Thinking about the end of another year
always leads to a time of reflection.
As I was contemplating the wonderful year of youth ministry at Youthfront my heart
was filled with gratitude. I can
honestly declare that 2009 has been one of the best years I’ve experienced in
my 34 years at Youthfront.
There were so many ministry highlights, such as the numerous Youth worker training events; the Youthfront Alumni
Celebration which was an enchanted weekend; the successful launch of two new
ministry initiatives – the Parents Network and Feed the Hunger; the brilliant
summer ministries at Youthfront Camps and Croc, Mexico; the establishment of
Youthfront Missional Institute in the Argentine District of our city; Retreats;
Serve Day and much more.
There is so much to celebrate and
be thankful for. And then it came
to me. Right in the middle of my reflection I received an e-mail from a youth worker from Texas who
I have been dialoguing with over the content in my book Presence Centered Youth Ministry. Youthfront is involved in training their staff on the
Christian Formation of adolescents.
This youth pastor is bringing a large group of young people to
Youthfront Camp this summer. He
works with many teenagers who are orphans and those who are facing difficult
problems in life. One 15-year-old
girl named Lizzy wrote this…
I want to go to Youthfront Camp so I can learn to be loved.
I want to go to Youthfront because I want to know what it feels like without this great empty space in my heart.
I want to be told how beautiful I am, I want to be held and I am tired of looking for that in the wrong places.
I am tired of putting my hope and trust into the hands of one boy after another and being let down each and every time.
I want to learn how to look in the mirror and not find something wrong with myself.
I want to learn how to stop comparing myself to those I think are better than me.
I want to learn how to be confident, I want to learn how to stop saying if only, I want to learn how to stop saying I am not good enough, I want to learn how to stop wishing I was anybody else but me.
I want to learn how to smile from the inside.
I want to learn how to stop hating myself.
I want to go to Youthfront Camp because I want to learn how to see myself through my Creator's eyes.
This
is it. This is why we exist. This is what we are about, to
bring youth into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. We bear witness to the Great Good News
of Jesus who came two thousand years ago, was born in a manger and lived a
sinless amazing life. We bear
witness to Lizzy and all the other thousands of young people we minister to –
that our triune God through Jesus Christ entered into the pain, brokenness and
despair of life and bore the full weight of it on the cross to bring redemption. We bear witness to the reality that
Jesus Christ has risen from the dead as the first fruits of resurrection for us
and eternal life through the ages to come. Youthfront is about transformation from
a narrative of death and hopelessness to a narrative of “Life to the Full”
through Christ Jesus.


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