Last January we started a Master’s in Youth Ministry degree program at the Seminary here. We had two visiting professors come and teach for two weeks. Last week, we had the next two classes in the series, and it went great.
The visiting professor is a pastor from Cuba that graduated from the MA there a few years ago. He is now studying a Doctorate at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. The goal of Youth Ministry International is to train trainers, and this is exactly the kind of ministry multiplication we are constantly seeking to develop as an organization.
I am convinced that national youth ministry professors will teach Biblical principles in their own culture much better than a visiting missionary. They know what it is like to be young people from families in their own context, and they know best how to minister to their young people and reach their communities.
It is always important to think about ways to multiply the ministry, since we cannot be everywhere at all times. There is something about empowering others to the work of the ministry that just works. Perhaps it is because it seems like a Biblical model of discipleship. I am very excited about what is happening in Mexico, especially with the 10 students we have studying their MA in youth ministry. They know that one day they will be the ones teaching (some of them already do). They are willing. They are getting the training they need, and they are working hard to become the best ministers they can be.
