Over the last number of years, I have become convinced that one of the Lord’s strategies to keep me in vocational youth ministry is to make me seriously deficient at most other skills…like building. I’m terrible at it. Most projects I have taken on in the past, in order to save money, have ended up costing more because I have had to hire someone to fix the new problem I’d created…while trying to fix the old problem! That is until this past year. Last year we moved to Green Bay Bible Camp and had the opportunity to expand our two bedroom suite into a three bedroom suite in order to accommodate our family (sleeping in the same room for a long period of time with your teenage boys is not a good strategy for building a healthy marriage). In order to do that, I needed to fix some problems. I had visions of fixing and re-fixing dancing through my head…but this time, two things happened that were game changers. First, I had a friend who knew what he was doing get on his hands and knees and actually work with me, showing me how to get the job done. Part way through he let me work and simply watched. And eventually I took over. Talk about empowering! The second game changer? I had the right tools. One of the side benefits of living at camp is access to great tools. Air nailers seriously rock! Chop saws are amazing (especially for people that struggle with making straight cuts)! The right mentor and right tools changed everything.
Now, I’m not sure that a new youth ministry resource every month will necessarily change everything when it comes to building the Kingdom, but a good ministry tool, by a good ministry mentor, can really help. That’s the goal for this new resource page Tools for Kingdom Building. Twice a month, we’ll post a tool created by a friend of CYWC that we hope will help you build disciples in the local context the Father has placed you. These tools are free to access and should be adapted to your context and shared with others you think would find them helpful.
Each post will fall in one of four categories: Culture, Practice, Leadership, Soul Care. Once a month we will hear from a youth ministry veteran, and once a month from a practitioner living in the trenches. Keep checking back, because some months, we will include a bonus tool!! Our prayer is that these tools will encourage and equip you to better disciple youth next week. To read the latest posts, sign up to receive them in your inbox (see sidebar), or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
To The King.