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?

Cultivating Missions in Youth Ministry: IDEA #2

- 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.

#2. PRAY COLLECTIVELY

“And he said to them, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” – Luke 10:2

Rumor has it, this prayer thing is supposedly the most powerful weapon in the realm of missions and/or everyday life (according to the Bible). Prayer must be foundational for your ministry. Therefore, if missions is at the core of everything you do, naturally you should pray about it & teach your students the necessity of doing the same.

With your small groups (Sunday School, Connect Groups, whatever you call them), assign each group one or two missionaries/contacts that you know, or country of interest. Also, check out Operation World and The Joshua Project and pray for specific countries and unreached people groups. Once a month (during your Sunday AM or Midweek PM service), update all of the students on the people they have been praying for. Then have each group exchange missionaries/contacts/countries. This way, everyone will know about each area of the world.

How do you challenge your students to pray for the nations? Are there any other resources out there you recommend?

Cultivating Missions in Youth Ministry: IDEA #1

- 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.

#1. TEACH IT!

“whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.” – 1 John 2:6

It all starts with you. As the old saying goes: what’s down in the well comes up in the bucket. If you’re burdened for those without Christ (as you should be) and passionate about reaching them (as you should be), the most logical way to communicate that to your students is to TEACH IT! Ask & answer all the main questions: what, why, when, where, how, and who. Start with the most common passages.

Explain to your students the true nature of Matthew 28:19-20. There are three main things worth pointing out here. First, it’s a mandate to everyone not a proposition to the minority. Second, the word “GO” in verse 19 in the Greek literally translates “as you go”, implying a habit that infiltrates even the most mundane aspects of life. Third, don’t forget the tripod: MAKE DISCIPLES, BAPTIZE, TEACH THEM TO OBEY. You leave one out, the Great Commission becomes the Great Omission.

Break down the Acts 1:8 strategy: Jerusalem (your town), Judea (your state/region), Samaria (your country/continent), and the rest of the world.

Show examples of God’s missional heart in the Old Testament as well: the call of Abraham in Genesis 12, Jonah, or any of the other prophets.

Explain the difference between missions as a program/event and a lifestyle.

Gosh, you may even be able to do a series on the subject of missions complete with a fancy logo, videos, and everything!

But be careful, if you’re only preaching out of a text book instead of the reality of a missional attitude hidden the depths of your heart, your students will see through your façade and completely disengage with the concept of missions.

What scripture passages or curriculum do you use to teach your students about missions?

Cultivating Missions in Youth Ministry: No Excuses

- by Ryan Hurlburt -

This is 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 will include a list of ten practical ideas to infuse missions into the daily life of your youth ministry.

But before we get to the action points, it’s important to ask two questions.

WHERE’S YOUR STARTING POINT?

Why should your youth ministry be passionate about missions? It’s Biblical!

“But,” you say, “we have a missions department at our church that handles all that stuff. Why should I spend extra time and resources when I could just point my students to them?”

No place in scripture will you see that the call of missions to be compartmentalized within the local church. It is to be the life-blood of a congregation; the underlying passion that drives every aspect of each member’s personal life, as well as every ministry within the church.

The goal of this series is not to enhance your current programs or add new ones. This is about the identity of your student ministry, volunteers, parents, and hopefully the rest of your church.

I’m not proposing you begin a movement in your congregation to dismantle the mission ministry or string up your missions pastor/director/committee; our Director of Administration is a former missions pastor. Just don’t let the folks in your missions department be the only people focused on missions; their role should be training and facilitating missions throughout the rest of the church. My point is, periodical involvement in a missions program is not enough.

As John Piper states in Let the Nations Be Glad!, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” GOING on mission is a means, not the final objective. GATHERING worshipers of the Father is the chief aim of the Church because it’s the utmost priority of our God.

If you instill a proper vision to your students of God’s desire for mankind – that every human being would lovingly and willingly respond to Him in worship (surrender, gratitude, reverence, praise, etc.) and entrust their soul’s salvation to Him alone – then they will have a proper understanding of missions. God desires His creation to worship Him, so the Church must LIVE the MISSION of bringing others to Him in worship together.

WHAT IS OUR MISSION (HOW DO WE GATHER WORSHIPERS)?

