Today I had a great meeting with Juan Carlos, a pastor in Honduras.
We talked about the need for youth leadership training in this country. We talked about the system of theological education here. We talked about what his church is doing in youth ministry, and we talked about some possible opportunities for the future. Tomorrow, I’m meeting with him again and with the pastor who is a leader in the regional association.
One thing is for sure. It’s hot in Honduras. It was really hot here today, but I had a great day. I feel like I got a lot accomplished. It’s been a fun trip so far. As a bonus, I got to eat at Wendy’s for lunch, which we don’t have in Mexico.
So, I’m having fun with a good friend of mine, getting work done, and eating good food. Not bad for a short trip.
The last few days, I’ve been working pretty hard on a new design for our Spanish youth ministry website, ministeriojuvenil.com.
I haven’t dedicated as much time to it as I would like, but it is a part of our ministry that has an impact all over the world. For example:
- People from 28 different countries visited the site last month.
- 21 of those countries are in Latin America (that makes sense, it’s a Spanish website)
- The average visitor visits more than 3 pages when they visit, meaning they are reading more than just the home page. They are getting into the articles.
- The social network for youth workers has 67 members signed up, creating a space for youth workers to interact with each other and support each other.
I’m looking forward to seeing this part of the ministry grow as our ministry grows. Keep praying for us as we train youth workers in Latin America.
I’ve been working a lot on a new look for our Spanish website (ministeriojuvenil.com), and I could really use help with content.
If you would like to contribute to training youth workers in Latin America, and you have experience in youth ministry, I’d love for you to write an article on youth ministry for the site. I’ll have it translated, we’ll post it, and we’ll even include a link to your blog or website.
If you’re interested, please leave a comment here, and I’ll get back to you. Of course, I reserve the right to decide what content gets put on the site.
This is an opportunity for you to be a global youth worker. Don’t miss out!
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.
Series: Global Youth Ministry
This post is part of a series on Global Youth Ministry. Be sure to check out part 1 – Why Global Youth Ministry is Important.
Before you talk about a subject, you should define terms so that everyone is on the same page. When I’m talking about global youth ministry, I have a concept in my mind, and I’m sure not everyone thinks as crazy as I do, so I wanted to define some terms for you, at least in my mind, when it comes to global youth ministry and global youth workers.
Global Youth Ministry – Ministry to young people throughout the world. I’m not talking about a U.S. based youth group going on a mission trip, while that can contribute to international youth ministry. I’m talking about the 97% of youth population that lives outside of the United States and deserves the same opportunity for care and ministry that the students in your local high school deserve.
Global Youth Worker – A youth worker who is aware of the need to minister to young people all over the world and is doing their best to actively participate in ministry to young people regardless of their nationality or geographical location. This youth worker sees beyond his own youth group and dreams about personally impacting students throughout the world.
There are reports that 87% of the 3.6 billion people who live in Asia do not personally know a Christian (link). One out of every four young people on the planet live in China. There is a great need for international youth ministry. The youth pastors I know are doing a great job of ministering to their students. I just want to see the same opportunity for young people worldwide.
How would you define global youth ministry or a global youth worker?
