you mission to AZ but am even more pumped about your mission NOW in San Diego!
As you pray for Jeff and the other teams, I’d invite you to also pray for a few MAJOR details that need to be worked out for our Colorado retreat in a couple weeks!
Grace,
Brian
Divine Appointments
God’s timing is so wonderful. Check out what happened today after you read this brief intro…
Mission51: The 51 weeks beyond the mission.
For too long we have had the idea that mission is what takes place “over there.”
When the Lord commissioned the early-believers in Matthew 28:19-20 and in Acts 1:8 to share the message of salvation he quite emphatically included everywhere! “As you are going, make disciples… You will be my messenger in your own neighborhood, neighboring communities, to different people groups nearby and even all around the world” (Brian paraphrases of those two passages).
Today I was at my local coffee shop preparing for our “Tour” with Youthmark, training students/staff for Mission51. As I finished a brief phone call the voice of woman asked me a mundane question about the hoodie I am wearing.
A simple question about my shirt led to an hour conversation about God, the Bible, Adam and Eve, the depravity of man, family, broken families, loneliness, the cross, redemption and Jesus being all He proclaimed to be. “Betty” is a very well-read 79 year-old woman. She has real needs and desires to know the truth and has real skepticism about “religion” because she has seen how it has been used to divide, hurt and even kill. She sees and knows the hypocrisy of religion and her mistrust in the “institution” was very evident.
During this hour conversation two different friends of mine came into Starbucks (at different times) and greeted me. Both are Lead (Senior) Pastors in the area. Each greeted us both very warmly and didn’t mention they were pastors, they just took interest in me and Betty. After introductions and small talk I did let Betty know that these men (both under 40) are local pastors. They both don’t have the “look” of being senior pastors and both simply joined the conversation with ease. They partnered with me in sharing a bit of the Gospel (even if it was just listening well to her story). Betty told me, “I went to McDonalds this morning and took my food out to my car, I even had a coffee from there, but for whatever reason, I decided to come over to Starbucks and get another coffee, I just didn’t want to be alone in my car… I had no idea that a simple question about your shirt would lead to such a great conversation…”
As I was preparing to to prepare students and staff for Mission51, I was participating in my Mission51!
Pray for Betty, pray she comes to trust in Jesus as the way, the truth and truly her eternal hope for life!
Grace,
Brian
Specific Prayer Partners!
Hey Friends!
We have these really cool blogs going on over at youthmark.com. Just yesterday I shot an email to all the participating youth groups for the 2011 YMV’s. In that email I stated that the biggest mistake that Youth Pastors admit to after a YMV experience is not soliciting prayer early enough or often enough! Even now, only about 1/3 of the teams are blogging, let’s pray them onto here!
I don’t want to make that same mistake of not soliciting prayer!
This blog post is a unique one, it is a call for prayer (right now) but beyond that a call for prayer-partnership for those who would like to carry us through any of the areas listed below. If you want to “partner” please comment on this post. I will then be able to email you anything specifically because email addresses can be seen by me for anyone who comments.
Here are the things I am looking for prayer partners:
- San Diego area Spring Retreat (April 15/16)
- Denver area Spring Retreat (April 29/30)
- Seattle area Spring Retreat #1 (May 6/7)
- Seattle area Spring Retreat #2 (May 13/14)
- Portland area Spring Retreat (May 20/21)
- Prayer partners for Joe Poppino (worship leader)
- Prayer partners for The Admission (the band launching out of these retreats and co-leading with Joe)
- Prayer partners for the 40 or so Youth Groups training through the spring for Mission51 (and a mission trip this summer)
- Prayer partners for me specifically and the teaching done at these retreats
- Prayer partner for my family specifically and the great times I have with them before and between each of the training times!
Would love to see all 10 of these areas “partnered” and perhaps even more than one parter on each! Any takers?
Grace,
Brian
Join Us!
The next couple days are going to be a lot of fun. On top of putting the finishing touches on our Spring Tour, ‘Together,” I will be speaking at the NW Ministry Conference alongside some great people!
