The President has a point. But it’s not that young people don’t believe in anything. Many of them don’t believe in the things we wished they would believe in (especially institutions such as the government or the church).

In the following video, we interviewed some young people about what they believe about God and the church. I think you’ll find their responses interesting.

Young people, when they do believe in something, believe in it with all their hearts. We all remember the picture of the Chinese young person opposing the government and putting himself in the way of a row of tanks.

There are young (and old) people in Mexico who believe in the Virgin of Guadalupe enough to crawl on their knees towards her image so that their sins can be forgiven. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. They have a conviction that goes beyond what the church usually thinks they have.

Sure, apathy rules the day, but young people are capable of being passionate. I think it was one of the most interesting things about the recent election in the United States.

Young people drove the campaign of Barack Obama. They were his supporters from the beginning. They latched on to the tools he was using to drive his campaign. He was definitely targeting them, and their enthusiasm and passion helped him arrive at the White House. He is a young person’s President.

Young people can be passionate. It’s our job to help them become passionate about the correct things. We need to present them with a Jesus that is worth being passionate about. After all, he’s much more relevant than any political party or presidential candidate. He’s the real change we need.

So, this post begs the question…”How do you instill passion into your young people?”

(Thumbnail photo: BarackObama on flickr)

So, last night, we tried again. I’m not sure he liked the cereal or not. He was eating it. You be the judge.

Well, it didn’t help him sleep. Oh well. At least we got to use his new high chair.

See the video on Vimeo if you can’t see it here.

A recent study by the Secretary of Work and Social Provision revealed that one in eight (more than 1 million) children between the ages of 5 and 13 work and 2,500,000 teenagers must work to help support their families.

Of teenagers aged 14-17, sixty percent work, and of those who do work, almost half (47%) work at least 35 hours a week, causing the number of teens who don’t go to school because they work to be more than 1.4 million.

Article in La Jornada (Spanish)
(Via: Vivir Mexico)

(Photo by: Javier Valdez)

Even the President of Mexico realizes that young people need help. The interesting thing is that there are many people in the church (even in our Seminary) who think that youth ministry is a waste of time.

My students have to deal day in and day out with people telling them that they are wasting their time studying to minister to young people.

I tell them that there is a great need out there for people who really care about young people and who want to invest their lives influencing the next generation. It’s an ongoing struggle for them, but I know that they are committed to offering to these young people something to believe in.

It’s been a great week. I can’t wait to hear what my students say on Monday when they come back from their churches where they work. I know that they will be used this weekend as they offer hope to the hopeless generation here in Mexico.

(Photo of Mexican President and the President of San Salvador at a recent conference)

I just got another email from a graduate of ours who recently went to the Dominican Republic, and of course he talked about youth ministry training while he was there. He writes to me, saying, “The people in the Dominican Republic are very interested in taking the experience we had here to their country, and I think it would be a great place to invest in because they have very little ministry to young people. It’s almost zero.”

There are at least 4 countries on the horizon for us in Latin America. We need to know where to go. We need to know what to do. Things in Mexico are picking up. We have a certificate program planned to start in January, and we are working with our Seminary to start a Master’s program as well.

So, where do we go from here? That’s a good question. Please keep praying with us about these things. Pray for wisdom. Pray for resources (both human resources and financial resources).

These are exciting times.

(Photos by: oui c’est moi! on flickr)

The idea is to offer an informal youth ministry training for those who cannot study at the seminary full time. This program will meet on Saturday mornings for four hours starting January 10, 2009. We’ll have two locations - one at the Seminary and the other at a church in the south of the city.

The entire certificate program lasts for a year, with nine courses overall that each last a month. We’ll be taking June, July, and December off each year.

I’m praying for 30-40 students in the entire program, which will benefit many churches.

So, if you read this and know someone in Mexico City who would be interested, pass them the link with more information. If you don’t live in Mexico City or know anyone in Mexico City, pleas pray with me for this new way to train youth workers here.

It measured 94 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 60 feet tall.

Wow! Now that’s a fiesta!

