Huberto and I spoke in chapel at the Mexican Baptist Theological Seminary yesterday. We spoke about our experience at the International Center for Youth Ministry in Louisville, Kentucky. Mostly, we talked about what is happening in the world of global youth ministry.
Bill Bright defines a movement as “the collective activity of committed, multiplying disciples as they band together and trust God for an impact greater than their own individual ministries.” After our time in Kentucky last week, we are even more aware of the fact that we are part of a global movement.
Youth Ministry International is involved in training youth workers in six countries, with nine centers for youth ministry currently operating. We are training youth workers that are having an impact on over 250,000 young people throughout the world.
We had the opportunity to spend time last week with people from 4 different countries, and the times with the three nationals who were there (shown in the picture above) were some of the greatest learning experiences I have had in my lifetime. I am humbled to be a part of this incredible ministry, and I am excited about what the future holds.
In Latin America alone, we have more than 50 students studying youth ministry in four seminaries, and we have plans to expand into new countries soon. It’s amazing to see what’s happening worldwide, and it’s great to play a part in a global movement in youth ministry.
Click here to download and view our powerpoint presentation from yesterday’s chapel service.
Tonight was the last total lunar eclipse until 2010. It was a little cloudy, but I could still see the eclipse in Mexico City from the roof of my house. I climbed up there and took some pictures and video. It’ll take some time to edit the video, but here are some pictures from tonight.
There is another lunar eclipse scheduled for August of this year as well as a solar eclipse. It was a huge day for astronomers. The space shuttle landed earlier in the day and then a total lunar eclipse as well as the shooting down of a satellite by the US Navy. What a day! Check out the rest of the pictures below.
Technorati Tags: eclipse; lunareclipse
Today was the first day of Youth Emphasis Week of 2008 for the Mexican Baptist Theological Seminary. Our Youth Emphasis Weeks so far are just chapel services. We have 3 chapels that we organize. Since I was gone so much, the students are organizing the YEW this week, and today was the first day.
They chose to talk about Global Youth Ministry. They are all fired up from the missions class they just took, so they talked a lot about youth ministry and the global focus of Youth Ministry International.
One story that was compelling to me as I sat there listening to them share about youth ministry and global need was the testimony of Oscar, a third year student in the youth ministry program.
In December, he had told me that he was very confused about his calling. You see, he has a passion for young people, but he feels called into missions. He wasn’t sure how those two could go together until he took the class on missions. He has developed into quite a leader in the last 6 months, and he is excited about the possibilities of being able to minister to young people in another culture. The class on missions was just what he needed at the exact time in his life as God is pointing him in a certain direction.
(Oscar is the one to the right in the photo.)
What better way to celebrate that we’re all back in Mexico than to spend some family time at the park? We tried out Nathan’s new Louisville slugger and learned how to slide down a fire pole.
Then we went to a favorite Mexican food place. Nathan got a taco (his favorite), Janell got enchiladas (her favorite), and I got a torta (with chorizo…one of my favorites).
Overall, we had a great day of family time. Tomorrow, it’s back to work.
