Category Youthmark Stuff

SMS: Talk About Things You Love

Brian Aaby 1 Comment

If you have spent more than 10 minutes with me in the last two years you’ve probably heard me ask (and then answer) the rhetorical question, “why aren’t are young people sharing their faith?

I give three reasons:

  1. They fear rejection (of the family member or friend with whom they would share).
  2. They feel like they don’t know the right words to say (“I’d screw it up and say the wrong thing).
  3. They haven’t had it modeled (those that have gone before them, yes, including us, in youth ministry).

These are the things we’re trying to tackle at Youthmark! I believe that we can better equip students (and adults) with a relational approach to loving, caring and sharing with those who do not yet know Jesus.  I think teens will grow in knowledge and confidence that will lead to a loving relational boldness (w/o crossing the line of being “in your face”).  In doing this, I think one more key element must not be ignored… We must model it!

For my Student Ministry Stuff (SMS) post this week I would like to relationally and boldly (w/o crossing the line of being “in your face”) challenge you Mr. and Mrs. Adult Youth Leader to talk about the things you love!

This post comes from my experiences over the last week to ten days.  On top of hosting three lunches for Youthmark Mission Ventures and our Mission51 strategy, I was in and out of many-a-coffee-shop while trying to meet writing deadlines (speaking of, should I really be blogging right now?)… In this recent time period I have had at least five opportunities to share Jesus one-on-one as a result of people overhearing me talk about things that I love.

People Want To Love What You Love

While standing in line in Nashville, Elisabeth was overheard talking to her mom about different restaurants in the area.  We were hungry and didn’t know where we wanted to go. We’re obviously not locals, y’all, but the gal in front of my family was.  She gladly talked about the places she loves to eat.  We hit one (or two) of them up.  We wanted to love the restaurants she loved.  We were happy to take her recommendation.

While speaking to Youth Leaders in Portland our bus-gal (is that what you call a female who “busses” tables?) overheard a lot of our presentation as she walked around clearing plates and refilling glasses.  After the lunch and all the patrons had cleared, she said, “so, you obviously love kids and church-stuff, what is it that you do?”

Being overheard talking about the things that I love will open up doors to talk to others about the things that I love.

Are you talking about things you love, like Jesus?… students?… ministry?… church?… Scripture?…your marriage?… your Family?… even in public in such a way that people will ask you follow-up questions?

People Want to Be Part of the Conversation

While getting a refill on my coffee the other day I was asked by my Barista, whom I thought to be a Christian, “what are you doing today?”  I said, “just finishing and editing a book.”  The conversation continued, “what’s the book about, if you don’t mind me asking?”  Having told her that I was writing a book about Paul’s missionary journeys in the book of Acts we continued to have a 10 minute conversation talking about different things she and her husband are learning in their study of the book of Colossians.  During this conversation another Barista joined in and asked a number of questions about the Bible, places I was writing about, the bible study her coworker was a part of and how it matters to us now.

The first gal is certainly a strong believer, but the second Barista did not know this about her… yet.  I am thankful that an overheard conversation can lead to a possible relational evangelism opportunity between two Baristas!

Are you answering questions in such a way that invites further conversation with people about things of the Lord?  Are you looking for teammates, understanding it might not always be you that gets so share Jesus?

People Need For You To Speak Up When The Door Has Been Opened

I started each of my YMV/M:51 lunches with a short look at the beginning of Mark 2; the passage which describes Jesus healing the man lowered from the room to Jesus.  At the end of four or five minutes I would ask the Youth Leaders to engage one another with a specific question I asked.  During this several minute break, our waiter, who probably should have been circling the room getting orders, instead asked me… “hey, you ever read The Shack?”

I have not read The Shack, but do know enough about it to keep the conversation flowing. It was clear that this waiter did not know the Lord, but had a baseline understanding of God’s love for him in light of what he had read in the book.  It was a short conversation, but one in which I was able to share a little bit about Jesus and the free gift of grace He offers us in the midst of all the life throws at us.

