What I’m actually doing
I was recently able to share widely that I’ve stepped into a new adventure.
I felt like there was a LOT of info to share about how this came up, what I’m hoping to do and the financial dynamics involved in doing it. It feels like I dumped a LOT of information out there.
So over the next bit, I want to try to break some of those pieces down.
Which brings me to this…
What am I actually doing?
I’ve joined staff with YWAM San Diego / Baja. This is the YWAM base that I’ve been partnering with since 2003 when I came on staff at Central. They operate in San Diego, California as well as Tijuana and Ensenada, Mexico.
I’m stepping in with them to create a somewhat unique role where I will be serving primarily here in Canada. The goal for my role is that I can support, mobilize and empower Canadian churches and groups towards the ministries of YWAM SDB in Mexico.
Even that sounds a like it could be more clear! Haha.
I’ve said it this way… the LEAST romantic way to describe what I do is sales and recruiting. Recruiting groups to participate in the Mission Adventures program in Tijuana and Ensenada.
My heart for this, however, is much deeper. My heart for serving in this way is all about discipleship. The reality of discipleship, is you need people! So if I the bare bones of this begins with sales and recruiting, so be it!
As a youth pastor in Edmonton, I was able to have a front-row seat to how the Missions Adventure program served as a powerfully catalytic tool in seeing Jesus impact the lives of our young people. I’d never tell anyone that MA is perfect, but I’ve experienced tons of the fruit of how powerful it is.
By leading this experience over and over again, I learned some things! I developed tools to lighten the load of all the logistics involved with travelling with that many minors!
As logistics got easier, I was able to multiply things! We quickly started inviting other groups to join us and widening the impact of what we were doing.
We also committed to a rhythm, going every other year. This repetition allowed us to consistently ask hard questions about how to protect the integrity of what we were doing - seeking to carve off the sharp edges that sometimes come with short term missions.
So now, having spent almost 15 years on all of that, I’ve been asking myself what I do with that passion and those skills.
Which leads me to what I’m stepping into now.
I want to be able to invite youth pastors or other group leaders into a ministry that I absolutely believe in. Like I said, I’ve tasted the fruit of what this can be! More on that coming in a future post.
I want to be able to serve the church by telling group leaders that I can help with the heavy lifting. I can coach/mentor leaders into building MA into healthy discipleship rhythms.
For some groups, maybe I’m just a recruiter. Maybe they’re excited about it and have the means to work through all the details and I simply show them how to sign up.
For other groups, maybe I get to really walk with a group leader for an extended season and help them really see this ministry be a powerful tool in their discipleship strategies!
As this is a new role, I don’t yet have a lot of “job description” type details as to what exactly I’ll be doing.
I envision doing a ton of networking and seeking to connect with many many groups and churches. The beauty of this is that as much as it’s “sales,” there is no weird pressure. I stand to lose or gain nothing if a group wants to participate or not. My heart is to serve, equip, inspire and mobilize in whatever ways it makes sense. I’m super excited to get to connect with hopefully many many churches and groups and see how we can dream together about seeing young peoples lives deeply impacted by Jesus!
Stay tuned for more updates as I unpack all of this!
Thanks for tuning in!
