gospel - youthHOPE

The Book of the Skaters

May 14, 2012 by Kyle Leave a Comment

Habacuc went to the skate park Monday night like he normally does. While he's there he looks for opportunities to connect with skaters in meaningful ways. He told me he's got three questions in mind when he approaches one of the youth: How are you doing? How is your family? and How is your skating going? He's found that by engaging the youth at a personal level, doors sometime open for more questions...like on Monday night. Habacuc wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, taking photos and seeking out some skaters to encourage and chat with. It was when his camera bag was left open by his side that he saw a kid take a peep at what was inside. Haby had chatted with the guy before. His team had been praying for him. They knew that he was doing some bad things, mostly drug related. The skater reached down and pulled the book out. "What's this?" he asked. "Is this the Book of the Skaters?" Habacuc's bible was …
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Filed Under: General, Global Youth Worker Stories Tagged With: adolescence, bible, Chile, community, culture, gospel, partners, relationships, skateboarding, Urban Action

What would your teenager do for an iPad?

May 11, 2012 by Aaron Leave a Comment

Last month, I finally broke down and bought an iPad (refurbished iPad 2 for $349!!) as prices dropped with the release of the new model. I am really anal retentive about my electronics and have to make sure I need them and that they are going to serve the purpose that I expect from them. I know I probably should chill out, but that’s what happens when you have high expectations and not that much money. As I was doing research about the iPad and whether or not I could travel solo with it, I ran across some crazy news. 1. A 17 year old named Wang sold his kidney to buy the new iPad and the iPhone 4s that came out earlier this year. Five people were arrested including the doctor and “organ broker”. The youth received $3500 for the kidney, which was sold for $35,000. …
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Filed Under: General, Newsworthy Tagged With: adolescence, culture, current events, global needs, gospel, parents, poverty, relationships, youth ministry

10 Marks of a Successful Youth Ministry

April 27, 2012 by Justin Leave a Comment

I recently spent the weekend at Impact Student Ministries of First Baptist Church of Vandalia, OH. I had the honor of being their guest speaker for a DiscipleNOW weekend they call “Morphis.” Dale and Christa Puckett have led the youth there for 3 years and what I saw in my time with them was nothing short of fascinating. Psalm 115:1 “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your Name be the glory, for Your mercy (love) and Your truth (faithfulness).” Success in youth ministry is not quantified by numbers, but rather by fruit. A youth ministry will not bear fruit unless it is Jesus centered. This is not an exhaustive list. However, here are 10 marks of a successful youth ministry, as evidenced by what I saw at FBCV: A team mindset – the small group leaders at Impact serve joyfully. They know they are part of the team. Dale & Christa do not micromanage them, they trust that they will minister well to …
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Filed Under: General, Gospel, YM Advice Tagged With: adolescence, church, conferences, gospel, grace, leadership development, making disciples, missional, parents, preaching, relationships, service, team, worship, youth group, youth ministry

What is God calling me to?

April 23, 2012 by Kyle 1 Comment

This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls..." Jeremiah 6:16a (NIV) Many people who partner with us say they've found us on the web. Often times they're searching, looking for answers. We created an opportunities database to help people hone in on potential ministry opportunities. This is for people who have a desire to serve in a specific place or in a certain way. Sometimes, however, I think people come to us with a wide open perspective. They're not sure what to do, or more importantly, what they're being called to. I know that most believers, especially young people who've not yet chosen a career path, wrestle with God's call on their lives. And rightly so! I think we sometimes think God has this wild and amazing dream for us that we're certain we don't want to miss out on. People ask …
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Filed Under: General Tagged With: Christ, church, culture, gospel, missiology, mission work, opportunities, prayer

Church… ZZZZZZ????

March 16, 2012 by B Sue Leave a Comment

A recent update from one of our global youth workers in Chile: How discouraging is it to invite someone new to a church service and they are bored to death by an hour long sermon and never want to come back? We love the church and know how vital it is to be part of a local church. So what can we do? Habacuc, Liz, and I discussed this topic on the balcony for hours - a bit depressed. We wondered why anybody comes at all if dry sermons are the main problem. There are definitely times when we don't want to go for that reason. But the sermons can't be what's most important about church, right? You can listen to the best preachers in the world online anytime if you want. No, what's important is relationships! Our conversation began to take a turn for the positive. A fair number of young people in their late twenties and thirties never leave the church. They know that things should be different, but most of them have …
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Filed Under: General, Global Youth Worker Stories Tagged With: church, global youth, global youth ministry, global youth worker, gospel, partners, relationships

