New Website!

We’ve recently launched, or rather revamped our website. Thanks to Allen Oliver @ o2designworks.com for all the work behind the scenes! To make the site much more user-friendly for our staff to edit and add pages, and to enhance user-experience, we’ve used WordPress software to design and edit almost everything you see. Because of the new features this provides us, we are now able to host our blog on our main site. This means we will no longer be posting or updating to this site, and eventually we’ll delete this site entirely.

So check out our new site and tell us what you think: what you like about it and what you’d like to see.

www.WingsGO.org

Cultivating Missions in Youth Ministry: Wrapping It Up

-by Ryan Hurlburt-

This has been a multi-part series for anyone involved in youth ministry, delineating not only how to get your students involved in missions activities, but embody a lifestyle of being on mission for Christ. The complete series includes a list of ten practical ideas to infuse missions into the daily life of your youth ministry.

All good things must come to an end…

And our first blog series is officially coming to a close. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the list and found some, if not all, of the ideas useful and/or thought-provoking. Here’s a quick look at each post in the series:

Preface: No Excuses (it all starts here)

1. Teach It!

2. Pray Collectively

3. Service Projects

4. Attend Campus Outreach Groups

5. Partner with other Youth Pastors/Leaders

6. Get a Map, Get a Clue

7. Missionary Guest Speaker

8. Sponsor a Child

9. Missions Food Fair

10. Take Them on a Mission Trip

Now what? It’s important to take a step back and look at the implications of what we’ve covered. As I mentioned in our very first post, this isn’t about adding another program to your list of activities. Your ultimate goal with your students should be to make disciples of Jesus Christ and instill (by example) a passion to be on His mission.

Hopefully you never got the impression that any one of these ideas was jotted down simply to fill a gap on our list. Every singe one was intentional; there are some key biblical concepts providing the foundation for each (some require more critical thinking than others).

If you study early Church History (particularly the pages in Acts), you will likely realize there are certain universal characteristics every body of believers should exude. More on this in a later post.

But for now, here are the basic principles (and how we trust our ideas correspond)…

Dedication to the study of God’s Word, for both theology and life-application.

• Ideas 1, 4, 5, 7

Gathering together (both formal and casual) to share life experiences.

• Ideas 2, 5, 7, 9

Prayer (corporate and private) to intercede for friends and strangers, to discern the leading of the Holy Spirit, and give praise & thanksgiving to a worthy Father for who He is and what He has done.

• Ideas 2, 6, 8

Meeting needs through selfless service and generous giving (with believers and the lost).

• Ideas 3, 5, 8, 10

Being a witness in your community by investing time & sharing the gospel.

• Ideas 3, 4, 5, 10

PLEASE…feel free to add any comments or content. We strive to generate conversation for the greater good of the body of Christ for His glory. You input is not only valuable to us, but the rest of the body.

Cultivating Missions in Youth Ministry: IDEA #10

- by Ryan Hurlburt -

This is a multi-part series for anyone involved in youth ministry delineating how to not only get your students involved in missions activities, but embody a lifestyle of being on mission for Christ. The complete series will include a list of ten practical ideas to infuse missions into the daily life of your youth ministry.

#10. TAKE THEM ON A MISSION TRIP

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” – Romans 10:14-15

In case you weren’t quite sure, the best way for students to experience missions is by actually taking a trip. Exposing your group to 3^rd world poverty and immersing them in another culture cannot not change their lives. And, going overseas really isn’t as dangerous as their parents will try to convince you. Stateside trips are great too – many people don’t fully understand the spiritual darkness/apathy in our country, or the levels of poverty in some areas. Stateside trips are widely disregarded, but are a must to model an Acts 1:8 strategy. Look for another post soon on the benefits of a short-term mission trip.

Shameless Plug: Facilitating mission trips for youth groups is exactly what we do – you should email us!

Where would you recommend taking students on a mission trip? What benefits have you seen come out of taking a trip? What obstacles did you have to overcome?

Cultivating Missions in Youth Ministry: IDEA #9

- by Ryan Hurlburt -

This is a multi-part series for anyone involved in youth ministry delineating how to not only get your students involved in missions activities, but embody a lifestyle of being on mission for Christ. The complete series will include a list of ten practical ideas to infuse missions into the daily life of your youth ministry.

#9. MISSIONS FOOD FAIR!