The waiter continued to listen (and did do a great job serving us).  I had a short follow-up conversation with him as well.  It was very evident to me that he was open to the Gospel.  He was asking the leading questions.  He was seeking!

Are you listening to the questions being asked of you in such a way that you may see the door way open to share about Christ? It is very easy to just answer a question, but perhaps the question being asked is an open door for much more to be shared.

Are You Talking About The Things You Love?

It is easy for me to talk about my favorite team, a recent trip, my family… these things often do lead to entry points into relationship which then could lead to spiritual conversations.

However… I love Jesus.  I love the things that Jesus loves.  And I recently discovered that talking about Him out loud leads to these relational conversations even quicker!  Not saying that I’m going to start strategically speaking a little louder or a little more often… just saying that as my confidence grows, as I’ve gotten to know how to share the story more, as I’ve become a little more bold, I want to speak about Jesus more!  Perhaps my perspective is just changing, but it sure seems God is taking me to the places where people are seeking.

Let’s talk about the things we love (and in so doing begin to model to our students that relational, conversational, non-confrontational evangelism is actually a lot easier than we thought)!

Grace,
Brian

OSF x 3 and some other stuff

Brian Aaby 3 Comments

Some might think I would be tired of the Old Spaghetti Factory.  With three Youthmark Mission Venture lunches in the last week (four if you include the one Kirk did in Coos Bay, OR), I have had my fill of Spaghetti and Marinara.  Here’s a quick recap of those lunches and the great folk I got to hang out with.

Portland. Kirk and I hosted about 30 folk at the OSF in Portland.  This group was fun and energetic.  Upon arrival the management had already set up our room with two very  long tables of about 14-16 each.  Well, this years promotional lunch is better suited for tables of 4-6 to promt better discussion.  So, after some re-arranging we welcomed the group of Youth Leaders.  The movement of the tables was very wise, the 5-6 tables had lively discussion.  My prayer is that many of these leaders, who seemed to really grasp the Mission51 concept, will jump on board and do a YMV this year!

Tukwila. Last year the Tukwila (Southcenter) OSF played host to 56 youth leaders in the greater Seattle area.  Tukwila served as our one marketing lunch for the region.  My decision this year was to break into three lunches in the hopes we would draw more than the 56 from 2009.  Hosting lunches in Lynnwood (23), Lacey (19) and Tukwila (31) was a good decision.  I really enjoyed the Tukwila lunch in a different way than any of the other lunches.  Almost everyone at the Southcenter OSF had been previously exposed to the YMV/M:51 strategy. In many ways it felt like family around the table!  My prayer for this group is that my “home” area, while teaming with Youthmark can become the true catalysts in leading their students toward something greater than a mission trip; namely raising up students who are reaching their campus, club, community and church for Jesus.

Nashville. The National Youth Workers Convention was taking place in Nashville this last weekend.  With the encouragement of my friends at YMToday.com (and Center for Youth Ministry Training), I did a last-minute marketing lunch to Nashville.  It was a joy to see the South, participate in the NYWC, meet many new ministry organizational leaders and spend great time with my wife (and my in-laws who joined us).  The Nashville OSF played host to 35 for lunch on Saturday.  Because Youthmark is a little more known in the West I literally felt the pressure of making this lunch a meet and greet and mission/training presentation in one.  On top of this, it came during the lunch break of the convention, which meant I had about 75% of the normal time and about 150% of the normal information I would give.  Though I look back and wish I would have presented a little differently, it was a GREAT learning experience and I had wonderful conversations with youth leaders from all across the South and East.  I’m praying that the door is open and that we gain momentum even this year with some churches in the South!

I’ll try to write later about some of the organizational leaders I got to meet with while in Nashville.  It was a fantastic time for Youthmark in that regard.