Awareness by itself is inadequate

March 7, 2012 by B Sue Leave a Comment

What stereotypes do you have toward a prostitute or someone who is a victim of sex-trafficking? In the United States the average age of entry into prostitution is 13, globally it’s 12. They are youth. Nearly 100% of all people who will later be trapped in sexual slavery have a past ridden with abuse and neglect. Poverty, incest, abuse, and abandonment leave youth vulnerable to traffickers who lure them with opportunities at love, a job, and protection. In fact, if we rescued every victim today, we'd wake up to a demand for 100+ million new slaves tomorrow. The issue of sex-trafficking hits a little closer to home than we would like. Sex-trafficking thrives off of pornography and broken families, making women a commodity and leaving men and women with a broken view of God and his bride the church. Sin is just like any disease, we must have both treatment and preventative measures. We need to have an impact at every level, the …
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Filed Under: Global Needs, Gospel Tagged With: adolescence, culture, global needs, gospel, leadership development, relationships, sex trafficking, youth, youth ministry

Florida, Bulgaria, and to the Ends of the Earth

March 5, 2012 by B Sue Leave a Comment

What to say about the Key West Bike Ride? From our global youth workers Gabe and Melissa Hillman. It was a blessing, an encouragement, an ordained event. But the ride went beyond those things. It moved our ministry one step ahead in transforming lives of youth for God’s kingdom. It connected the hearts of real people to the needs and lives of teens here in Bulgaria. The riders prayed for us, labored for us, sacrificed for us and persevered all on our behalf and to God’s glory. We prayed for the riders while they prayed for us, and we felt a part of their experience too. Now that the ride is over, we’ve been able to hear testimonies of how God blessed, protected, and grew the riders. It is a testimony to God’s vastness. He spans across the oceans, around the world. He can move in the lives of 12 individuals in the U.S. and use it to make disciples in Eastern Europe. With the money raised we will be buying …
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Filed Under: Global Youth Worker Stories, Outreach Tagged With: Bulgaria, current events, encouragment, global youth ministry, global youth worker, gospel, kingdom stories, pray, relationships, support raising

Rap, tats and slang

February 27, 2012 by Justin Leave a Comment

I came across an Associated Press article written a few months ago, entitled "US military legacy rubs off on Iraqi youth." The article highlights how 8,000,000 "Iraqis - a quarter of the population - have been born since the US led invasion of 2003 and nearly half the country is under the age of 19." In 2010, the population of Iraq was 32 million people. That means that there are 16 million under the age of 19. It would stand to reason that half of these are likely teenagers. Roughly 8 million youth in a country that is predominantly Muslim. 96.85% according to the most recent Operation World text. While the US military spent the past 8 years fighting for apparent freedom, the negative influence on youth was "hip-hop styles, tough-guy mannerisms, and slangy English patter." That means that they have heard of Eminem and 50 Cent, seen the Twilight movies, but have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This reminds me of …
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Filed Under: Global Needs, Gospel Tagged With: adolescence, Christ, church, education, global needs, gospel, iraq, relationships, youth

You road 300 miles…. on a bike???

February 15, 2012 by B Sue Leave a Comment

Say what?! Really?!!! Why? This question has been at the hot topic of my conversations lately. For our 12 riders , the 300 miles the Lord set before us was anything but 'a ride in the park'. Last week we faced the entire gamut of trials over the 5 day course to Key West from Fort Myers. Rain. Flat tires. Gusts of Wind. However, in the midst of these trials there was great fellowship and we can rest assured that God's name was made great and youth will be reached in the name of Christ through what we endured for only a short time. People will ask why! When you call Jesus your Lord, your life WILL look different. I praise God that I can answer these questions posed by others with joy of knowing our team rode to "let [the Father's] kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) After cycling To the Ends of the Earth next to my brothers (and sister) in Christ, I can say that I now understand better what it …
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Filed Under: General, Outreach Tagged With: bearing fruit, Bulgaria, community, global youth worker, gospel, relationships, support raising, unity, youth

The secularization of America continues…

January 30, 2012 by Justin Leave a Comment

I love meeting new people and spending time with the elderly. They are never short on stories of "the way things once were." My former pastor, Gary Buchman, used to tell me stories about reciting the 23rd Psalm in public school every morning. Prayer in schools in America was common for decades and wasn't just something that the religious right endorsed. It's been 12 years since I surrendered my life to Jesus as a teenager. I was 17 when God gave me "eyes to see and ears to hear." Over time I began to develop a Christian worldview and have seen the secularization of America increase ever since. From businesses requiring their employees to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," to the countless debates and attempts by the ACLU to remove the 10 commandments from courthouses, surely "because lawlessness abounds, the love of many [has] grown cold." (Matthew 24:12) Recently I came across this article on msnbc …
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Filed Under: General, Gospel Tagged With: Christ, current events, gospel, prayer, youth, youth ministry

Urban Action- Shaking too much dust?

