“What now?” As we sat around the circle on our last night in Haiti, this was the question presented to our small group of high school students. As is true of any good short-term trip, we spent our…
Tempting as it is to revel in last year’s glory, we want to plan for success the second time around, and that means getting our expectations in the right place.
Youth ministry and summer missions trips go together like campfires and roasted marshmallows, Disney and Mickey Mouse, teenagers and drama. You get the idea… Summer is the time for missions. I often tell people that planning and organizing…
The passerby snatched the pamphlet from my hand, took a few steps away and proceeded to tear it into pieces. She conveyed utter disgust as she tore apart the paper I had just handed to her. I found…
I recently returned from a trip to the Middle East, where I had the opportunity to talk with a young Iranian lady named Fara*. Fara is a small, shy and warm woman with a genuine smile. She had recently been…
The early part of my summer constitutes both the best and worst time of year for youth ministry. It’s mission trip season, which means a constant vacillation between the fringes of misery and the footsteps of glory. Missions…
Sometimes I get sensory whiplash before seven in the morning… It’s any Monday morning in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. I walk out my front door and am assaulted by the smells and sights of a third world city waking up to…
Every week, I receive another postcard for a new youth ministry conference pledging to have the magic bullet for today’s youth. Nearly all of these ministries and conferences have much value; I wish I could go to a…
1.) Describe the context in which you minister (geographically, ethnically, socio-economically, etc.) I currently serve in the Mira Mesa community of San Diego. There are 80,000 people within a few miles of our church and many thousands more…
