We’ve had a pretty crazy week. Brent Carl, the Vice President of Training Operations for Youth Ministry International visited this week to teach an intensive course to the youth ministry majors at the seminary. I’d tell you more about it, but I’ll let him (click here to go to his site).
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From left to right: Deborah, Josue, Kareni, Huberto (professor), Gerson, Victoria
Giancarlos Interview from Dennis on Vimeo.
Where do we go from here?
I’ve written about the opportunities for youth ministry training in Latin America before, and it seems like more and more people are becoming interested in youth ministry training.
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)
Seminary Freshman
From left to right: Deborah, Josue, Kareni, Huberto (professor), Gerson, Victoria
As I posted before (click here for earlier post), we have the largest freshman class of youth ministry students in the history of the program.
We worked really hard last year to promote the youth ministry program at the Mexican Baptist Theological Seminary by going to various conferences, camps, and youth events.
While five new students may not seem like many, it is a pretty good sized class considering that our seminary welcomed 13 new freshman this year (only 8 students weren’t youth ministry students).
I’m excited about this year. We now have 14 total students studying youth ministry in Mexico City. Please keep praying for us.
SERIES: Global Youth Ministry – Benefits of being a Global Youth Worker
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 and part 2 – What’s a Global Youth Worker?
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.
Opportunities in Latin America
You wouldn’t believe the amount of opportunities we have to minister in other parts of Latin America. God is opening doors and giving us new contacts everywhere we turn. It’s a great thing.
Today, we got word about more ministry opportunities, and Huberto, part of our team in Mexico, told me last week about all of the invitations our Center for Youth Ministry in Mexico is receiving to train youth workers throughout central Mexico.
We need wisdom to decide what God wants us to do in each of these situations. It’s a great situation to be in, but it’s also an important time for us to establish some guidelines as to how we will advance the work that we have been given.
We’re also always looking for new members of our team. If you’re a youth pastor and feel God calling you to train other youth workers or to missions, I’d love to talk with you about possibilities with Youth Ministry International.
(Thumbnail by alfon18 on flickr)
The Last Three Years – Video 1
Giancarlos Interview from Dennis on Vimeo.
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).
The Last Three Years – Part 2
In part 1 of this series, I talked about a little part of the graduation last week. It was the result of 3 long, hard years of work.
Today, I wanted to write about some of the results that we’ve seen because of the Master’s in Youth Ministry program that we completed (in part) last week. All of this is what is happening in youth ministry in the country of Cuba and beyond.
It’s just a small slice of what is happening, but I hope it gives you an idea of what this incredible team is doing.
What can you do with a Master’s degree in youth ministry?
- One student has seen his youth group triple in size since he started taking the courses in the program.
- One student says that the training from the program is the backbone of what they are doing in youth ministry for his entire denomination.
- One student has seen his youth group grow at a record pace, both in numbers and in depth.
- One student is using the principles he learned to begin a ministry to university students.
- One student feels that God wants him to be a full time youth pastor and plans to seek a youth ministry position as soon as he fulfills his obligations as a senior pastor.
What can you do as a youth ministry trainer?
- There is a Center for Youth Ministry in 3 different seminaries throughout the country. There’s another one that will be started in another seminary this year.
- There is talk about starting a program at another Bible institute in Pinar del Rio in the western part of the country.
- In the Eastern Baptist Convention, they have begun to train trainers. There are 22 students preparing to be professors of youth ministry.
- Many of the students have expressed interest in carrying the vision to other nations by training in other countries, using the same modular format that was used with them.
- One of the students has begun a “national network of youth workers,” uniting youth workers throughout the country.
There are many other things that have happened to all of us on a personal level. In the next part of this series, I hope to write about how I have changed as a result of being a part of this incredible journey.
Picture: The team on top of the seminary
