I have a wonderful prayer support team!  Several months ago I was challenged to put together a fellowship who were committed to praying for the Aabys and Youthmark.  My hope is that this group will be able to gather three or four times a year and pray together (Youthmark Fellowship Gatherings).  We did one of these in August and I assume we’ll do another in November sometime.

With all that being said; you certainly get updated prayers here, but my email (which I hope to send out about once a month) will be more extensive and specific.  If you’d like to be part of this team, don’t hesitate to email me (brian@youthmark.com) and I’ll get you yesterdays email and put you on the list.  Some of you may have already requested to be on the list but didn’t receive one yesterday, please resend this, my apology.

Here is the prayer update section from yesterday’s email:

• Please pray specifically for God to overwhelm us with the right groups and the right number of groups.  I am asking for 36 teams (teams of about 12-18).
• Please pray specifically for the right towns to go to in the regions of: The Gulf Coast; Northern California; Central Idaho; British Columbia; Western Montana and Kauai, Hawaii.
• Please pray specifically for many contacts to email back in the next 3-5 days so I can set up times to meet with people in late September (giving them time to think, pray, act on the invite in October).
• Please pray specifically for Elisabeth (home school teacher/mommy for the first time), Halle (specifically for the right social opps), Audrey (in her new 4-y/o class), Will (continued growth, health, development) and me (keeping Jesus and my family as my priorities).
• I am asking God to show me how to better serve the Youth Workers.  This is an oft-ignored profession and volunteer vocation.  We want to be sacrificial with our own time, talent and treasure to help, encourage and bless the youth workers in this region!  Pray that He shows us great direction in how to do this!
• We pray for brokenness, humility and submission so we may do everything for His purpose. 

I am sitting down a for a brief break in the middle of a weekend camp at Warm Beach Camp and Conference Center.  This weekend I have had the honor of speaking to a combined group of Jr. and Sr. High students from North Creek Presbyterian Church (Mill Creek, WA).  What a fantastic group of teens.  It has been encouraging to see their receptive hearts.

The theme, An Inconvenient Truth, has been a fun one to build around.  We’re not looking at the carbon footprint we are leaving, we’re not even speaking about global warming, oil drilling or Al Gore!  We’re talking about the inconvenience of living out the Gospel.  Before I am condemned for saying such a thing, think about it, is the truth of Scripture easy to live out?  It’s not always convenient to share my faith, tame my tongue, love my neighbor, put others first, obey my parents, etc.  But I strive to be like my Lord, therefore this inconvenient truth is one that I desire to become more prevalent and more lived out in my life.

I have done two of my three talks, and tonight I am going to still do most of what I had planned, but am going to open it up a bit to have the students ask some of their “tough questions” about what is inconvenient about living out the truth in their life.  Pray that they are bold, pray that they are vulnerable and pray that the inconvenient questions reveal so REAL truth from His Word!

Grace,
Brian

A few years ago I was encouraged (and provided a scholarship) to attend a Jesus Focused Youth Ministry Forum.  This forum was hosted by Reach Out Youth Solutions, just outside Atlanta, GA.  Well, long story-short, three years later I have attended, helped lead a separate forum, been certified as a leader and this week, spoke at and was a leader for another forum.  While I really enjoyed the forum I thoroughly enjoyed all the “extras” that came with it this time.  Namely, the relationships.

Roger Palmer is the National Director the the JFYM forums.  Roger was my original small group leader at the forum I attended in Georgia.  At that forum and in the three or so I have been a part of since, we have grown in friendship and I am very thankful for his faithfulness to me (namely through prayer and encouragement). I was able to spend a solid four hours one-on-one with Roger on Wednesday of this week.  We had a “down day” in the middle of a busy week and he joined me in some of my network venturing.  This time with Roger was extremely rewarding to me.  I asked him questions about his ministry and family. He gave me some great insights and wisdom for my own marriage and family; it was truly a gleaning experience for me.

Barry St. Clair is the founder and president of Reach Out Youth Solutions.  Barry and I connected in GA as well.  However, in the last year, when God put it on my heart that I needed to be mentored, Barry was the name He gave me.  For the last 9 months I have been meeting (via phone) with Barry about once every couple months. He has given me many nuggets of wisdom.  However, this week was WAY different than those phone calls.  This was the personal foundation we needed.  Seeing him in his ministry setting and being able to immediately follow up and relate has been extremely rewarding.  On Wednesday morning I was able to bring Barry to my local network and he encouraged the five or six of us in attendance.  On top of that I was able to grab about an hour of one-on-one time with Barry talking about life and ministry.  I am thankful for his ability to speak into my life.

It was an extreme privilege to bring both Roger and Barry over to my house on Wednesday afternoon.  They got to spend about an hour with me and my family. I was so glad Elisabeth got to meet Barry and get better acquainted with Roger. Sharing life is so precious!