When it was all said and done, the week filled with three OSF lunches obviously was not enough.  Sunday night, Elisabeth’s parents and the Aaby couple decided to hit up the Spaghetti Factory one more time for dinner!  Kudos OSF, your creamy pesto salad dressing continues to score!

Grace,

Brian

Just About Right.

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This Sunday.

A little extra sleep.

Back to my home church after two weeks away scouting and speaking.

A total celebration in church today, the way that church should be.  Worship through fellowship, song, testimonies, prayer,  the Word and baptisms.

Family time eating lunch, watching the Hawks and a 15 minute halftime nap.

Hawks win.  No, Hawks dominate.

Coffee shop, studying the Word and writing in the hopes that God will use the written words to equip and motivate the reader to share about Him!

This Sunday is just about right!

Grace,
Brian

Sunny San Marcos!

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Tuesday afternoon Buzz Huget and I flew in to sunny Long Beach CA.  We immediately drove to In-N-Out Burger (was there any doubt that this would be our first SoCal meal?).  After a great burger we drove south to Escondido!  What a great time with the Clarks, honestly, Jerusha blessed us with probably the best pork-chops I’ve ever eaten! After dinner Buzz, Alon (newest Youthmark staffer) and I had some great discussions; local Youth Pastor and new friend, Wes Trevor joined us for some down-time.

On Wednesday we hosted 22 folk at the Old Spaghetti Factory in San Marcos for our YMV Preview lunch and presented our mission trips and the Mission51 strategy!  I really felt this group of YP’s was engaged in the discussion of how to take this beyond the one-week mission experience!  I look forward to seeing the fruit from this region!

Please be in prayer for Alon as he follows up with this great group of leaders and as he now expands to the other regions of San Diego county!

What a blessing of a trip!

Grace,
Brian

600 Club!

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Blog post #600!

A lot has happened in the last 2 and half years, I am happy to say that a lot of my life (and Youthmark’s life) has been recorded in this online journal format.

Just a fun little survey to find out what you like best about the blog… So, if there is anything you’re particularly fond of, pick it (multiple selections are possible).

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you continue to stop by! Here’s to the next 600 posts.

Grace,
Brian

Introducing…Buzz!

Brian Aaby 3 Comments

Buzz is a big baseball fan too, added bonus for me!

Just over two years ago (July 2008), the Aaby family did something crazy,  I resigned my position as an Associate/Youth Pastor so that we could start Youthmark and I could become President of the organization.  Some would see it as crazy, I use the word loosely, because it never felt crazy, it felt, faith-filled. Over the last two years we have seen the Lord provide in only the way that He could.

About this time last year we were able to add some help for Youthmark by contracting with Kirk Petersen.  Kirk is a long time friend and ministry partner (he was a Youth Pastor for about 15 years).  He served Youthmark faithfully this last year and it looks like we’ll continue this relationship for another year as he serves as our Director for the Oregon and SW Washington region.  You can read the introduction of Kirk from my post from last July here.

Well, here we are in August of 2010, it’s time to bring on another team member.  Buzz Huget has joined the Youthmark crew.  His title: Director; Field and Follow Through. It seemed everything started to come together last spring while I was on a scout trip for the 2010 YMV’s to Colorado and Arizona. Knowing that the most natural “next” position for Youthmark would be a person who could oversee our receiving communities (the places our mission trips go to), I invited Buzz to come on the trip.  While we were driving the long distances between rural communities and major airports we dreamed of what could be.  Buzz watched me in action with the rural Pastors, and then, very naturally, he stepped in and by the time our scout trip was over I was able to really just watch him in action.  He’s a natural fit.  A man of God who loves to listen.  He hopes for those who may have forgotten how to hope for him/herself (or his/her ministry).  He prays with passion (and expectantly).  Buzz will serve the receiving (what we are now calling “host”, a term Buzz already coined) Pastors/Communities well.

