I realized earlier as I was sending this link out to people that some, if not most, of you won't know much about YouthWorks and what I'll actually be doing this summer. I'm going to remedy that by trying to fill you in on what we are about and why we do what we do.
YouthWorks is a youth organization that hosts week-long summer missions trips for middle and high school youth. There are over 70 sites active from June-August, from larger places like San Diego, Denver, Chicago, NYC, and Atlanta; to smaller towns like Kokomo, Indiana; to American Indian reservations like Yakama in Washington and Lakota in South Dakota. Each site has a purpose of joining the ministries existing in the community and acting as a liason between the participants and the ministries around the site.
My role in all this will be as Site Director, overseeing the general management of the site, working closely with the adult leaders of each group, hanging out with the youth, maintaining community contacts, and loving and supporting my amazing staff! I'm working with 2 other guys and another girl, and the 4 of us are going to rock San Diego. I absolutely cannot wait to work, grow, and live with each of these individuals. It's a total God thing that the 4 of us were brought together for this summer. :)
Right now, my staff and I, along with 16 other ministry sites in the western region, are in the midst of training in Denver. We will leave on Saturday morning and take 2 days to drive to San Diego. We found out that we'll be driving through the mountains, around Las Vegas, and around LA on our way to our destination, and all of us are so excited to get to see so much of God's amazing landscape as we make our way to what we here is an incredible place to spend a summer! Luckily, we all enjoy driving, road trips, and the fun/random things that happen along the way, so it should be great!
Yesterday, after a loooong day of training, we all (about 100 seasonal and permanent staff) went off site and drove to the top of Look-Out Mountain, about 40 minutes outside Denver. We got there just as the sun was beginning to set, and it was just a good chance to laugh, talk, take pictures, and enjoy each other's company outside the realm of training. As the sun began to set, we started to worship, and thus began one of the most incredible worship services of which I have had the blessing to be a part. The sunset over the mountains, the thunder in the distance, and the simple sound of voices and guitar raised in heartfelt praise made for an absolutely incredible night. I don't really have the words to continue to tell you about it, except to say that God moved in awesome ways last night, and it was amazing.
The following are a few quotes that I've jotted down in the last month that help give more understanding to the heart of YouthWorks. They've helped me come to greater understanding of this ministry I get to be a part of, and I hope they do the same for you.
Love you all, thanks for your support! Pictures will come as soon as I get them uploaded on my laptop.
First and foremost, we are called to love.
Bringing together youth ministry and missions
Life-changing, Christ-centered youth mission opportunities
Set your minds on things above. Put to death your worldly impurities. Put on the new self, renewed in the Creator. As God's chosen people, bear witness and forgive one another. Put on love, which binds all good together in perfect unity.
Break my heart for what breaks Yours.
Realize the beauty of the Church,
Realize the brokenness of the Church.
For one week, we try to get our arms around the church and say "What do you think? Can we all love the Church and be it together for a week?"
We are called to lead in the church by serving it and others.
