Youth Ministry International trains youth workers formally and informally around the world. We just finished a Master’s program in Mexico in June. Two new programs are starting the final months of this year in countries with huge potential, one program will finish in Africa next January, and a few other programs are likely to start in the next year or two.
Today, as I was thinking about the newest programs and reflecting on the time that I spent in Mexico training youth workers in the classroom, a passage in Philippians 4 jumped off the page of my Bible and really challenged me to pray specifically for practical application of the principles we work so hard to get into the minds of these youth pastors around the world.
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In case you’re wondering what we were doing in California for the last two weeks, we were at the biennial YMI Summit. One of my responsibilities in the office now is to do most of the logistics for the Summit…so I was really working during our time out there in northern California (I promise).
I wrote up a report on it for the YMI website.
Here’s an excerpt:
YMI missionaries from around the globe gathered at Lassen Pines Christian Camp near Redding, California, for six days of meeting, training, fellowship, and strategic planning. The biennial Summit was the fifth time in the history of Youth Ministry International that the worldwide team met for such a gathering. Past summits have taken place in California, South Dakota, France, and Athens.
One of the highlights of the Summit is hearing the reports from various regions in which YMI is working. Each missionary tells of what God has done during the past two years in their family and ministry and shares about their hopes for the next two years. This year there were reports from Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and Africa. We also heard from our Missionary Care representatives and the Adolescent Orphan Initiative directors. God is certainly doing wonderful things through the ministry of YMI around the world!
You can read more by clicking here.
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It was good to be back in Mexico! There were many reasons for my latest trip, but the main reason was to teach the final two courses of the Master’s in Youth Ministry at the Mexican Baptist Theological Seminary. I was accompanied by Chris Davis, the executive director of globalLead, and we taught two courses: Youth Ministry Training Application and Professional Orientation to Youth Ministry.
Since our vision is to “train trainers,” or to hand over training to nationals when we leave, we have developed the course “Youth Ministry Training Application” to give our graduating students a head start to train others both formally and informally.
Read more about my trip on the YMI Website.
John wrote, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth” (3 Jn 4). Every once in a while I get a glimpse of something great that one of my former students is doing, and it reminds me that all of the sweat, tears, and other struggles are worth it.
Claudia is currently a senior in the youth ministry program at the Mexican Baptist Theological Seminary. Not too long ago, she started a ministry with a few other seminary students that aims to reach out to young girls and help them as they journey through adolescence and young adulthood.
You can read more about her ministry in this article I wrote for the YMI newsletter.
For me, though, this ministry means a lot more than just what she and her team have accomplished. It means that somehow the culture we created at the Center for Youth Ministry at the Mexican Baptist Theological Seminary helped inspire her to do more than just the average ministry. She is striving for excellence in what she’s doing.
Her ministry (and the ministry of many other of my students and graduates) brings me great joy.
This post was originally published in our ministry newsletter. Click here to subscribe.
The above photo is a view of Havana from the statue of Jesus that overlooks the harbor. It’s a spectacular view, but it’s not the best thing about traveling to Cuba. The best part of visiting Cuba is not the gorgeous view of the harbor or the vintage cars or even the delicious coffee. The best part of visiting Cuba is visiting the friends and collaborators in the ministry.
I had the enormous privilege of visiting Cuba from February 13-19. I traveled with Jeremy White, executive pastor of Springdale Community Church here in Louisville, and the purpose of the trip was to visit the three Centers for Youth Ministry that are teaching YMI curriculum in their Seminaries across the island.
It was so much fun to see many of my former students, connect with them again, hear the stories of what God is doing in their lives and how He is using them to reach and disciple youth and their families. I want to take a few minutes to introduce you to some of them.
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I wrote an article for the Youth Ministry Website called “Why Global Youth Ministry?”
You can read it at this link.
If you haven’t signed up for the YMI e-newsletter yet, you can do so by clicking here.