Great ministry friends like Chris Renzelman, Steve Bodwell, Tom Horton and Jess Champers were also involved in the leadership of JFYM this week; and having Brad Hostak, Eric Drumm and Jamie Jockwig (all friends) going through JFYM made it even more special.  I have much love and respect for each of these guys!

Grace,
Brian

Roger, Barry and me at the house

Yes, we are grown men.

Tomorrow and Friday I will be on the leadership team of a Jesus Focused Youth Ministry Forum.  This will be taking place at Highlands Community Church in Renton, but is for area youth leaders in the northwest region.  A few posts back I mentioned that I would have several speaking opportunities this week.  I failed to mention this one.  I will be speaking on “Building a Leadership Team.”  Please pray for me as I prepare for this message on top of the camp talks I am finishing the prep on today.  The “leadership team” is something I am passionate about and at times I felt I excelled at and at other times I felt I failed.  

Pray for the participants.  There are 7 sessions over a two day period, in addition to speaking I will have a small group of youth leaders as well.  Great opportunity to bless some fellow workers in the harvest field!  Appreciate your prayers!

Grace,
Brian

It had been a little over a month since I last had the opportunity to teach from the Word.   Just over a month ago I was able to preach at my old home-church of Boulevard Park (1 John). I’ve missed it, especially because even in the last three months of my tenure at BPPC I wasn’t really speaking at The Gathering (Sunday School) very much (giving others opportunity to grow in that ability) and my only opportunity was preaching once a month at church.  However, I am in the midst of a two week stretch now where I will be giving several messages.  

Yesterday (Sunday), I was able to speak at Highlands Community Church-Parent of Teens Classs.  What a fabulous class (about 80-100 I’d guess).  The group seemed hungry.  They are launching a series called Parent Fuel.  It is based on Barry St. Clair’s book with that title.  If you’d like to preview it click here.  It’s a great book.  However, today I was simply trying to lay a foundation of what I believe the Church (youth ministry)-parent relationship could/should look like.  Specifically we looked at Luke 2:41-52, and Jesus as a pre-teen.  I really appreciated the opportunity to speak to a great bunch of parents! 

This coming weekend I will be speaking at a camp for my friend Jimmy McPherson.  He is the Youth Pastor at North Creek Presbyterian Church.  I will be speaking to his combined Jr. High and Sr. High camp.  The theme for the weekend is “An Inconvenient Truth.”  Before you think Jimmy is asking me to preach a Green message, it isn’t about Gore’s book (or movie).  It is simply looking at the question, “what if we REALLY lived out the Gospel?”  Because our flesh (sin nature) is so evident in our lives, the Gospel sometimes (often) becomes inconvenient in our lives (and this is  BAD thing).  It would be easier (a lot) to just do what the flesh desires. Pray, that I don’t rely on my flesh even as I prepare these messages!  I’m looking forward to presenting God’s Word to a group of students and staff!  

I’d appreciate your prayers as I finish up the prep for these messages and look for opportunities to meet with other Youth Pastors to talk about Youthmark Mission Ventures in the midst of a very busy week.

Grace,
Brian

Growing up right next to the elementary school had its advantages and disadvantages.  I never got to ride the school bus (for some reason this felt like a disadvantage?), but I did get home in time to catch Tom and Jerry and other afternoon cartoons when they began at 3:00!  If I forgot something I could always run home and get it; but if a friend forgot something (like lunch) I, unfortunately was expected to run home and get one for them. My favorite advantage was being the first to see the “class list” the secretary would put up three to four days before school began!  

Two or three times per day my friends and I would check the front of the school to see if it was posted yet.  We would start the routine about five days before, just in case they put it up early. With each trip, the anticipation grew!  On average we would take four or five trips down before the list was posted, and probably another four trips down just to check it out again!

This week feels a little bit like yesteryear with my family and with Youthmark.  On Thursday, Audrey begins her four year-old preschool class.  She is very excited!  Next Monday, Elisabeth begins teaching Halle at Forest Trails Learning Center (or Aaby Family Academy?).  And on Wednesday, I will begin sharing with other youth pastors about a great opportunity to be part of Youthmark Mission Ventures!  This is the major project I have been working on for months.  I should be able to post more about it on Tuesday or Wednesday, but I am getting the final things worked out before it is released.  

Though I’m not on a bike, though I don’t live right next to the school; I do want to know who else is in my class?  Each of these youth leaders who will commit to being a part of YMV for 2009 will feel very much like a classmate.  One of the major elements of this program will be the networking and camaraderie among the youth leaders. I can’t wait for class to begin!

The anticipation is great and just like each year in elementary, the classmates all played a part in shaping how the year played out.  Would you please pray for me/us as we begin this journey?  I will share more about Youthmark Mission Ventures in the next few days, but your prayer base will help a lot!  Jump on the metaphorical bike with me, join me on the journey to see if the class list is up yet!

Grace,

Brian