Honestly, I’m surprised this wasn’t the first item on my list since it deals with food! Can you tell I come from a Baptist background in the South?

Everyone knows the best way to get students pumped about something (and attend it), is by providing free food. Recruit volunteers/parents to cook foods from different cultures (this may be a cool thing to do with the whole congregation). You can assign specific countries/cultures/dishes, or have a list and let them sign up.

Encourage them to do their homework to make their dish as authentic as possible (don’t use Betty Crocker’s cookbook). And I promise you, Chinese take-out is nothing like real Mandarin food (Did you know fried eggrolls and most sauces we eat in Chinese restaurants are American-inspired?). Have each volunteer create a brief presentation about the country their dish came from, some demographics, its spiritual climate, and how to pray for the people there.

Be honest, would this go over well in your church? Do you have any similar ideas?

Cultivating Missions in Youth Ministry: IDEA #8

- by Ryan Hurlburt -

This is a multi-part series for anyone involved in youth ministry delineating how to not only get your students involved in missions activities, but embody a lifestyle of being on mission for Christ. The complete series will include a list of ten practical ideas to infuse missions into the daily life of your youth ministry.

#8. SPONSOR A CHILD

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27

Take one or two weeks to present a specific ministry that sponsors children, and at the end challenge them to make a commitment. From then on, take up an offering once a week to sponsor a child. Personally, we are big fans of Compassion International. If you have a steadily abundant flow of giving, announce to the students that you will now be able to sponsor multiple children (don’t use excess money to pad your budget – that’s deceitful). If, and hopefully when, you have students who are burdened to sponsor a child by themselves, honor that commitment! The first chance you get, give him/her the floor for 10 minutes to describe the child they’re sponsoring and their home country & culture. This will hopefully energize the rest of your students to come on board. Make sure to take time every so often to talk about the children the students are sponsoring, the parent organization, and why it’s important to give – otherwise your students will grow apathetic and stop their commitment.

If you’ve already done something similar, what pointers would you add? What other organizations do you support?

Cultivating Missions in Youth Ministry: IDEA #7

- by Ryan Hurlburt -

This is a multi-part series for anyone involved in youth ministry delineating how to not only get your students involved in missions activities, but embody a lifestyle of being on mission for Christ. The complete series will include a list of ten practical ideas to infuse missions into the daily life of your youth ministry.

#7. MISSIONARY GUEST SPEAKER (a.k.a. TAKE THE NIGHT OFF OFF)

“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” – Romans 15:5-7

You know that feeling you get every once-in-a-while, as much as you love your students, you wish someone else could take the mic this week? Why not build it in to your schedule? Bring in a missionary to share about their specific work, parent organization, and offer a challenge to your students. If you don’t know any missionaries, talk to the rest of your staff or your youth pastor buddies and find out if they know of any. You can get in touch with an international missionary on furlough, or there’s plenty of organizations based in the states that would love the opportunity to share about what they’re doing.

Shameless plug: We would love the opportunity to get in front of your kids and challenge them about making an impact for God’s kingdom (and tell them about our ministry), so email us!

What ministries/missionaries do a good job communicating to students, and which ones do students engage with the most?

Cultivating Missions in Youth Ministry: IDEA #6

- by Ryan Hurlburt -

This is a multi-part series for anyone involved in youth ministry delineating how to not only get your students involved in missions activities, but embody a lifestyle of being on mission for Christ. The complete series will include a list of ten practical ideas to infuse missions into the daily life of your youth ministry.

#6. GET A MAP, GET A CLUE

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.” – Psalm 67:1-2

You can buy a good sized wall map at Barnes & Noble or on Amazon for under $20. But please do the students and the creative world a favor, don’t create one yourself (especially out of construction paper) – that is, unless, you’re a super-talented graphics dude with sweet printing press connections.

As you build a list of ministry contacts all over the world, think about hanging a map in your youth room. Using a pin (or some other contraption), mark where these contacts are serving all across the globe. You can post “bubbles” of information next to each mark or create a key and post it right next to the map. Your students will visually see how God is at work all around the world.

What other ways would you use visual tools to display missions? Do you know of other quality resources?

Cultivating Missions in Youth Ministry: IDEA #5

- by Ryan Hurlburt -

This is a multi-part series for anyone involved in youth ministry delineating how to not only get your students involved in missions activities, but embody a lifestyle of being on mission for Christ. The complete series will include a list of ten practical ideas to infuse missions into the daily life of your youth ministry.

