Mike King

275,000 Meals Headed to the Horn of Africa

Last week we loaded a full shipping container of food (approximately 275,000 meals) into a truck to begin the journey to Kenya.  The food will be delivered to those who are tragically affected by the famine and civil wars that are happening in the Horn of Africa.  The meals were made possible through Youthfront's Something to Eat initiative in partnership with Jeremy Affeldt's Generation Alive (Spokane, WA) and Future Profits (Palo Alto, CA).  The article below was written by Youthfront staff member Austin Averill who directs our Something to Eat initiative.

 

On a bitter cold winter morning, I was more excited to wake up at four and head to work than I have ever been in my life. On this particular morning, I left the harsh Midwest weather behind with my co-workers Ray Zuercher and Mike King, President of Youthfront, to meet up with San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeremy Affeldt, Founder of Generation Alive, in Palo Alto, California. Why, might you ask, would a logistics guru, president of a non-profit organization, recent college graduate, and professional baseball player meet in “The Golden State?” I can think of no better reason than to facilitate a Something to Eat packaging event.

The next day, approximately 300 students flooded through the doors of Sequoia High School’s gymna- sium to package as many Something to Eat meals as possible. “Packing a meal” means measuring rice, soy protein, dried vegetables and a nutrient dense vitamin powder, pouring it all into a bag, and sealing it up. These meals then get packed into a box, which get stacked onto a pallet, which gets basically shrink- wrapped, then is shipped away to feed malnourished orphans. The meals from this particular event went to Kenya, though Youthfront sends meals to various places domestically and abroad.

However, orphans aren’t the only ones who get fed as the result of a Something to Eat event. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the spiritual formation aspect of meal packaging is just as important as the orphans we feed.

The youth who give up a Saturday in order to provide starving people with something to eat do so because they are hungry for justice. They recognize that something is wrong in the world and long to be a part of a solution. Something to Eat provides them with the opportunity to connect others’ physical hunger with their own spiritual hunger, with the hunger for justice and righteousness and the hunger to make the world more complete and more whole, more like the way that God intended.

The kids at Sequoia High were given “something to eat” in a different way every 30 minutes, at which point we paused the packaging for a moment of silence, as well as a short lesson about social justice, world hunger, and how we can have an effect on bringing redemption to this world.

In response to the Horn of Africa’s war and drought-induced famine, the students of Sequoia High raised several thousand dollars which allowed them to package nearly 130,000 meals to send another shipment to the needy.

These students by no means know wealth – and many of them are all too familiar with just the opposite of it. Yet they recognized that there are others in the world who are not only hungry, but who have it even worse than they do. This is what motivated those some might call “the least of these” to dedicate themselves to making the world a better place for someone else. They spread the word about the event, raised money for the raw materials that go into making a meal, and spent an entire Saturday wearing hair nets and packaging meals. THAT is why we do what we do at Youthfront – not for justice alone, but to see young people changed, liberated, transformed for the Kingdom of God.

What if?

What if every church and every ministry focused their mission on participating with God's mission through Jesus Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit through these verses?

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

In the name of Jesus Christ who reigns with YOU and the Holy Spirit, ONE GOD, now and forever, we pray that we will participate with your mission of;

* Proclaiming Good News to the poor.

* Binding up the brokenhearted.

* Proclaiming freedom for the captives.

* Release of darkness for prisoners.

* Proclaiming the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God.

* Comforting those who mourn and provide for those who grieve.

* Bestowing a crown of beauty instead of ashes, oil of joy instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

* Becomming oaks of righteousness displaying God's slendor.

* Rebuilding and restoring devastated and ruined cities.

God of the hopeless and the hopeful, hear these prayers that, we, as people filled with hope, may be your presence with those who are hopeless. Amen.

Missions as Pilgrimage

The Youthfront Book Shorts have been released by Barefoot Publications.  I served as Editor for this series.  The title I'm featuring today is Missions as Pilgrimage by Kurt Rietema. 