January 25, 2012 by B Sue Leave a Comment

At YouthHOPE one of our 4 core values focuses on relationships. We work in community and through communities to build partnerships of shared learning, trust and responsibility. Our partners at Urban Action have a unique opportunity to share Christ by building relationships through skate ministry in Chile. Here is a recent blog post about what God has been teaching them through their relationships with the skate boarding community: Click here to read more blogs by Urban Action. "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town." - Matthew 10:14 Have you ever heard someone quote this passage in a conversation about sharing faith in Jesus? So, if I give somebody a tract, or tell them the 4 Spiritual laws, or explain the Roman Roads, or just tell them I go to church and they don’t immediately decide to follow Christ - I’m done, right? I’m pretty sure …
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Filed Under: General, Global Youth Worker Stories Tagged With: Chile, community, core values, disciples, global youth, global youth ministry, global youth worker, gospel, holistic needs, Jesus, partners, relationships, youth, youth ministry

Idolatry sells

September 13, 2011 by Justin 1 Comment

Idolatry comes in many forms. The worship of nature is idolatry. There's hero worship. Then, there's the worship of created things. The New Testament includes coveting in idolatry also (Matt. 6:24). Recently, a South Carolina teen brought my attention to a new TV commercial put out by Scion - a car brand backed by Toyota. He posted on facebook, " After seeing the new Scion commercial, I know now never to buy one." Of course this sparked my attention. The ad in question features a caricature of the false god, Zeus. He opens with, "They call me Zeus because I'm the God of the gods. You know what else I'm the god of? Awesome." The Scion vehicle is a low-end automobile - marketed specifically toward youth. Scions are known for bright colors, loud stereos and tricked out features. Scion bills Zeus as the "creator of the High Voltage Scion tC." Some will view this commercial and shrug it off. Some will …
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Filed Under: Gospel, Newsworthy Tagged With: gospel, youth ministry

Ramadan

August 14, 2011 by Justin Leave a Comment

An intentional 30 days of prayer for over 1 billion Muslims around the world has begun. How should the Christian respond? Last night, I took my 3 daughters to our local library and my eyes were captivated by an Islamic children’s book, proudly displayed, most likely with the onset of Ramadan. The author describes a young girl going to her grandmother’s house and hearing the nearby mosque announcing “It’s time to pray, come and pray,” 5x a day. The story tracks the girl’s time with her grandma, her interest in praying, and culminates with her receiving her own special prayer clothes, prayer rug and miniature mosque figure because there is not one nearby her house. The figure is a clock that goes off and reminds her to pray and the modern Muslim prayer rugs have a compass which points the Muslim toward Mecca. This might seem like a nice story but the truth is: This. Is. Bondage. The word “islam” means, …
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Filed Under: Featured, Gospel Tagged With: Christ, gospel, prayer, unreached

Rethinking Missions While Support Raising

July 18, 2011 by Justin 2 Comments

The other night, my wife Karena and I went to the home of a dear friend of ours, Ms. Elisabeth. She grew up in Germany and has been widowed for several years now. As we spent several hours sharing about our story and vision, and asking for support, we learned a valuable lesson. During the time that we resigned from being local-church youth ministers, and just before God led us to work with YouthHOPE, we applied at several mission organizations. One was: Samaritan’s Purse. They are an International Christian relief and evangelism organization which provides spiritual and physical aid to victims of war, poverty, natural disaster, and disease. Most people, who have heard of SP, are familiar with their successful shoebox ministry: “Operation Christmas Child.” Not only was Ms. Elizabeth familiar with it, she was actually 5 years old when she received a shoebox at Christmas time. Her brother got a box as well. For …
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Filed Under: Gospel Tagged With: gospel, missiology, support raising

The Gospel Manages Our Anger

April 25, 2011 by Justin Leave a Comment

One of the most recognized names in Christian hip-hop is an artist named, Lecrae (www.reachrecords.com). If you listen to his music, you will hear theology-laced rhymes over top of some of the best beats around (DJ Official). In his song, “Anger Management,” the rapper proclaims: "The Gospel manages our anger, ya feel me? The solution is to gain a heart that's thankful for grace in Jesus Christ!” This song and lyric are so timely in my life. The phrase stood out to me immediately. I thought of Jesus, who while on the cross prayed for His accusers: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Stephen, a later disciple of Jesus prayed a similar prayer as He was persecuted through stoning. In Acts 7, we read his words to God, “Do not charge them with this sin!” Wow. I found myself asking introspectively: Do I let the Gospel manage my anger? What does that even look like? Recently, 3 …
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Filed Under: Featured, Gospel Tagged With: gospel

The Book of the Skaters

What would your teenager do for an iPad?

10 Marks of a Successful Youth Ministry

What is God calling me to?

Church… ZZZZZZ????

Awareness by itself is inadequate

Florida, Bulgaria, and to the Ends of the Earth

Rap, tats and slang

You road 300 miles…. on a bike???

The secularization of America continues…

Urban Action- Shaking too much dust?

Idolatry sells

Ramadan

Rethinking Missions While Support Raising

The Gospel Manages Our Anger

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