#5. PARTNER WITH OTHER YOUTH PASTORS/LEADERS

“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

Meet with other youth pastors & ministry leaders from your area to pray for, encourage, and challenge each other to reach students effectively for the gospel. Discuss the options of facilitating a large-scale outreach event for students to be involved in (maybe once a year). You can also encourage them to get involved in similar ongoing service projects, even let them “shadow” you on a few occasions. After all, we’re supposed to be working together to bring people to Christ.

Hopefully the rest of the leadership in your church won’t have any issues with this. If they do, gracefully tell them to read their Bibles and ask themselves the question we discussed in the first post of this series, “Where does it say that the body of Christ should always remain separated and compartmentalized?”

Now, hold the hate mail. I believe in the necessity and value of local church bodies. I am not proposing a merger. What I’m suggesting is that the Body of Christ (that is, the Church, with a capital “C”), make sure their surrounding community sees them working together toward a common goal. That can’t happen if you aren’t communicating across campus parking lots and property lines. If the leadership at your church insists on staying within your denomination, then work with it. Take small steps and show them how potent you can be when you combine forces with men & women of similar vision and passion – sorta like Captain Planet, only Jesus-centered.

Does your church already have partnerships like this? Can you reference any groups around the country that do this regularly and do it well?

Cultivating Missions in Youth Ministry: IDEA #4

- by Ryan Hurlburt -

This is a multi-part series for anyone involved in youth ministry delineating how to not only get your students involved in missions activities, but embody a lifestyle of being on mission for Christ. The complete series will include a list of ten practical ideas to infuse missions into the daily life of your youth ministry.

#4. ATTEND CAMPUS OUTREACH GROUPS

What would it look like if a couple was compelled by God to be a missionary to a people group in the Middle East? Would they send out invitations, emails, make phone calls, send Tweets, promote events on Facebook saying, “We’re here for you! We have what you need (although you may not know you need it)! Come see us. We live at 123 Main St. Anytown, USA.”? That sounds kinda…ineffective and lazy (to put it nicely). Why do we, in the local church, do the same?

Most public schools have Christian clubs. If any in your area don’t, you should probably be a catalyst in starting one (if the school denies it, have them check the United States Constitution – just don’t threaten anyone with a lawsuit please). FCA, FCS, First Priority, Legacy, YoungLife, and I’m sure I’m missing quite a few. Find out when they meet and make it a point to attend. You may not be able to hold the mic, but you’ll be in front of students, and any of your students there will want to show you off. Offer to help your students with any outreach events they have – design/print flyers, open up your home, park cars (not necessarily valet) or pass out water at school events, attend performances & games your students are in, and take any chance offered to speak to the students during their designated club time. You want to become an asset, something of great value, to the leadership in your local schools. Those campuses ARE YOUR MISSION FIELD!

What organizations/groups are on your nearby campuses? What other ways have you gotten involved? What unique opportunities can you take advantage of at private schools?

Cultivating Missions in Youth Ministry: IDEA #3

- by Ryan Hurlburt -

This is a multi-part series for anyone involved in youth ministry delineating how to not only get your students involved in missions activities, but embody a lifestyle of being on mission for Christ. The complete series will include a list of ten practical ideas to infuse missions into the daily life of your youth ministry.

#3. SERVICE PROJECTS

“Little children, let us no longer love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” – 1 John 3:18

You’ve preached on it, prayed about it, now what? I once heard a man say, “The tongue in your mouth and the tongue of your shoes should be headed down the same path. Meaning, put your money where your mouth is!

We’re big on modeling an Acts 1:8 strategy, and the first piece of the puzzle is Jerusalem – your home town. This is a great way to represent Christ and your church in your community. Host a free carwash, give food & clothes to the homeless, visit nursing homes, assist elderly and single moms with yard work & chores, anything that meets a need so you can build a relationship to share the gospel. And please, don’t make it a once-a-year event! Make it an integral part of your ministry. Have your small groups take ownership of a certain project they can be involved with on a regular basis, then have one student from each group report to the rest of the students every so often. The only thing more infectious than students seeing their youth leader serving the community, is seeing their friends motivated by their youth leader serving their community.

Share some examples/ideas of service projects for youth groups. Are there any local organizations you have effectively partnered with in the past?