*The cool thing about this book short series is the fact that they are downloadable and can be reproduced by youth workers to engage in conversation with their volunteer staff for the purpose of training and shaping the ethos of the youth ministry of a church.

Kurt is a Christian thinker extraordinaire and a true author. A writer takes ideas and expresses them in articles, books, blogs, etc. An author is someone who originates ideas and concepts.

In Missions as Pilgrimage, Kurt helps us reorient the current thinking about short-term missions into something more biblical, sustainable, and transforma- tional. Kurt puts his heart and soul into all he does. His honesty reveals that he is not standing back, trying to enlighten all those who don’t get it. Kurt genuinely wrestles with what it means to be Christian in the deepest way, what it means to love God and truly love others. Rarely can I escape reading something Kurt has written without feeling genuinely convicted for the indifference that insidiously hides deep in my heart.

Missions as Pilgrimage challenges us to consider how we shape our young people in Christian formation through disorientation, spiritual practices, justice, and pilgrimage. Kurt helps us reshape our narratives to become enmeshed with God’s overarching narrative. I’ve seen the results of Kurt Rietema’s ministry. Kurt subverts the many narratives of the North American church that prevent our lives and the young people we minister to from being shaped in the cruciform life of Jesus Christ. Read this at the potential peril of your safe and comfortable life.

ORDER HERE

In what ways can youth ministry improve in the area of proclamation (kerygma)?

κήρυγμα, kérugma

The word kerygma is a transliteration of a Greek word that describes preaching and/or the content of preaching or proclaiming. In the first century, kerygma meant the proclamation by a herald who had an important announcement. The emerging church described in the book of Acts embraced this cultural tool.

In the New Testament framework, the kerygma is an announcement of divine action by God. It was in the context of the reality of Jesus’ resurrection that the kerygma received its mandate. The disciples discovered an empty tomb and later interacted with the resurrected Jesus Christ. They could not help but proclaim far and wide that Jesus Christ, who was born miraculously, lived sinlessly, proclaimed the kingdom of heaven was at hand, died sacrificially, arose from the dead victorious, and ascended into the heavens, is Lord.

In the simplest terms, our proclamation is “Jesus Christ is Lord.” In the fullest sense of proclaiming the good news, we declare that God is at work to redeem and restore the whole creation. There are many evangelicals who have unfortunately drawn the battle lines with a definition of proclamation that narrowly focuses on a particular view of atonement.

Youth ministry must move away from a proclamation ensnared by formulaic and one-dimensional soteriology. A kerygma that focuses solely on You’re a sinner who is going to hell but Jesus died for you so you can go to heaven if you ask Jesus into your heart is deficient in heralding the scope of truth contained in the great good news.

Our efforts to preach and proclaim the great good news seem warped when we start out with the emphasis that people are sinful and need to get saved so they can go to heaven when they die. Let’s herald the good news that starts with the reality that all human beings were created imago Dei (in the image of God). Let’s connect the imago Dei in our fellow human beings with the overarching story of God at work in the world. We should not start the story in Genesis 3 with the fall of humanity. We’ll get there soon enough. I meet few human beings who deny that they are broken.

For youth ministry to properly proclaim the great good news, we must embrace a high Christology. We must look to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God’s proclamation of good news. Also, I think it is critical that we embrace the whole of the Christ event—not just birth, crucifixion, and resurrection but also the words and teachings of Jesus.

I believe it is the responsibility of the church and of God’s people to always be on the lookout for demonstrations of God’s in-breaking kingdom, even when these acts come from outside the church and from non-Christians. When we see people and institutions cooperating with God, our proclamation should be to point it out and declare, “There it is!”

I wrote this post originally for Slant33

Ten times better?

