He Still Moves

What a night. I cant begin to describe to you what i have seen in santos dumont, brazil. i will have to start at the beginning. it took our team 52 hours to reach santos dumont. over 24 hours more than it should have. i never heard one complaint... not one. the students gathered together and embraced the providential will of God and the fact that we did not know what he was up to.

When we arrived, we met the 14 students that were launching their first student minstry events in the history of the church. We had two days to get ready... talk about up my ally. We walked the streets, meeting people, passing out flyers, and creating moments in the plazas to tell people about this new student ministry. now you have to understand, nothing like this exists in santos dumont... nothing close. the night before the first event, called Alternitave Space, the pastor began to share the vision with the church. this would be a place where teenagers could come as they are... lost, addicted, lonley, whatever... and be accepted.... a complete change in thought process for many in the room. the idea that the kids could come to church and still be inslaved to sin rocked the room. as he talked further, i could hear that he was listening earlier that day when mike grober, our missions pastor, and i sat down with him and the student pastor. he told them how they could use this weekly event to build relationships with teenagers and then move them into small groups as they began to see people live out the christian life in front of them.

The result.. over 330 teenagers showed up in small church in santos dumont to dance, hangout, sing songs, and here a message about some guy named Jesus. Needless to say they things they heard about this man named Jesus had never been preached in the religious institutions in the city. Things like blessed are the poor, week, humble, and lost must have been music to the ears of those whose life mirror those words. I taught for about 10 minutes and Mike translated... we were in the zone... if you have ever used a tranlator, you know how important that is.

Something great began here and the most important thing is we left the pieces in place for them to conitue to make it work. Our students were amazing... watching them lead with servant hearts made every harsh email, long day, and late night.. worth it. Once again, i have found myself sourrounded by God on the move and their is no better place to be.

i challenge you to go. get out of america and see the impact that you can make. you will be amazed at what God will teach you, show you, and allow you to be apart of... if you will just go.

thanks for all you prayers....Gods multi-generational global plan continues to grow... praise God... praise God.

Questions

The past week has been a week that i have really done some evaluating within the student minstry.... evaluating that has filled my mind and heart with questions...

Where are we going?
Where does God want us to go?
How will we get there?
What will it look like?
How can I put us the possible situation to succeed?
Are we doing all we can to reach students?
Have I communicated well enough how much we need parents involved?

I sat down with a good friend this week and went through some of the thoughts in mind. He is the kind of person that does not tell you what you want to hear.. he is more concerned with the truth. We sat for a while and i listened. After a week of processing... i came to this conclusion...

The questions and questioning are a requirement for success, however having the answers immediately is not. It is the courage to ask the tough questions and pursue the answers that leads to success. If you are waiting for God to answer every question before you move... enjoy your seat.

Yesterday i did yard work all day. At the end of the day, i watched fireworks from the front yard. I looked at Courtney and said, "the yard is finished, look what i did!

You never get to say that in Student Ministry, Parenting, or any other relationship for that matter. It is never finished. There is never a moment that you arrive.

That is why this job pushes your faith. There is always another level of dependence. There is always more students to reach. There is always more work to do.

What are the tough questions you need to ask. As a friend, parent, son, daughter, student pastor, coach, teacher.........

i pray you will have the courage to ask them.