This weekend Dennis took a trip to Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, to teach the day long seminary “El Gran Viaje.” This is the same conference that he taught in Veracruz earlier this month. It was a quick trip from Friday to Sunday, and he used all of his time there to talk about youth ministry.
On Friday evening, we invited the local church pastors to a meeting to talk about what is happening with the young people of the region. They talked about many issues, and it was a great time of talking about what the church can do to better minister to young people and their families. Many of these pastors came on Saturday to the training.
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I took a quick trip to Oaxaca this past weekend to teach the final class in the certificate program there. I left early Friday morning, taught that evening, all day on Saturday, quickly visited the zocalo (downtown square), and then came back to Mexico City.
I had a great time with the students there. We finished up their year long program and are planning to have a graduation ceremony something in August or September (after they turn in their final homework).
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We have an informal one day youth ministry training seminar called “El Gran Viaje.” We had been invited to teach it last week in Veracruz, Mexico, which is about 5 hours from Mexico City.
Since Veracruz is situated on the Gulf of Mexico, we decided to go as a family. Janell and Nathan and I had been there about 7 years ago, so it was time to go back.
We had a great turnout for the conference on Saturday in which I taught the Biblical philosophy of youth ministry that we use at Youth Ministry International. It was a great time of teaching and fellowship with youth leaders from all over the State of Veracruz.
The couple who invited us to Veracruz, Misael and Cindy, are feeling called to study youth ministry at the Seminary in Mexico City, so it was good to spend time with them and talk about what God is doing in their lives.
After the conference on Saturday, we used Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday for vacation. We visited the beach, the aquarium (which is the largest in Latin America), and the pool. The kids loved it. It’s really fun to get to minister and spend time together as a family.
This past weekend was PULSO, the National Youth Leaders’ Summit hosted by “Especialidades Juveniles”, the Spanish branch of Youth Specialties, an organization dedicated to training youth workers (similar to Youth Ministry International).
Since we have the same vision, I participate in the team that organizes the event. This year, like last year, my job was to organize the break out sessions. There were 28 “workshops” during the two days. My job was to think up titles and take care of the logistics of that part of the event. It went well.
I also taught a 2 hour course at the event about my new book “Corre para Ganar.” The book is about Running to win in youth ministry and talks about 5 disciplines that each youth leader can develop in order to reach the goal of youth ministry. It went well, and I had a great time teaching it.
One of my favorite parts of the Summit was seeing Kareny and Karyna, 2 of our graduates leading their own workshops. Kareny, who graduated last year, was teaching about leading your group to serve your community. As I listened to her share, I had to step out of the room because God was allowing me to see the realization of a dream.
We are in Mexico to train others so they can train others. I was almost moved to tears when I realized that seeing our graduates teach is exactly what He has planned from the beginning. I am so impressed with their ability to lead a youth ministry and communicate timeless truths to the next generation. Not only that, but God has placed within them the desire to see other youth pastors and leaders raised up to lead the next generation.
I am very proud of all of our graduates, and I am excited to see how God uses them in the future.
For the third straight year I will be participating in the National Youth Leaders’ Summit in Mexico City from May 17-18. It’s an honor to be able to help plan and then teach at one of the largest gatherings of youth leaders in the country.
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ReAcción, the book we published with four Bible study lessons for youth groups, has been downloaded more than 1000 times since July 2012. The other day, I received the following testimony from Kelly a youth leader in Guatemala:
“I am very happy to have found your youth ministry site, which I consider a special tool that allows us to continue in the ministry with young people. Thank you for the site.
I want to share a story from last Sunday in my church. I downloaded the book Reaccion, and I taught the first lesson last Sunday. When I finished teaching my class, I asked all the young people who was sure who Jesus was. Most of them responded that they were sure they knew Him, but there were some who responded, “no.” Right then I talked with them and invited them to receive Jesus, and one of the girls gave her heart to Christ. It was something very special, and I was so happy because of the decision she made. I will continue with the others so that they can all have an encounter with Jesus in their lives.
God is using the lesson series, and it brings us joy to be able to empower youth leaders to guide young people towards Jesus. Who knows how many other stories there are like this. Thank you for your support of our ministry.
We are working on publishing several other projects that will help youth leaders all over the world.
