Youth pastors have tons of things to do. Sometimes, when you look at your calendar, you think, “How could I possibly fit one more thing in here?” I remember that feeling. I just had it this morning.
But it doesn’t take much to be a global youth worker. Here are some practical things you can do to think globally as far as youth ministry is concerned.
Participate personally in missions (more than just with your group) – YMI is always looking for people who are interested in teaching courses in one of our seminary programs. You can contact us for more information.
Teach your students about missions.
Read biographies of missionaries and use them as examples in your teaching.
Keep up to date with current missionaries by reading their blogs. (Check out missionary-blogs.com for a list of missionary bloggers.
Take short term mission trips with your group. (Interested in coming to Mexico? Contact us.)
Learn about other cultures and expressions of Christianity.
Develop relationships with international missionaries and youth workers.
Give to missions – books, money, resources, etc.
Minister to international students in your area.
Donate your time and talents to missions. There are a lot of things you can do to help the cause of Christ overseas. Get on board with what you’re good at.
If you’re interested in training youth workers internationally, please contact me or leave a comment. Youth Ministry International is constantly looking for international trainers, and I’d love to talk to you more about the opportunities there are all over the world.
For a while now, we’ve been thinking about a way to expand the youth ministry training we do in Mexico. We already started one of the only Bachelor’s degrees in youth ministry in Latin America. But we know that it’s not enough to offer a bachelor’s degree in youth ministry.
Saturday was the first day of the long-awaited Diploma in youth ministry. We started with 6 students who are working in various churches. Each one of them told us how important it is to get training in youth ministry, and they are all very happy to have this informal type of training.
The purpose of the diploma program is obviously to provide practical training for youth workers as well as promote the other youth ministry programs at the Seminary.
We are praying that this Saturday morning course (9 months out of the year) will help many local church youth workers and spread throughout the country.
We’ll keep you up to date with this new program, which we think will grow and expand in the coming months.
Some say that apart from church planting efforts, Global youth ministry training should be the top priority in global missions. I believe it’s a ministry that every youth worker should personally be involved in.
Obviously, I believe strongly in the mission statement of Youth Ministry International, which is “To train national youth workers for existing local churches within the people groups of the world.”
Every youth worker in the United States should be involved somehow in the training of youth workers internationally. Here are some benefits of being a global youth worker:
Five Benefits of Being a Global Youth Worker
Personal obedience – everyone should be involved in world missions because God has commanded us to make disciples of all nations. Your participation in global youth ministry will strengthen your personal relationship with God.
An example for your students. If you expect your young people to have a heart for missions, they need to see that you have a heart for missions. Being a global youth worker will allow them to see your burden for the nations.
An example for your church. I always hope that my youth ministry can be an example to the church. If I am interested and involved in global missions, my students will be an example for the church through their support for global missions.
Fulfillment using your gifts in global ministry. You may not believe me when I say this, but you have something to offer. You can pray more specifically by getting to know other youth workers overseas. You can come for a week. You can mentor long-distance. You could even go long term to train others. There are too many opportunities, and there are many different ways you can use your gifts.
You can use your experience. Someone once told me that everything that happens to us is just part of the training for what God has for us in the future. You have experience and training that others do not, and this experience and training that you have had in your life should be put to use in the training of others.
If you’re interested in training youth workers internationally, please leave me a comment or contact me. Youth Ministry International is constantly looking for international trainers, and I’d love to talk to you more about the opportunities there are all over the world.
Giancarlos is one of the graduates from the Master’s program we just finished. He is the middle school pastor of his church, and his students are planting a church. He’s a good friend, and here are his thoughts about the Master’s program (Video).
I posted on our vlog (Mexico Movies) about El Mejunje, a place called Mejunje (translated = concoction) that I visited in Santa Clara, while I was there teaching two weeks ago.
I don’t want to duplicate the post, but you should check it out over there and watch the video of the band we saw playing there.
It was truly a cultural experience. If you’re at all interested in global youth ministry or global youth culture, you should click here to watch the video and read about El Mejunje.
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