Dreams... wanna help?

Sorry... it's been a month and a couple of days since I last wrote... honestly I've been SWAMPED with a lot of very cool things!

The year began with the National Conference on Youth Ministries which took place far away... in Colorado Springs, CO (only an hour drive from here!). Since I am on the board and the president of the board for the coming year, I have felt great responsibility for things... our theme this year was "Legacy", which took a look back at the history of youth ministry in the churches of Christ. We shared video clips of interviews with many of the pioneers like Big Don Williams, Tim Lewis, Dan Warden, Cliff Crumpler, Jim Moss, Edd Eason, Mike Myers and dozens of others. Watching those made me realize the great responsibility I have to carry on the torch they lit and passed on to me and many others along the way. The conference was a huge success... NCYM 2006 will be in Nashville... please be in prayer for me every day that it will occur exactly like God wants it to!

One of the "burdens" God placed on my heart is that of youth ministry in the mission field. Our missionary from Germany was back in the States to visit his daughter who's doing an exchange all this year. I had the chance to discuss with him the statistics that in the US, the vast majority of those who convert to Christianity are between the ages of 13-21. He felt that age group was the most open to the possibility, much moreso than the adults. I guess change is harder the older you get. As we discussed youth ministry overseas, it appears to be basically an afterthought, with a few teen directed activities being organized by missionaries who just don't have enough time in the day as it is!

Why is it that we spend 90% of our church budgets on "maintaining" those age 22 and above? That is ludicrous if the "conversion" research is correct! And why are we not equipping young men and women to go into the mission field specifically to reach teens? Baffling... but a burden has been placed on my heart. I've been doing a little investigation about this subject and found the following:
1. There are actually a few youth ministers for the churches of Christ in the mission field.
2. Scotland has one.
3. Frankfort, Germany has one.
4. Various places in Australia have youth ministers... I believe I'm aware of 6.
5. As with most missionaries, these youth workers struggle just to have enough money to live,.

My dream, at least for now is two fold. I want to try to raise money to pay for these 8 or so missionary youth ministers to come to NCYM 2006 in Nashville. I want to let them share their experiences and be encouraged by the other 500 youth ministers that will attend that conference. Second, I want to see AIM or HIM or to create a new program that specifically trains and organizes youth ministry in the mission field, internationally and domestically. Unfortunately, I too, am a youth minister.. and don't have the money to do any of this. So, I'm reduced to asking others that God has blessed. If you are reading this and would like to sponsor a guy to go to NCYM, or would like to help me put together this new youth ministry program, let me know.

Last but not least.... on the way to work this morning, I drove past one of the richest neighborhoods in town (The Preserve)... I saw a very wealthy lady at the stop sign. She had a HUGE bowl of cereal on the roof of her car and she didn't have a clue! Thank you God for the things in life that show us we really are just made of dirt.... or bones from dirt!