"Unexpected"
is the best adjective to describe this year for us so far. Conferences
falling through, waiting longer than expected for the new web
site to be up and running, time and energies spent in unexpected
places, leading us to ask, "God, what's going on? What do
you want us to be doing?"
Tim with a sparkler on New Years
Eve (an unexpected photo)
We try to be faithful
in the small things... plug away at the goals we have set... take
each day as it comes and leave the result up to God. But you've
probably experienced a similar time in your life and you know
how tough it is to "wait on Him". It has made me feel
useless and impatient... that "spinning you wheels but going
nowhere" feeling.
But oh that wonderful
day, as Annette and I were chatting over "café con
leche" in the colonial plaza of Cordoba on our way back from
a long weekend get-a-way, it was as though a veil dropped away
and we caught a glimpse of what our future might look like. We
"saw" a comprehensive youth ministry training site,
where Christians can get the equivalent of a degree in youth ministry
without quitting their jobs, taking time away from their ministries,
or costing them an arm and a leg. We also saw ourselves helping
others develop and implement training courses and we envisioned
joining together with folks with a similar passion to do something
for the majority of the world's churches that have no trained
leaders.
working
on our youth ministry web site
Reinvigorated with
this vision of the future, we could see and appreciate the things
God has been putting into place to help us make this dream a reality.
Our web team is equipped with the knowledge and technical skills
to carry it out. God has put us in contact with youth ministry
experts and trainers throughout the US and Latin America who can
help us create an overall training plan. And the new database
driven web site, developed by two wonderful volunteers in Tennessee,
will give us the capability to collaborate with and publish materials
from tens of thousands of individuals, churches and organizations
from all over the Spanish-speaking world.
Please, please pray
for us as we move forward toward the realization of this vision.
The
Dream Rationale
The majority of Latin
Americans are under 21, and yet most seminaries and Bible schools
in Latin America do not offer youth ministry courses. In Mexico
not even one does. And even if such a school did exist, 93% of
youth leaders in Latin America are volunteers who are already
students or have other full time jobs and, therefore, cannot take
off work to study in a seminary.
Our dream is to offer
them quality training. Training when and where they need it. Training
that doesn't require them to quit their jobs or take time away
from their ministries. And Internet based training allows people
to study what they need when they need it, to do that at their
own pace, to receive immediate feedback based on their answers
to test questions, and to get a certificate at the end of the
course.
Tim