Enlightening others to the nature and character of God, informing them of the human condition (born dead in sin) and its consequences, explaining Christ as the only means to salvation, illustrating the new life birthed in you by the Holy Spirit, baptizing those who receive salvation, instilling in them the truths of God’s Word, teaching them how to study the scriptures, helping them discover their spiritual gifts, challenging them to spiritually reproduce themselves, and charging them to maintain a mindset of sacrifice and worship to the glory of their Creator and heavenly Father.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHT

The folks at Missions Launch (@MissionsLaunch) made a valid point on this subject. Worship is the ultimate goal and missions is the means. However, involvement in missions tends to inspire deeper and more affectual worship from participants. Call it the Spiritual Circle of Life, the reciprocal process naturally builds on itself. Proper understanding of God’s desire for worship leads to greater commitment to be on mission. Increased involvement in missions leads to greater worship of the Father. Deeper worship leads to greater impact…you get the picture.

Hmm…it’s almost like that’s the point?

A Simple Purpose

- by Ryan Hurlburt -

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking lately about the purpose of our ministry’s involvement in social media – Facebook, Twitter, and blogging in particular. I certainly don’t want the top priority to be self-promotion; too much of that can breed a perspective of superiority. We certainly do believe God’s hand is upon us and He desires to creatively use us to invest in the lives of youth. So instead of a dissertation on why we’re involved in these platforms, I came up with this simple statement…

We want to add value to the conversation. Not because we’ve got it all figured out. Every day God reveals a little more of Himself to us because his grace is overflowing. It’s those little daily insights that we want others to share in. When God reveals something to us, it is divine wisdom and of value.

Nothing profound, I know. But sometimes the most impactful concepts are not supposed to be complex. I look forward to learning more from Him and sharing it with you, and also hearing what He is teaching you.

“And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” – Isaiah 40:5

“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.” – Daniel 2:21-22

“At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” – Matthew 11:25

Help Haiti Now

There are scores of relief organizations raising awareness and money to assist the Haitian people in one of the darkest hours of their history. Many people have already contributed to the effort in some way or another. We would encourage you to not let your assistance be a one-time event.

As followers of Christ, the response to meet the tangible needs of the Haitian people should be immediate due to the compassion of Christ and burden of the Holy Spirit. They are destitute and desperate. Saving human lives is one of the most virtuous things one can do. However, we would implore you to consider one thing when deciding how to get involved in this ravaged Caribbean nation…

As believers, we must understand that we have a more supreme and urgent calling. Christians supplying food, water, and medical supplies is admirable, unless the end-goal of your contributions is to improve their quality of life and nothing more. Give water! Give food! Give medical help! Give money! But please do so in partnership with an organization or group of people that have the strategy, means, and burden to give them the gospel!

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” – Mark 8:36

We are to follow Christ’s example in caring for the needs of other, certainly. But his mission was not that of a philanthropist. He came to a world in need of a Savior. Has there ever been a greater time in Haiti’s history that afforded such an opportunity to reveal their greatest need of all – redemption?

Here is a handful of organizations we believe in and will vouch for their ability and passion to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of the Haitian people. Please consider partnering with one of these organizations.

SCORE INTERNATIONAL

• Based in the Dominican Republic, they are providing emergency supplies & leading groups into Haiti.

INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD

• Volunteer opportunities and distributing supplies.

COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL

• Supplying disaster relief kits and assisting orphans.

SAMARITAN’S PURSE

• Volunteer opportunities, distributing supplies, spreading awareness.

WORLD HELP

• Distributing emergency relief supplies, establishing medical centers, assisting newly-created orphans.

WORLD VISION

• Distributing emergency relief supplies, supplying medical equipment, assisting orphans & homeless.

Do you know of other Christ-centered relief agencies in Haiti that are meeting physical & spiritual needs? Post them in the comments and we’ll add them to the list!

Here we go!

-by Ryan Hurlburt-

Let me begin with a shout out to @ShaleLatter and @ben_stroup for the motivation to get started.

The last few months, our staff has discussed our ministry’s identity extensively. Not that we didn’t know who we are, what we hope to accomplish, or the principles & convictions we were founded upon. Just like going to the doctor for annual check-ups, it’s a healthy and wise to occasionally ask the questions “Why do we exist?”, “Where are we going?”, “How will we get there?” and so on. It helps to maintain focus, project vision, and motivate people. And most importantly, it keeps you true to yourself and your God-ordained mission.

I began thinking, if our ministry is to maintain a blog (and not let it die out in a few months), we have to ask the same questions of it. Does our blog serve a specific purpose? (It should!) Who are we targeting with our posts? What need(s) are we meeting? Do we have any established goals to accomplish? How do we expect our blog to grow – not just in number of followers, but in the quality of information and conversation?

Our goal is to inform and converse on the subjects of:

• EVANGELISM & DISCIPLESHIP
• MISSIONS
• YOUTH (understanding the culture and how to reach them)
• MUSIC (in the context of corporate worship & ministry)
• LIFE AS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

We look forward to hearing from you on these topics and pray that we add value to the conversation!

• EVANGELISM & DISCIPLESHIP