I work to raise awareness of missions and global youth and global issues among Christian youth workers. It’s a daunting task at times in the States where we’re doing all we can just to work with the youth in our own context. Still, the church is called to GO and global issues once thought of as “over there” now sit on our doorsteps.
Cultural competency and global awareness are becoming non-negotiables for youth workers committed preparing youth for the 21st century. The old insulated ways, where youth ministry protects kids from the world or just keeps teens active, won’t cut it for a faith that sticks as it is confronted by the problems of the world.
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Posted on Wednesday, December 5th, 2012 at 8:07 AM in THE WORLD, YOUTH MINISTRY. One comment
Ok, first, I’m hopeful that my colloquialism title translates well to different languages. But, in all of my global travels, one constant remains: We all like our sweets/desserts! And usually with a nice cup of tea or coffee.
So, this weekend I will participate in conVERGE 2012 as a ‘live presenter.’ This high-tech, high-touch savvy conference at Gull Lake Center in Michigan is one of my favorites and I look forward to it every year.
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Posted on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at 6:42 AM in CONNECT EFFECTIVELY, THE WORLD, YOUTH MINISTRY. 5 comments
This week we were reminded of the dire economic situation facing the youth of the world. Since 23.5% of the world’s poor are youth and 75 million youth are unemployed (a number that will keep growing), this presents significant challenges for governments, agencies, churches, and ministries (not to mention families!) in many regions of our world. In fact, all over the world, even the US, high school and college graduates will be in much poorer economic situations than their parents and especially their grandparents were at their age.
When I look over the ‘field’ of youth ministry, I sometimes grow concerned that we can become a vocation focused on running programs, teaching/speaking lessons, or even a personal exercise in leadership and personal status versus one based on Christlike service. As I read through Scripture on ministry like a ‘shepherd’ (I Peter 5:1-11) and the missional and service focus of the New Testament church, I wonder what our responsibility is to the youth in our community, our region, our country, and around the world.
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Posted on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 at 7:11 AM in THE WORLD, YOUTH MINISTRY. No comments
Two recent events reminded me, again, of the need for developing a global perspective, particularly among Americans. I hosted a prominent global youth worker this past week; he and I had never met before. As our conversation developed, he said, “Well, I’ll be honest with you because I can see you have a global perspective” and then he shared his heart about some matters. The truth is that there is always another level of honesty, an ability for one to be truly who they are, when engaging in cross-cultural conversations. And the axiom is: People from other cultures are hesitant to be candid with Americans until they discern whether we are ‘safe’ and possess the ability to see the world through other cultures’ vantage points. I came away from that meeting renewed in my commitment to help others (and to keep learning myself) how to have a global conscience.
The second event was a regional meeting with leaders in urban youth ministry and camps. As the conversation ranged and we discussed some of pressing multicultural issues, I mentioned the forthcoming book, What Can We DO?, that I co-authored with David Livermore. They surprised me with their strong enthusiasm for the book and that they were interested in finding ways to purchase quite a few to get them in the hands of the youth ministry leaders in their organizations.
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Posted on Thursday, May 5th, 2011 at 6:51 AM in THE WORLD, YOUTH MINISTRY. No comments
David Livermore and I are in the final editorial and design stages for the forthcoming book, GLOBAL YOUTH MINISTRY. It’s a frantic time, pulling together last minute corrections, footnotes, edits, and design elements. It’s a bit less stressful than writing, but it’s very busy. And, I am indexing the book. So, in the very near future, I anticipate hibernating for 3 days and pulling that together. I’ve never indexed before, but my colleague, prolific author Dr. Chad Meister, has done it and has been a helpful coach.
This week I talk about the book for the first time to my esteemed colleagues at the international conference for the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry. I feel very inadequate to the task because I merely served as the editor for the book – the real substance of the book comes from the 25 authors. So, I’m a bit nervous that much of what I share will be matter of fact or ineffectively represent the authors’ concerns.
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Posted on Thursday, January 6th, 2011 at 8:49 AM in YOUTH MINISTRY. No comments
No matter what corner of the world you live in, one of the significant problems facing youth around the world is economic, and the surging unemployment statistics are the first wave (or warning?) of what lay ahead. A recent article showed troubling statistics out of Ireland and noted a recent ILO report that put the number of unemployed global youth at 81 million, an all-time high. And they say it will continue to rise. The NAACP recently held a one-day conference on global youth employment, challenging the private sector to not ignore the fundamental long-term problems this will create if not corrected.
A wide range of issues contribute to the problem, but some point to the lack of interest among youth for skill trades, opting to pursue university degrees instead. But, with the university tuition fees outpacing growth in salaries (and it has risen dramatically in the UK in 2010), there is no guarantee for a job post-graduation with a salary level that will adequately help pay off accumulated debt.
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Posted on Wednesday, December 29th, 2010 at 6:36 AM in YOUTH MINISTRY. No comments
For the last two years I served as co-editor for GLOBAL YOUTH MINISTRY, a book that champions the dynamic development of Christian youth ministry around the globe. Written by a representative group of veteran youth ministry leaders, the resulting text is a fascinating read, a bird’s eye view of various cultural contexts and the concerns of youth ministry leaders in those regions.
One of the first champions for global youth ministry in North America was Randy Smith, founder of Youth Ministry International. Randy challenged North American youth pastors to consider international youth ministry, arguing that 97% of the world’s formally-trained youth workers ministered to 3% of the global youth population. That statistic changed dramatically over the last 15 years (and it’s difficult to measure, as we discovered) as numerous international colleges, universities, seminaries, mission agencies, and training institutes have set out to address the needs of youth in their regions through the development of youth ministry and practical theology degree programs.
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Posted on Tuesday, December 21st, 2010 at 7:45 AM in YOUTH MINISTRY. No comments
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