Buzz and Pastor John from Pine, AZ (March 2010)

A little background… Buzz and I met while I was serving as an Associate Pastor (Youth) at Boulevard Park Church (South Seattle).  He is an elder there.  He began attending a service I had started on Sunday evenings. This service, entitled, merge, became somewhat of a church plant within a church.  After about a year, I started throwing ideas off of Buzz and we began dreaming and praying together for our merge services.  Buzz came on board as sort of a co-pastor of that service and we served as we watched the Lord grow that service from about 40 the first week to 150+ at our last service.  Since I resigned at Boulevard Park, he has continued and started a couple different men’s ministries initiatives.  Buzz may not have “missed” his calling as a Pastor (as I have joked with him in the past), but I do believe he is functioning as a Pastor in many ways.  Now he’ll get to do that with Youthmark as well.

His primary responsibility will be to shepherd our relationships with our Host Communities (Pastors and key leaders).  He’ll do the scouting and initial contacts (freeing me up to not travel as much!), while at the same time he’ll get to know our sending leaders so that we create the best partnerships between Youthmark and both the sending/host communities.  Having Buzz on the team will also give us a better opportunity to follow-up with teams who have just served and get us valuable feedback as we move forward.  In addition Buzz will participate in the Spring Retreats, some writing projects and a few other tasks!

Can’t wait to see how the Lord uses Buzz.  He is supported by his wife, Lisa, their four adult daughters (and families) and their teen grandson, whom they are raising as a son.  I’m so excited to have not just Buzz, but this loving and supportive family on the extended team!

Welcome Buzz!

Grace,
Brian

The New Look!

Brian Aaby 2 Comments

Welcome to the new look for brianaaby.com! (still under construction over the weekend)

As I stated last week, I am a fan of change, therefore this may happen from time to time.  What does the new look mean?  Well, beside a makeover, it means some new content as well.  The categories will expand a little bit as I am planning on implementing a few new ones.  For instance, I am going to add a category for those of you serving in Youth Ministry.  Sort of a Student Ministry editorial piece of sorts.  One might see it as an opinion, whereas others may see it as a written advice section.

What stays?: Contests will still take place from time to time… in fact I’ll try to do a contest at least once every two weeks.  I’ll keep posting stuff about my family.  I’ll continue posting Youthmark related stuff, however, I’ll also do other Youthmark blogging here.

What goes?: Just the old picture.

What changes?: Top 5 Tuesday is going to be changed at least for the time-being to Top Three Thursday.

What’s been added?: I plan on adding some more links, the Student Ministry editorial and perhaps a few other categories. In addition, I’d like to enhance the “Faith Foundations” category by doing these more often. I feel we learn so much from one another when we share about the things we do to pursue Jesus.

That’s it for now… I hope you enjoy the new look!

Grace,

Brian

Fake Christianity?

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I just read one of our Youthmark blogs that really struck a nerve; one that a couple weeks ago was struck over and over again in Colorado when I was speaking at Ponderosa Camp.

Here is an awesome post about what God is doing through a number of folk in Petersburg, Alaska.

Did you go there and read it?

Some who are reading this may even feel that tug on your heart.  Have you trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

If you are a believer, do you understand that you are on mission as well?  Are you telling others about your relationships with Jesus?

Don’t stop with the E. Boulder blog, go to youthmark.com and click on missions and then mission team blogs, read them all, you’ll be so encouraged!

Grace,

Brian

1609

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I am so thankful for the faithfulness of family, friends and prayer partners of those who are serving on Youthmark Mission Ventures.

Just checked the analytics for the Youthmark.com blogs. Yesterday saw 1609 visitors to the mission blog pages!

If you have not gone there yet, I’d invite you to pick one (those posting this week will most likely have a red or orange dot next to them, indicating a recent post).  It is such a blast to read a blog from the beginning (which will take less than 10 minutes).

Click here to get to the Youthmark blogs.

Thanks for your prayers!  I cannot believe how faithful the Lord is in answering these requests.  Life changing, for real.

Grace,
Brian