Global Innovation - The Biblical Mandate That Comes With A Harvest

“Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”  (Matthew 9:38)

"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their words; that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in you; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17:20, 21)

Lists.  We use them all the time.  Every time I go to Costco I have a hand-scribed list from Marni.  I see others just like me in the grocery store… lists on paper, lists on phones, and calling in for a verbal list.  Everyone in the famous movie that was on Schindler’s “list” actually lived. It was a powerful list.

More than fifteen years ago, I challenged a campaigner group to pray for ten of their unsaved friends.  A mom called me and asked if I could come by while her son was in school. I came by and she marched me into her son’s bathroom and there on the mirror was a scrappy piece of paper list of ten kids names.  “What is this?” I told her that these were the kids her son was praying for… all were in 9th grade.  Today, everyone on that list knows Jesus and 4 of them are on Young Life staff.

We list out projects.  We list out prayers. We list out who can come to a gathering.  We have wedding lists. We have Christmas card lists. We are list people… and today, I want to challenge you to consider a new type of a list.  The “Discipleship List.”

The Discipleship List was an assignment that really stuck with me when I went through the official “Young Life Practicum I and II” sometime in the late 80’s. This list has two parts.  First, who are the kids that you are discipling? Second, what are you wanting them to learn, experience, and do while they are under your tutelage?

It starts with YOU knowing the kids that you are discipling.  (Discipling means teaching them to follow Jesus with their life, to love the word, prayer, to have fellowship, to be obedient, and to strive to follow the great commission.)  The famous quote, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” You want to have a plan for who you are discipling.

Again, it starts with a list.  Who has the Lord laid on your heart to “pour into.”  We call it so many things in Young Life. There are phrases you might use that I don’t:  my campaigners, small group, discipleship group, student leadership team, green beret campaigners, student leaders, etc.  I would say it is as simple as a list. Who are the kids that you are going to give it all to?  You are pouring your life into them – you are available to them always, and your life is an open book.  They know they are on your list, and you know they are on the list.

I remember going to a restaurant that was owned by long-time Young Life supporter Bob Farrell.  Sometimes when you went to his Stanford’s restaurant you would see a person following the waiter or waitress around the restaurant.  They literally just followed. At times, it even felt a little awkward. Well, it was actually a beautiful thing. They were “in training.”  Bob wanted them to see it all, the full scope of what it meant to take care of multiple tables, crunch time, mistake orders, etc. Who is following you around?  What are you wanting to make sure they see?

My first year of Young Life training my trainer Jeff said, “What do you want to make sure your sophomore followers of Christ leave with in two-years?”  Oh my, did this open up my mind of the possibilities! I wanted them to know so, so much. You could, and should, make some notes right now, on what you want your kids leaving within 6 months, in a year, in 2, or even 3 years.  (If you have a Wyldlife and a College ministry – you could have a 6-year plan.) What do you want to make sure they know about Jesus? About the Holy Spirit? About the Word? About scripture? About lifestyle evangelism? About service?  About how to “do Young Life?”

In Young Life, at least in this 5 for Friday, I would hope people would make a “list.”  Who is in your life? What list do you want to make sure they end up learning, experiencing, and doing?  

Here is a sample list to get your mind going – would love to have others add to this list by sending me an email:  escofield@sc.younglife.org

My brainstorming of what a list could look like of what to impart:

• Have an accountability relationship/partner

• Treat your body with respect – temple of the Spirit

• Be able to write down 50-75 high school/junior high students by name from memory

• Develop a plan for your disciples

• Practice Spiritual Disciplines:

  • Reading

  • Memorizing

  • Church

  • Prayer

  • Journaling

  • Solitude

  • Sabbath

• Be a “come with person” – bring people with you to club, church, run errands

• Memorize TMS

• Lead a Campaigner Group

• Give your testimony

• Go on Work Crew (Summer)

• Go on Work Crew (Weekend)

• Do a service project

• Have a quiet time for 30 straight days.