Our Youthfront staff who serve in Mexico, along with our leadership staff have been thinking deeply about how we live and minister in Croc, Mexico.  For the sake of the integrity of the ministry happening year around in the community of Croc changes have been made that we believe will also more significantly impact the spiritual formation of North American young people who go there to serve.  Changing the "short-term missions" focus comes at the risk of not serving potential "consumer needs" of youth groups but we feel strongly about the integrity of this decision.  Below is an e-mail from Kurt Rietema, who oversees the Croc ministry, sharing an e-mail from a youth pastors feedback on the changes.    
Just wanted to pass this on to everyone to tell you what a great job our Mexico staff is doing.  This is from a youth worker who came alongside a group from Westside a couple of years ago and returned with his group at Shoal Creek.   
Kurt

Thank you for an incredible week in Croc.  Our students have come back with a greater appreciation of serving others, a greater understanding of the issues in Mexico, a deep love for the people and children they met, and having experienced the clear work of Christ in their midst.  Many of the kids have commented that they continue to pray for the children, are already making plans for returning next year, and have been positively overwhelmed by what they experienced.  But more importantly, they have been making changes in their lives back home; one of the student’s parents have already commented on how her daughter “has discovered a passion for God’s Word and daily journaling”.  That is exciting!

I greatly appreciate the changes in focus that Youthfront is making in how they are serving and partnering with the community of Croc.  Building houses may serve one family, but building a community through partnerships, micro-loans, church planting support, and teaching children will change this community for a lifetime, and hopefully allow more members of the community to discover Christ.  Our students loved the variety of activities they got to participate in, from working on the new campus, to teaching math, to workshops, and to swim lessons.  But the greatest experience came from just participating in the community and learning from them – the home visits, the church services, and even playing soccer with the men from the rehab center.  Pouring concrete will build a structure, but my students won’t remember that when they are adults – what they will remember will be the conversations and experiences they shared when the local community came together in worship, food, and celebration.  Our experience in Croc this year was ten times better than the last time we came, even though we never built a house…and I believe, it will be better for the Croc community as well.

I am very proud of our students and how they embraced the idea that they were there to learn, more than they were to teach.  Thank you for all your efforts in making this an incredible week of learning for our students, for listening to God in how to best serve this community, and for giving your lives to sharing the love of Christ. 

In Christ,

Eric A. Haynes

Shoal Creek Community Church

Agents of Restoration

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

God created all things and “saw that it was good.”

“Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness…” Genesis 1:26. 

“So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them…” Genesis 1:27.

God created human beings in the image of God and declared this creation “very good.”  This truth revealed in the Creation Narratives of Scripture should not be diminished.  Too often, we have attempted to begin the Story of God at work in the world with the account of the fall of human beings into sin and disobedience.  No doubt, sin is a part of the human story.  We are broken people but we are still created in the image of God.  

God’s Will is that the world return to God’s Shalom through restoration and redemption.  When God’s people live out their identity and calling to represent God and act as agents of God’s love the world is blessed.  God brings redemption through the work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  God provides life for those who trust in Jesus Christ who lived and died for us.  The world hears this Good News when we proclaim it and the world see’s our beliefs when we live out the message and mission of Jesus Christ.

God designed us to be human beings. The salvation offered to human beings through Jesus Christ’s Incarnation, Life, Death and Resurrection brings the process of healing, forgiveness, redemption and restoration.  Yes, we are broken.  Yes, teenagers are broken but God is in the business of restoration and healing.  Even more compelling is the reality that God calls us to become “agents of restoration.”

In Luke 4:14-21, Jesus proclaims that the inbreaking Kingdom of God and the GOOD NEWS promised by the prophet Isaiah is now being fulfilled through him.  This GOOD NEWS according to Jesus would be about:
•    Preaching the good news to the poor
•    Proclaiming freedom for prisoners
•    Recovering sight for the blind
•    Releasing the oppressed and
•    Proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor

If our Gospel is only about protecting young people so that they will be safe, good kids who avoid trouble, don’t use drugs or get pregnant, get good grades and go to college so they become outstanding Christian citizens – then our Gospel is not God’s Gospel and our so-called Ideal Christian Life is not the radical call that Jesus Christ issues forth for us to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow him.

