Compassion for the Lost

During my recent trip to Cuba, I conducted a research project about compassion for the lost in the lives of adolescents who participate in short-term mission trips. It was a quick study that yielded some interesting results.

One of the most important things that I learned in my research was this:

A mentor or pastor is important to help adolescents develop the compassion for the lost by helping them see people all around them who need to know Jesus. Compassion for the lost is not something that automatically happens in the lives of young people, but it can be influenced by the life of someone else and the prompting of a pastor or group of friends who will help them see what they are missing as they see others and interact with them.

When Jesus tells his disciples to pray for laborers (Matt 9:36), he is demonstrating his own compassion for the lost and helping them increase their compassion. Good mentors and youth pastors will help young people see the opportunities all around them, and their own compassion will deeply affect the adolescents to whom they are ministering.

Too often we overlook the fact that our job as pastors and mentors (and parents) is to help cultivate compassion for the lost in the lives of those around us.

As we walk and talk, teach and disciple, we need to include compassion for others in our conversations. We need to remind our children and our students that God loves the brokenhearted and is seeking to save the lost–and he wants to use us to introduce them to Him. Just putting them into a position to do something that is service or mission related is probably not enough. We need to use those experiences to launch into conversations that revolve around compassion and caring.

My hope is that as a parent I can have compassion for those around me and teach my children and others to see the world as God sees it–and to have compassion on it as He does.

The Domino Effect of Discipleship and Training

Sometimes I don’t think I understand the domino effect and how the discipleship and training process actually works. It amazes me how it happens when God takes something small and moves it into the hearts and lives of others to the point where they tell someone else who is then equipped to teach it to others.

The little seed that gets planted keeps spreading, and most of the time, we don’t have any idea how far it goes.

This is happening in Africa. We started a youth ministry training program in Nigeria last December. Even this program has an origin story that goes back far beyond December. But the point of this post is to tell you where the program in Nigeria is taking youth ministry training. The short answer is that I don’t know because the students are taking training to the nations.

I saw this on my student Samuel’s Facebook page yesterday:

When these leaders leave this training, they will eventually go back to their six countries and train others. They will train others in Benin, Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Uganda, and Nigeria. Their ministry will continue on and on, and while we try to keep track, it often goes to places we don’t know. It’s so exciting! I’m looking forward to see how God continues to move in Africa.

Alex and “The Protagonists”

I’ve been writing about my trip to Cuba since I went. It was an incredible experience, and I am still processing all of the stories from everyday. Here’s another story about an incredible guy I met–a story that speaks about 2 Timothy 2:2 in a powerful way.

I had the opportunity to meet Alex, the youth pastor of a church in a neighborhood that is very spiritually needy. Giancarlos, my former student, told me about how this area was a very spiritually dark place and that Alex’s ministry was vital to reach the youth there.

Alex uses sports ministry to draw the interest of young people in the area. Each week they meet together to play soccer, and the students in his church youth group invite their unbelieving friends to play with them, giving them an opportunity to build relationships with those who do not go to church.

This group usually has to borrow a soccer ball from someone in order to play, and a local school lends them the field to play on. When we were there, about 8-10 of the guys who were playing with our group were from Alex’s group. Their faces lit up when we gave them two soccer balls and a pump, and they now have more opportunities to reach their friends for Christ using sports.
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Indirect Influence: What You May Not Know about Your Leadership

At the end of my trip to Cuba I was approached by a guy at church who was so excited to see me. I couldn’t remember having met him before, but he definitely knew who I was and came up to me with a big smile on his face.

He said, “You came here eight years ago and spoke at a youth ministry training conference. You were here for a Seminary graduation and spoke about the heart of a youth leader at an event that same week. I was in the crowd and heard your message. Encouraged by you, I studied youth ministry at the Seminary.”

Dencil Robinson is now the youth pastor at the Third Baptist Church of Santiago. He studied at the Seminary under professors that were trained by Youth Ministry International (my students), and now his ministry is reaching and discipling young people in one of the most important cities in Eastern Cuba.

What a privilege to play a small part in the formation of this youth leader!

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