• Do the Thread Journal — and give one away

• Have a list of 10 non-believing friends

• Be a student leader for Monday Club

• Speak well of others

Written by Eric Scofield (escofield@sc.younglife.org)

Ministry In Unlikely Places: Serving The Refugee Population

We all have pictures in our mind of what Young Life camp looks like, right?  However, there are a few camps happening this summer that look a little different from what we typically picture in our minds.   Let’s take a look at two camps to see what I mean:  one you know and one you don’t know.

Let’s start with the one camp you probably don’t know: Nyarugusu. You don’t know it because it’s not a Young Life camp; it’s a refugee camp. Located in western Tanzania, between 139,000 and 400,000 refugees from DR Congo and Burundi live here in tents.  Some have been here for over 20 years and some have just arrived. Over half of these residents are under 18 years old.  They have fled warlords, rebel groups, tribal wars, genocides and food shortages.

One of these residents is a Young Life leader Pascal (name changed). He decided to follow Jesus at a Young Life camp in Congo and became a Young Life leader before he and his family were forced to flee insecurity caused by rebel groups. Pascal is recruiting leaders and working with our team in Tanzania to begin Young Life in Nyarugusu. We hope to bring kids from this camp to a very different kind of camp soon.

Now let's look at the camp you know: Timber Wolf Lake. Fast forward to July 3rd of this year. Picture 46 kids rolling off a bus at the welcome. Some are in headscarves, most laughing and speaking to each other in Arabic, a Burmese dialect or in Kiswahili. They are from Syria, Myanmar, Congo and half a dozen other places. All of them are from Southport High School in Indianapolis. Their leaders, Joe and Rachel Snyder, direct the area on the south side of Indianapolis where tens of thousands of these refugees have been placed. Many of them are part of the club at Southport High School. On July 3, 2018, they will experience a new type of camp...and Jesus' love for them.

• Across the world there are currently 22.5 million refugees and over 65 million people displaced internally in their own countries. More than half of these people are kids.

• Over 56% refugees live in sprawling tent camps in Africa and the Middle East.

• Over 3 million refugees live in the US.

There are hundreds of thousands of kids, most of whom have experienced trauma people in Western Europe or the US cannot imagine.  Most of these kids do not know, or may not have even heard of Jesus, and are being gathered in unprecedented numbers into our countries and neighborhoods. What an opportunity we have as a mission that cares for kids who are lost and looking for a place to belong!  

In YL Africa/ME we are committed to figuring out how to reach these kids. And people like Joe and Rachel are showing us all how to do it in our own cities. Ministry to widows, orphans, strangers and captives—this is real gospel ministry.  God has positioned Young Life perfectly to be His hand in the lives of these kids and God is literally dropping these kids from the worst and hardest places on the planet into our backyards. Wow! Join the leaders in Africa, the Middle East, the Snyders and others as we figure out how to love and reach these kids and their families.

Young Life Summer Camp Packing List

Ever wonder how you pack for a Young Life camp in Uzbekistan?

Author:  Gary Parsons

A YL Staff leader’s packing list can include anything from t-shirts to shaving cream to candy and costumes.  We asked Gary Parsons to give us a little insight into what goes into packing and preparing for camp over in ___________.  

Gary said...

“You load up the biggest bag you can carry of potatoes on your back and hike up four hours to the site where you will be hosting kids for a week of camp and then you repeat that hike five more times to get the rest of the food and supplies up there before the kids arrive. It’s a good time for prayer as you seek God for the hearts and lives of these kids and their families, communities and future of their country. You pray for the wars to stop, for Christian persecution to end and for clubs to be safe from government raids. That’s the Uzbek version of our 10 hour bus ride to camp.”  

The commitment is the same in neighborhoods all over America as it is across the world. Loving kids unconditionally wherever they are and whatever circumstance we find them in, doing everything we can to create an opportunity for them to hear the gospel and to know the love of the Father.

In Matthew 4:19-20 Jesus calls us to be fishers of people, “‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, 'and I will send you out to fish for people.' At once they left their nets and followed him.” Dale Bruner said it best when talking about this portion from Matthew, “Come be my students and I will turn you into fishers of people. Jesus furnishes his invitation with an exciting promise. It is the promise of catching persons and of being effective with people.” As leaders go off to camp this summer across the globe we must hold on to this central truth, that every day we must follow Jesus with all that we have and trust his life living in and through us to bring the gospel alive in the lives of kids we serve.

