Today was the last day of class at the seminary for this school year. I’ve got a flood of emotions inside. I’m excited, proud, reflective, a little sad, emotional, happy, and all kinds of other things that I can’t describe.
If all goes according to plan, and all of the work gets turned in, Huberto will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in youth ministry. He’ll be the first certified graduate in youth ministry in Latin America. In my opinion, he has definitely proven himself as a leader and great youth pastor.
I’ll write more about it later, but for now, I wanted to say how crazy it is that four years have gone by, and we are finally seeing some fruit from the labor.
A recent article in USA Today tells about Mexican youth subcultures and the troubles that have been happening between them lately.
“A spate of attacks by punks and other groups on the emos has thrown a spotlight on the rapid growth of these “urban tribes” of disaffected, tech-savvy teens and young adults.”
Emos, punks, goths, and other subcultures have all emerged in the last few years, and there is tension between them at times.
“The divisions among young people turned violent in March, when Internet posts and cellphone messages began appearing urging darks, punketos (punk rockers) and other groups to chase the emos from their hangout on the main plaza in the city of Querétaro.”
On March 7, hundreds of teens rushed the emos in the plaza, beating three of them. Television footage showed an emo pinned against a wall while the mob chanted, “He wants to cry! He wants to cry!” Police arrested 28 people.
A week later, riot police were called after punk rockers hurled bottles at a pro-emo protest at the Insurgentes Traffic Circle, an emo hangout in Mexico City. The tension subsided after a group of Hare Krishnas marched through the traffic circle, apparently unaware of what was going on.
I believe these subcultures will continue to grow in the future, and if the church continues doing what it is doing, we will never even think about the needs of these various groups.
Unfortunately, these different subcultures are not even being taken into consideration by the majority of the church. I am praying that God will raise up a generation of youth workers who have the passion and knowledge to be able to reach out to these young people. I hope I get to be a part of the generation of leaders who makes a difference in the lives of these young people.
Yesterday in my Professional Orientation to youth ministry class, we talked about contacting students in ministry. We talked about many different ways to contact people, and in class, I asked on twitter for some suggestions on how to contact students during the week.
Of course, the popular way to contact students in the United States right now is on Facebook. I received replies from both Tony and Sara that told me to suggest creating Facebook groups to keep in touch with students. Right now, Facebook has not really caught on in Mexico.
However, Huberto showed me a social network that is taking off in Mexico. It’s called Hi5, and it’s really pretty much like all the other social networking sites that are out there right now. Hi5 is the 3rd largest social networking site in Latin America and has more users than MySpace or Facebook.
It looks a lot like MySpace, in my opinion. Huberto says he uses it to stay in touch with the students in his ministry, and he was worried about the dangers that there are with his students using these sites and putting too much information online, etc.
I thought that this whole conversation was good because it’s interesting to see how different countries’ use of social media evolves. I started a Spanish social network on ning.com for youth workers, which led the youth pastor from our church to create one for the youth ministry at our church.
Social networking is getting more popular in Mexico, and it will definitely be a way to communicate with young people in the future. Right now, it’s cutting edge. I wonder what new thing will be out in the USA when it finally becomes mainstream here?
In January, I taught a class on camps and retreats in the Master’s in Youth Ministry program that YMI is directing. Their post-class assignment was to actually plan a camp. They worked out their schedules to put together two camps. One is happening this weekend, and the other happened a few weeks ago.
The focus of the camp a few weeks ago was to train youth leaders using the Jesus Focused Youth Ministry curriculum from Reach-Out. It seems that the camp went very well.
Here’s a visual report that they sent me, with some descriptions of the photos. Click a picture to read the title and description.
By the way, this isn’t a youth camp in Mexico. It’s in another country. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch the slideshow and read the descriptions. You’ll get the idea.
We were talking in class on Tuesday about The Law of Expectation in the book “The Seven Laws of the Learner.” Basically, the Law of Expectations says that the teacher should adjust their expectations and expect the best from their students.
After telling them my expectations for them, I decided to ask them what their expectations were from me. Here’s what they told me:
That I don’t give up.
That I be their friend/mentor more than just a professor.
That I work to have the best Center for Youth Ministry that we can have.
That I continue to treat them as part of a team.
I’m sure they mentioned other things, but these were the ones that stood out the most to me. It told me a lot about what they think of me, and it encouraged me to continue working hard to do what God has called us to do.
I’m inspired by my students and excited about their potential to change the world. They are true ministers with the vision to see God impact the lives of young people. They have the capability to carry out the vision, too. I know that their ministries are going to be fruitful and have an impact now and in the future. They are crazy enough to change the world.
Twice a year, the seminary has a retreat that is obligatory for all students. In the past they have been very programmed, and, quite frankly, they tire me out. Going away for an all day adventure with the entire seminary sounds like lots of fun, but it’s always ended with me having a headache and being so worn out that I can’t be ready for the next day’s classes.
However, our retreat last week was fun and tiring, and I’ve decided that there are many benefits to these retreats on a personal level.
The Youth Ministry program is more visible.
My attendance is a good example for my students.
I can get to know the director and dean better.
I get to know more students who aren’t in my classes.
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