If you are in ministry in the Northwest, I hope you’ll join this VERY AFFORDABLE conference. In fact, if you’re in Youth Ministry, you really should consider the “Speaking To Teens” additional seminar put on by Doug Fields and Duffy Robbins.
I’m excited to have Greg Stier here this year for the NW Ministry Conference as well, but most excited to have Jeramy and Jerusha Clark up here this weekend as speakers as well. Jer and I have been best buds since college and I can’t wait to have this extended time with them (they’re crashing at our place).
Here is the info for the conference, are you coming?
I’d love prayer for Friday afternoon, I’ll be training Youth Leaders for “Mission51!” Hoping they catch the vision for the 51 weeks beyond a mission trip/camp/retreat!
A little surprise feature, I’ll be on the big-screen on Friday morning as well… stay tuned!
Grace,
Brian
A Different Northwest
This last weekend was an absolute blessing! Thank you NorthWest Bible Church! As I mentioned yesterday in my blog, NWBC served as the test-market for our Spring Tour. Not only was it a lot of fun, it was a huge success from my perspective. There are several little tweaks we’ll make over the next couple weeks, but for the most part the “core” is all there. On top of all this, it was great weather! Sunny and 85, truly a different NW than what I am used to in the early spring.
When it was all said and done about 40 students and leaders were exposed to this year’s “Together” tour stuff. I am VERY excited about it and think that it is the best retreat materials we’ve put together yet. It is very different than the first couple years (I aim to have the retreat look/feel different each year, while keeping things consistent enough that participants at least feel some sense of routine). My favorite “moment” of this years retreat, thus far, is going to be the Saturday afternoon short-session. I believe it will be very effective for Mission51.
One very cool element that I’m stoked about is that along with some of our own stuff we’re using Dare-2-Share’s (D2S) “G.O.S.P.E.L.” acrostic as part of our training this year. Over the last few years I’ve formed a friendship with several of the folk at D2S. Much of Youthmark’s DNA and D2S’s DNA match. At the core, we both REALLY believe that we ought to be living and sharing the greatest news with everyone! However, many Christians don’t believe they can, or are trained enough to do so. I believe the best thing we can do is help students (and adults) discover that it isn’t that hard and there are ways to easily remember the key points we should share in order to tell the compete story! The G.O.S.P.E.L. is one of those tools that I believe hits that mark (you really should check out Propaganda’s music video that captures this so well here). Rather than re-inventing the wheel, I simply asked if we could use it and share the love! They very graciously said “of course!” So thank you Greg, Debbie, Jason and all others at D2S! Students walked away having being trained in a few tools to share Jesus with their lost friends on their own campus, at their clubs, in their community and even at their own church!
I return home a blessed man to have had another weekend with my Texas friends. I can’t wait to see them on their Idaho Mission, but I’m even more pumped to hear about their mission this spring in Spring!
Grace,
Brian
Mid-Week News and Notes
Have a few posts permeating in my mind, but don’t quite have the time to get it fully done, so today I’ll hit ya up with a few bits and pieces from the last few days…
- WordPress, which hosts this blog was down most of yesterday, or at least mine was down; first time since I started blogging that this has happened. Props to WP; they’ve been very reliable.
- Got up at 3:50 AM yesterday (Tuesday) was out of my house at 4:20 AM and returned at 1:20 AM this morning. Drove to Albany Oregon to “booth” at the IFCA Regional event. Good connections with some Pastors. Crazy to do that all in one day, but couldn’t leave Monday because I was speaking at Young Life Monday night and needed to be back this morning for a few commitments.
- Absolutely STOKED about our Spring Tour Together. I have loved all of our spring retreats and the training materials, but there’s something about the content/layout and format that just has me extra jazzed this year.
