Mike King

Rustin

My friend Rustin Smith wrote an insightful post on an issue that many people have with the "church" not being sensitive to their pain and needs.  He quotes Peter Rollins and reminds us not to be idealistic about what the church "should do" but implores us to remember to care for each other - person to person.  Read the post here... please.

Press Release: Youthfront and Barefoot Partnership

 

Press Release:
Youthfront, Inc. of 4715 Rainbow Boulevard, Shawnee Mission, KS 66205 and Barefoot Ministries (Nazarene Publishing House) of 2923 Troost Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64109announce a collaborative training and publishing initiative.  This partnership is designed to expand their collective youth ministry efforts throughout North America.

This collaborative training initiative and publishing partnership comes after several years of working together to more effectively assist local churches throughout North America.  It is the desire of both Youthfront and Barefoot to inspire, challenge, train, equip and resource youth workers with a theologically robust, philosophically sound and culturally relevant ministry approach that brings youth into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.  The training initiative will feature an expansion of Enroute youth worker training, the release of Reveal, along with other training modules already developed and being developed.  Barefoot and Youthfront have worked together on publishing projects in the past, such as Sacred Life: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life.  They will be developing new resources in the future through this partnership. 

Youthfront, Inc. has engaged in revolutionary youth ministry for 66 years and believes that a collaborative initiative with Barefoot Ministries will expand their passion to train, equip and resource youth workers as they remain committed to their mission to bring youth into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ through camps and retreats, student and youth worker events, missionary endeavors and leadership development in Kansas City and throughout North America and Mexico. President and CEO of Youthfront Mike King says, “For several years we have enjoyed an alliance with Barefoot.  This decision to become more intentional in how we work together will enable both organizations to further our Kingdom objectives.  We will be better working together on our mutual initiatives than we would be working independently of each other”.

Barefoot Ministries has been publishing books and resources for 8 years through its parent company, Nazarene Publishing House a 100-year-old non-profit company.  Barefoot seeks to expand its ministry impact in the local church throughout North America with the addition of a training division that will seek to carry on the commitment to train and resource churches with even more tools and ministry helps in order to reach middle school and high school students with the gospel. 

Chris Folmsbee, current chief ministry officer of Youthfront, Inc and former president of Sonlife Ministries, will become Senior Manager of Barefoot Ministries giving attention to the accomplishment of the desired outcomes of this collaborative training initiative as well as the ongoing mission and vision of Barefoot’s publishing efforts.  Folmsbee will also continue to help shape and provide leadership to Youthfront and its ministry objectives.

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. 

Pictures of the day

Great day...

Today was a wonderful day.  I picked up Mike Russo (youth pastor) this morning at the Roasterie in Brookside and headed to Youthfront Camp South.  It was hard to leave South at the end of the day.  We got to hang out with several teen staff, three who Mike serves as their youth pastor.  I had at least ten youth pastor friends there with their students.  I loved listening to what God is doing among their students and the enthusiasm the youth pastors had for our program.  All summer we are digging deep into Jesus' story of the Prodigal.  Interacting with these Scriptures happen in a variety of ways that include experiential learning.  We talk about the brokenness of the Prodigal Son and the reality that while we are created in the image of God (imago dei) we are in fact broken and need to be redeemed and made anew through Jesus Christ.  On the first night each cabin breaks a flower pot to illustrate the brokenness and throughout the week the cabin works together to restore the pot and redeem its purpose to contain flowers which the students plant and add to a new Sacred Space.  Every experience throughout the week is profound and powerfully illustrates the truth of Jesus' story of the Prodigal.  Here is a video giving a glimpse into the broken flower pot.

Goings on around Youthfront...

Lot's of great things are happening in and around Youthfront.

Progress on Cabin 16.  We really needed Cabin 16 for middle school kids this summer but we have adopted the PayGo plan.  Back filling around the foundation happened this week. 

                                                    Next step:  Rough-in plumbing in the basement floor and then pouring the concrete floor.  After that ... wood can start going up!  The walls have already been built and are in storage.  Pray for more finances, donated labor and materials to come in.

Another week is underway at Youthfront Camp South...

Another week is underway at Youthfront Camp West

Bizmarks

On Tuesday night I attended the Release Party for the new Bizmarks self-titled CD project.  This was a great night with my friend Tim Bridgham and Katie Falk opening before the Bizmarks took the stage.  Aaron Mitchum wrote the lyrics and music for the new project.  Aaron was involved as a student in Youthfront and now serves on staff.  It has been so fulfilling watching Aaron develop as an artist, a leader, a youth worker, a budding theologian, a husband and a soon to be father.  Aaron has matured significantly over the last couple of years as an artist.  I really, really like this new project.  A couple other friends from my church also play in the band which is also a cool thing.  The only thing missing this night was Paige, Aaron's wife, who plays the violin but was in California.  Below are a few pictures from the Release Party.  I especially like the nice Youthfront product placement picture with Aaron.  Check out the CD on iTunes here.   

First day of Youthfront Camps

Yesterday, I hung out at Youthfront Camp West in the morning and early afternoon and then finished the afternoon off at Youthfront Camp South.  Opening Day is always so exciting.  The summer staff is pumped up and the teen staff are ecstatic but nothing compares to the exuberance of the teenagers showing up for registration.  The parents are even goofy with delight (it may have something to do with a week off from parenting their teenager).  Here are some pictorial glimpses of Opening Day. 

Podcast on Adolescent Development and Spiritual Formation

Last Friday I was a guest on the Life in Student Ministry Podcast hosted by Tim Schmoyer.  Youth workers around the country joined in on the conference call to participate in the discussion.  I was honored to be asked by Tim to do this.  Tim does a great job of serving youth workers.  I love his passion for youth ministry.  We discussed developmental theory, brain development research, multiple intelligence, spiritual formation, learning environments, challenges we face in the church and spiritual formation.  The podcast is posted here for those who would like to listen.