The calling is the same across the world whether it be in Uzbekistan, Nicaragua or Texas. What we pack in our bags physically may look very different, but what we pack spiritually is filled with the same life of the Holy Spirit and the same calling to be fishers of people. In John’s gospel chapter 15:16, Jesus says, “you did not choose me but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last and the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” This summer all of God’s resources, wherever you serve in the world are available to you through this truth. Ask God and he will supply all your needs.

Camping Internationally may require some creativity in what we pack but no matter where you are we BRING the same thing- a heart devoted to Christ and passionate toward adolescents.  If you want a checklist of what to pack for camp this Summer- double click HERE!  

An Innovative Addition To Your YLForward Plan Student Leadership Project

Author:  Vern Hill, Cesar Castillejos

“This experience changed the way I saw myself, my life, the world, God’s love, and everyone around me!" -2017 SLP Student Session II

Since 2002, the Young Life Student Leadership Project (SLP) has been ushering in God’s kingdom by training students to be multi-ethnic leaders and sending them into clubs, communities, and the world.  

Make SLP part of your Froward Plan to transform kids who will transform your club, area, and the world!

SLP is a 10-day leadership development/discipleship program for high school students completing their junior or senior year of high school. To promote a deep sense of mission, each SLP group is racially diverse, gender balanced, socieo-economically varied, and host students from different parts of the country.  This summer approximately 100 students will attend SLP at sites in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; St. Paul, Minnesota; and St. Augustine, Florida. Nearly all students who have experienced SLP’s transformational program of classroom instruction, service, and personal formation become active professionals and volunteers in ministries and nonprofits in their communities!

The purpose and content of SLP mirrors FORWARD’s goals. This makes it easy to include SLP in any FORWARD Plan. SLP has four “Pillars” of learning that interlock with Forward’s four strategies.

Deeper – SLP students learn and apply spiritual practices. Students are taught and have quiet times in scripture and prayer each day. In addition, students experience worship and regular prayer times with others.

“I learned hearing God and understanding is a matter of practice.”

Together – Cultural Awareness is another pillar of SLP.  Students explore the impact of their own ethnicity, learn about healthy interactions with others, and experience cross-cultural life with their SLP peers.

“I found there is something to be learned about God through every brother and sister I have in Christ.”

Innovation – SLP students learn to be effective, innovative leaders by understanding their Calling. Primarily called to love God and serve others, SLP students explore how to do successful ministry based on their unique passions, talents, life experiences, and the opportunities God places in their lives.

“Sometimes we decide something for our own future, but God has better plans.”

Growth – Using the example of Jesus, SLP students learn Servant Leadership principles.  Students are challenged to identify a personal mission for the 12 months following SLP. This year this will include organizing a project in their area in conjunction with YL Expeditions “YL Serves” on MLKJ Day, 2019.

Here are some practical ways SLP can serve your ministry:

• Areas can send a student to SLP to help advance FORWARD in their community.
• Big Areas and Metro Areas can send several students for a shared SLP experience to help initiate multi-ethnic ministry between schools and within a community.
• Regions can send a cohort of students to SLP to create a network of young leaders in the region and promote student led projects.
• Divisions can support an SLP site for their Division, identify and send students who show staff potential as a gateway to staff development.

Learn More: www.younglife.org/slp

Contact: Vern Hill (ylvern@comcast.net) 612-414-8157 or Cesar Castillejos (cesar.castillejos@gmail.com) 612-619-1532

You Have Never Seen This Kind of Cow!

The Central American Camp On Wheels (C.O.W.)

Written by Rodolfo López and Kevin Suwyn

Young Life Staff are Creative, Entrepreneurs and Innovators.  Innovation is not just something we are giving attention to now - but rather - it IS who we are as missionaries, pastors and leaders. Over the past few decades the International YL staff and leadership have exemplified the heart of Innovation as much as anyone in the Mission. Taking a concept from the ‘idea’ stage to something that is translatable across geographies and leadership is sign of a true genuine ‘movement.’  One such idea that has slowly made its way across the mission is the Camp on Wheels or COW.  