- I don’t think that I ever blogged about this, but many of you know through Facebook and such that my oldest, Halle, had a fall in February. You can read the story on Elisabeth’s blog here. Anyway, long story-short; hit her chin on a window sill, bit through her tongue (5 stitches on top, 2 beneath) and through her lip (3 stitches) and chipped a couple teeth. Those chips (which we couldn’t find) were eventually found embedded in her lip (X-ray)… so then oral surgery was required. Today the dentist fixed her teeth. Okay… so here’s the whopper, the bills are just starting to come in and of course insurance will cover a lot (though we need to meet our deductible first), but get this, our estimate is that we’ll get billed for over 10k… that’s an expensive fall.
- Was honored to preach last week at my home church, Faith. Summed up the themes from Malachi 1-2 thus far, while pointing toward our application of how we can/shoul love, honor and be influencers for the Lord. Check it out here if you want to podcast it.
- Got to see my college roommate, Darryl, yesterday in Salem on my way back up. Such a great stop! Very encouraging.
- Still 3-4 churches making final decisions on missions this summer; please pray that they register a team with Youthmark! We want to see as many as possible trained for Mission51!
- My NCAA bracket… mmm. Enough said.
- Will is potty-trained (‘not at night, but by day! Woo hoo!)
- Anyone know how to fix a TiVo? We can’t afford the $200+ they want to charge.
Grace,
Brian
Feeling Friendly: NW Ministry Conference
I am a couple months into my Feeling Friendly weekends; a series of posts in which I highlight a specific ministry, organization or individual offering services that would enhance your ministry. It’s been fun to hear about some connections that have taken place as a result. Just yesterday I was blessed to be the recipient of something similar. Check out the missionalchallenge blog here.
A couple weekends ago I took part in a pretty sweet conference in Chicago. It was my first experience at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference hosted by Simply Youth Ministry and Group Publishing. In addition to the SYMC, I’ve attended many-a-conference in the past. For this edition of FF I would like to highlight a conference for all of you in the the Pacific Northwest. The NW Ministry Conference has been around for years, a few years ago they made a great move by changing their name from the NW Christian Education Conference to the NW Ministry Conference.
For an area that is as “unchurched” as the experts say we are, I will tell you that the NW Ministry Conference is proving otherwise. With over 3000 people in attendance each year and literally hundreds of workshops and hundreds of vendors the NWMC has the “feel” of a very legit conference. It takes place April 7-9 at Overlake church in Redmond.
I have been honored to be a speaker at this event for many years and am once again given the opportunity (get to teach “Mission51” this year!!).
For those in the “know” of Youth Ministry, the line-up this year is very strong! In fact, I’d say its the strongest lineup of offerings the conference has ever had. A great mix of local leaders (people many would know and great leaders we’ve never heard of), with a fantastic bunch of national “names” in Youth Ministry as well.
The GREATEST element of the NWMC to me is the commonality I sense in ministry. Because it is not just a youth leader conference you can go to whatever workshop you want.
- Want some training for preaching? -It’s there!
- How about counseling? -There!
- Want to better understand those elementary minds you’re about to inherit in your middle school program? -Go to one of the workshops for kids ministry!
I’m excited to have a number of my friends offering workshops this year! My best bud (and author), Jeramy Clark is teaching a few workshops. He and his wife, Jerusha are flying up from SoCal; Jerusha, has authored many books and is really an expert in her field (dealing with identity issues, self injury, women’s ministry, etc.). She will be facilitating a few workshops too! Over the last few years I’ve gotten to know Greg Stier pretty well and am excited that he’ll be here to train for THE Cause! Though Dare2Share isn’t coming to Seattle right now, I know Greg would love to stay in touch with the NW leaders for their return!
I’ve always been impressed with Doug Fields and Duffy Robbins, both older “names” in Youth Ministry but having spent some time at national conferences with these guys, I can tell you, they don’t think of themselves at “names.” They are very approachable and desire to see Youth Leaders trained to be more effective in ministry! A great opportunity to join them for their extended track (“Speaking to Teenagers”)!
Hope you’ll check out the Conference, you’ll be blown away by how affordable it is ($29-$120 p/p)! On top of the great tracks, great people and great opportunities, the main sessions are entertaining, worship-filled and inspiring!
Grace,
Brian
BRIANAABY.COM 