(via: Make blog)

Years ago I was involved in a church plant in Calgary, I had a friend who loved ping pong (or table tennis - let’s not get caught up in semantics!). I like ping pong too, but this guy really loved it. He had the whole setup in his basement, and his house was often filled with the sounds of chops, flips and smashes (I’m trying to make it sound like I know something about table tennis. It’s not working, is it?).

When this guy joined our very new little group, ping pong came along with him. And it became one of the many answers to one of our biggest questions…

How can we reach people in our community?

Well, with ping pong, of course. Before long there was a mix of Christians and non-Christians down in his basement for some pretty serious tournaments.

I’m not sure where we got the idea that reaching the world only takes one kind of person. Maybe a somewhat dull preacher who can sing a little and sadly endure the inconveniences of wherever-they-are. This narrow vision of missions is going to kill the missionary effort. Can we bury the whole idea of cookie-cutter missionaries right now?

Let me ask you - do you think I would have reached the ping pong players of Calgary? Nope. Not too many people could have.

Here in Mexico, we have the same incredible variety of people that there are anywhere else in the world. And it’s going to take a wide variety of people - both Mexican and non-Mexican, to reach them.

I have a group of Christian friends here in Mexico City who are looking for ways to reach people, just like we were in Calgary. Right now we have keyboard classes for those who want to learn keyboard. English classes for those who want to learn English. Our two kids go to two different schools, and we meet people who are also parents. Those who can build things built furniture to give to unsuspecting families. All these things and many more do something important - they mix together people who have experienced God’s grace in Jesus, and those who haven’t.

You already know Dennis and Janell, and you know they’re training youth workers. But maybe you don’t know how incredibly versatile youth workers in Mexico need to be! It’s going to take more than one kind of person to reach them. I’m betting this new generation has a more varied set of interests than any generation before.

We talk a lot about methods of discipleship, mission strategies, and so on. But it still comes down to this, just like it always has.

Mixing together people that have experienced God’s grace in Jesus with those who haven’t. And sharing stories of that grace.

Do you work in construction? Come to Mexico! Share how you’ve seen God’s grace as you’ve worked with the worker here who thinks he has nothing to live for.

You’re retired? Come on down! You can reach the mature Mexican in a way that the younger missionary never can, because you’ve seen God’s grace in a way she never has.

An artist? Fantastic! Do we have ideas for you! But much too creative ones to write here.

You’re a doctor? We have lots of doctors here you could share ideas with. And show how God’s grace has transformed your life.

Computer tech? Come help us set up an internet cafe, that can mix together believers and not-yet-believers! Help non-techie missionaries with their computers.

You’re a student? Get together with other students, and just give your time. Speak English? Come teach and share grace with your smile and love.

Experience in youth ministry? Oooh boy - don’t wait, talk to Dennis today.

Come for a few years and build deep relationships. Come for a week or two, and you’ll be surprised how deep your relationships get! Help us put on an event. Or develop a long term strategy. Give us a shot of encouragement, or make a long term commitment to stand with us.

Us - all believers in Mexico, no matter what passport we have. There are a thousand things you can do. Jesus is working, and building His church. He may even do it with ping pong.

Just don’t ask me to lead the ping pong ministry.

Jim and Shari have been in Mexico since 2006, and are currently serving in south east Mexico City. Their blog is called Finding direction. Check it out!

My personal challenge is to take the videos with my iPhone using the Cycorder program available in Cydia. I get them onto my computer with a program called DiskAid and then upload them straight to Vimeo and Blip and also to our vlog (Mexico Movies).

You can watch everyone’s VloMo videos at MeFeedia. There’s a lot of great stuff being produced, so check it out.

I’ve embedded the video here for those who subscribe to the feed (usually, vids and pics don’t show up in my feed).

But, something else happened that day in Mexico City that impacts the future of this country’s politics.

A small plane crash landed in Mexico City Tuesday night. It was carrying Juan Camilo Mourino, the interior minister (like the Secretary of State) in Felipe Calderon’s government and one of the prospective candidates for the presidency in the next elections. He was also the person who used to be in charge of fighting drugs.

He was a good friend of the president, and his death has impacted all of Mexico and their government. It will be interesting to see what impact this has on Mexican politics. I know for sure he will be missed by the current president of this country.