There are a few simple steps/questions that a leader needs to answer to create a Movement/Innovation.  Read below to see how the staff in Central America answered those questions step by step.   

Step 1:  DEFINING the Problem/Opportunity

We know it’s true: camp was the best thing to have ever happened to so many of us as teens. Marty Caldwell and Dan Jessup were prodding us to consider how mobile camping could help us with high quality camping even though most countries don’t (and probably won’t) own their own facilities.  We had to take everything we loved about the ‘core’ of YL Camping and fit it to our International ‘context.’  

Step 2: DEVELOPING a Solution

As we met together to consider, dream and pray with the local Costa Rican team, other questions came to the surface as well: 

• What about the thousands (and millions) of our young friends who won’t ever get to go to camp? 
• How do we remove hurdles of funding and distance?
• How do we train and support new ministries (countries) in leader-centered, gospel-centered camping?
• How could we take camp to them, if they couldn’t come to us?

This pushed the conversation to new places as we considered implementing a Camp on Wheels.

Step 3: DECIDING what to Measure

In a “Mega Club” (a one-day activity) we have the capacity to bring together more than 700 kids simultaneously, providing a place that is safe, healthy and fun. We have witnessed first-hand the success of this project as a highly attractive and innovative tool for the most disinterested kids to hear about Jesus. In Costa Rica, the last five COW's have been a key strategy to helping double our impact of kids reached over the year. 

In countries like Nicaragua, we have had the opportunity to carry out a series of Mega Clubs helping local areas impact more than 3000 kids over a months’ time (30% being first timers). This happens in coordination with local team of volunteer leaders and community adult support who are the key facilitators during these events.

The teams in Panama, Honduras, and El Salvador have benefited tremendously by traditional-camping support, and now have developed their team toward healthy leader-centered and gospel-centered camping. COW still is on-call to join in, but as countries have grown, more responsibility is being taken locally in each country.

Step 4: DESIGNING the Pilot

Going back to the planning stage: We moved forward, not really knowing what to build but knowing that we needed to act on something. We shared ideas with Skeet Tingle (Camp Manager at Wilderness Ranch) who made vital decisions, built the COW, packed it, and shipped it. Meanwhile, in Costa Rica we worked on the “urban day camp” or Mega-Club idea. 

• The COW team would work in concert with the local area leaders, prepare a place, obtain the permits, and involve parents and former leaders. 
• Leadership teams would invite their far-out friends and campaigner groups would join this effort as they reached out to their friends as well. The COW team was gathering volunteers to set up, run, and take down the “camp.” 
• One version of COW would be this amazing day event with unique leader/kid events, hospitality, and closing with an evening club event.  This also became a way to model and reinforce great “club” principles and proclamation to the local leaders.

Additionally, we made plans to send the COW to new country ministries with a team. This augments the substandard camp property with a camp-in-a-box set of resources. But even more importantly, brings COW-brought training, a camp speaker, and head counselor when needed. This allowed the receiving team’s leadership to focus on bringing their kids to camp and being the camp leaders.

Step 5: DELIVERING A Model

What came out was a "complementary" approach of truck/trailer and key "space" and "wow" components:

• Augment a rented property having basic services for traditional camp in new countries.  This provides an excuse to send seasoned leaders to support the new work, do assigned team training, and model Christ-centered, leader-centered camping. It was a hit.
• Mega-Club set up in the center of cities, offering simple points of leader-kid connection like carnival games, inflatable climbing wall, wii, octoball, field hockey etc. This has supported area leadership right at home, within walking distance, and in plain view of where kids live:  culminating in the verbal proclamation of the Gospel.

We are thankful to God for the creative and innovative way He has surprised us through COW and we are also very thankful for all the people who in one way or another support us, be it through prayers, volunteering or giving financially. This keeps us dreaming of reaching the next kid.