The call of Jesus Christ to follow him as God’s agents of restoration and cooperate with God’s plan to unfold the Kingdom of God and a return to Shalom on EARTH as it is in HEAVEN is the kind of adventure that will inspire the imagination of a young person to totally abandon themselves to the holy life of all out allegiance to our great GOD.

This mission is about so much more than designing everything we do to get a teenager to pray a token prayer of salvation so we can boast of a statistic and pat ourselves on the back for winning teenagers for Jesus.  It is so much more.  Yes, salvation is freely provided by the Lord Jesus Christ, alone. but it is not CHEAP.  Broken young people are redeemed by Christ and begin the process of being made whole when they apprentice themselves to the Master Jesus and pursue life with God.

When some heard that many of our Youthfront students were engaged in an active involvement to end human slavery they criticized that this was a “social gospel.”  Very sad commentary on the state of Christianity in North America when we discount one of the very things Jesus said we should be about – “proclaiming freedom” and “releasing the oppressed.”  Others felt like human slavery and trafficking is something happening in Third World countries and we should be focused on something more relevant.  If you have been following the news you know that the Kansas City Star broke a story revealing a huge human trafficking ring based right here in Kansas City had lured hundreds of foreign workers into conditions that made them modern-day slaves.  It is such a sad story and it happened one mile from Youthfront’s offices.  We have helped provide resources for these exploited workers.

We are more committed than ever to challenge young people with the truth that they are uniquely created in the image of God and that while they are broken they can be made anew through the salvation provided by Christ Jesus.  We will fire their imagination to consider their identity and calling to participate as God’s Agents of Restoration, which is a compelling story to find themselves in. 

Croc Rocks

  Last week was a phenomenal week spent with 35 YouthFront Staff at the YouthFront Mission Site in Croc outside of Monterrey, Mexico.  Only a small percentage of our staff has actually been there.  Even though most of our staff can articulate the basic story of what is happening in Croc the depth of what is really going on there was quite overwhelming to those visiting for the first time.  We built two houses.  We have now built more than 30 homes along with our home base and Community Center.  We worked on several other projects like setting up the After School Program in the new home we recently purchased.  We are feeding 150 kids a day who are in our After School Program.  Those of us who travel frequently to Croc have been able to watch a group of young people grow up and become young adults who are now taking responsibility within the community of Croc.  This trip was a wonderful experience for our staff, a time of intense team building.  We laughed, played, talked, worked, cried, ate, celebrated, and prayed together.  Dedicating a home and turning the keys over to a family in need (a home that you have constructed, through blood, sweat and tears) is an amazing and emotional experience.  Our staff living in Kansas City has a new appreciation for our staff who resides in Croc for a significant part of the year.  We had several long conversations about the complexity of ministry and effective community development in a place like Croc.  We examined the typical short-term mission experience for North American teenagers and its effect on their Christian Formation compared to the continuity of community building and the long term impact this has, not only on our youth but also the people we are serving in Croc. We held a huge community fiesta filled with games, music and dancing.  The opportunity to have fun and celebrate in a Christian context is something very foreign but extremely compelling for the people of Croc.  Most of the churches in Croc embrace a legalism that would make Bob Jones look permissive.  I am so blessed and fulfilled with what God has allowed us to participate in and accomplish in Croc.  Kurt and Emily Rietema have done such a great job of leading this program for the last several years.  It is so cool that our staff now fully comprehends how awesome Croc, the Rietema’s and the rest of our staff there is.  Here are a couple more pictures followed by a link to a lot more pictures.

Croc Photo Album

Croc

Away from technology at our YouthFront Site in Croc, Mexico with our YouthFront staff until Monday, March 27th.

Peace and Joy.

The Campus Confession Booth

I enjoyed reading Don Miller's book Blue Like Jazz.  The highlight of the book for me was the chapter called The Campus Confession Booth.  Warning: reading this chapter might alter your paradigm of relating to people and the world around you...  If you want to give it a shot click here to read.