Youth Resources is interested in your opinion.
WORKING TOGETHER IN YOUTH WORK
Listed below are four questions. You can write whatever you want on the subject using at least 200+ words.
WORKING TOGETHER.
Please write a short essay on youth ministries working together. You may want to address questions such as:
- Why ministries don’t work together
- Why is it important or not important for groups to work together?
- Things that can be accomplished by working together
- Successes and/or failures of past cooperative experiences
- Or whatever you want on the subject
Entries are due by Tuesday, February 1, 2011
We will be giving away a gift certificate for this question. Each certificate will be worth at least $40.00 towards food, or gas, or coffee, or a paid registration to Reload
Youth Resources exists for the advancement of urban youth and organizations that serve them to reduce illiteracy, poverty, crime and fatherlessness.
1 comment:
Stephanie Kaihoi
WORKING TOGETHER…
In 2009, the Lord laid a special burden on my heart to bring together the high school girls and
female leaders of the Greater Twin Cities area. The purpose was to exhort these young women to
get right with the Lord and glorify the name of Jesus together. I knew there would be roadblocks,
but I also believed that this cause was worth fighting for. I hadn’t seen it happen: a day that
provided both biblical teaching for high school girls and Discipleship Training for female leaders;
and not just for a certain group or church, but for any young woman living in the Greater Twin
Cities area. Small town to the urban city, we sought to break down the walls of economic, social,
denomination barriers by providing an opportunity for all to come together in one room for One
audience.
If I had a penny for every time a church didn’t call back---I would be rich. I wasn’t shocked as
much saddened by the amount of churches that hung up or never returned my calls for the
opportunity to partner with other churches. The answer is not an easy one. There were multiple
reasons; here are just two of the many observations we made in trying to partner with other likeminded
ministries.
Today, churches/ministries are too overwhelmed and burdened by their own ministry to-dos and
schedules that they can’t seem to jump on a divine opportunity that comes across their radar. No
matter how great or life-changing it could be—they are simply too distracted to even consider.
We as ministries need to slow down. I have often found myself asking the Lord for great clarity
in what or how I should accomplish the next ministry task because I personally find myself
tempted by so many good things that I miss out on the greater. So, when an opportunity to
partner together with like-minded ministries arises, our initial response is: too much time, too
tired, too distracted to care.
Another, reason why our ministries don’t partner together is that we are selfish. I found several
ministries claiming that they couldn’t drive 20 minutes to our event-site simply because that was
too far. Even if I volunteered to find a driver for them they simply could not get over the measly
20 minutes. Instead of understanding the importance of the opportunity for the Body of Christ to
come together on something, they were too concentrated on the minute obstacles that first came
to mind. In order to partner with other ministries, we have to make the effort to look “not only to
our own interests, but also to the interests of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:4). The latter should always
trump the former. Bottom line is God desires unity for His Bride. In order to partner together,
each ministry will have to throw off the desire to demand what is convenient for them, in order to
benefit the greater good.
Although we hit many roadblocks in our way, God’s will prevailed. It always does, and always
will. Our efforts—no matter how exhausted they left us at times—to unite the Body and
breakdown barriers were not in vain. The result: God provided for over 50 scholarships to be
given to students coming from low-income housing. Churches/ministries drove from small town,
inner city, and suburban locations to gather as one. Students from private, public and home school
settings came to glorify Jesus Christ and were revived by His Word. As I scanned the audience
and saw so many different nationalities represented that day, I looked up and thought, “Lord, you
are in this place. We were meant to be one. I can’t wait for heaven.”
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