Global Youth Ministry Network - Asia

One of the summer’s most significant trainings for me (so far) is the one in Palawan, Philippines. That they have the most beautiful beach I have ever been to is of secondary value. I come to train leaders. It’s my ministry and joy.

Aside from teaching strategy and principles to youth leaders, GYMN also aims to train others to become teachers. Well, the Palawan training was the first for a new trainer, Otet.

Level 1

Here he is (the rightmost) attending a Level 1, I honestly didn’t notice him all that much in this training.

Level 2

And then here we were at a Level 2 (he’s somewhere in the picture). At this seminar I looked at his goals and saw that he’s doing great in his ministry and really wanted to learn more.

Trainers' Training

Last year we invited him to a GYMN trainers’ training where we challenged participants to teach the curriculum with us.

And then he was a big part of the training in Palawan.

Here I am proudly handing him his certificate.

2Ti 2:2 …and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

This past month the GYMNetwork has grown a bit, since summer brought many seminars for GYMN.

In Nepal, last April 10-12, they had a Level 2 seminar in Gorkha and then on April 17-19 there was one in Tanahun.

This coming June there’ll be a training in Kathmandu.

In the Philippines, we have had three.

We had one in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, last March 29-31 (a Level 1 youth ministry strategy seminar attended by leaders from all over the island).

Then on April 12-15 we also taught the course to student leaders in Iligan City down in Mindanao.

And on April 25-26 we had one last training this time with youth workers in Malaybalay City also in Mindanao.

If you’ve been to any of these trainings we’d love to hear from you.

Leadership and joy are words that many times do not go together. If you have been in ministry leadership for any length of time you may have found that joy is not always easy to come by. Sure, you can have fun in leadership, but fun is fleeting – it comes and it goes. Joy in comparison is a deep rooted Holy contentment. This holy foundation can only be found in the deep rooted truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It cannot be found in personal acceptance, in church and group numbers, in the amount of your budget or any other peripheral items of ministry. The core is the Good News, the Gospel. The core can only remain unshaken and full of joy when we prescribe to the joy seen in one of the most successful leaders of the New Testament, the Apostle Paul.

We could scour the pages of the New Testament for all of the attributes of Paul but for the sake of this article we will look only at a portion of the first chapter of the book of Philippians. Written from prison with a limited numerical direct impact/ministry, Paul continually counts the joys of ministry and His life. Imagine being chained to a guard constantly. You have a passion to proclaim the gospel around the globe, but you are restricted to a jail, and not just a jail, but you have to be chained to a guard day and night. What kind of joy can be found here?

Paul tells of that joy in Philippians 1:12-14. He does not ignore the circumstances and difficulties he finds himself in, but at the core, in the very depth of Paul’s being, is the calling and conclusion of the cause of Christ. Verse 13 states, “my imprisonment in the cause of Christ”. He saw his imprisonment as working out for the cause of Christ. A guard chained to him was a blessing for the gospel even though it may have been a personal inconvenience. In addition, Paul states that the brethren, “have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear” – all due to Paul’s joyful example.

Can you count all of the “circumstances” you are in? Are most of them unpleasant? It is our personal human nature to count bad things first. However, Paul, along with you and I, have the great opportunity, should we choose, to see the joy. To truly see the joy, we must realize that our joy is anchored to only one possible place: the Gospel truth—our salvation. No other place, possession or person is able to provide a protected core of joy.

Where is your joy being found? Where are you looking for joy and finding it fleeting? Have you checked the core of the Gospel? Have you forgotten the deep fresh joy of your conversion? Maybe it is time to take a journey to that place and then bring it forward into your ministry as your remember that only the Gospel proclamation can provide deep, everlasting joy for you and those in your ministry as well. Continue reading Joy in Leadership

Plans were made and restructured several times to make sure everything and everyone was prepared for the training that would take place in Palawan, the island west of Manila. We conferred with each other and prayed earnestly for God’s guidance and blessing on everything we felt the Lord wanted on this particular training. The team was set and eager to serve.

This particular training was unique in the sense that the Lord allowed all the GYMN Asia staff and two volunteers to join together our talents and passion to be shared in Puerto Princesa’s Youth Discipleship Revival Congress. The personalities and gifts we had was complementing our lives and work, it was not just beneficial for us but was also for the delegates. We were blessing each other and were united in ministering to the young people of Palawan that God had entrusted to us.

It never seizes to amaze me when I see young people being so attentive to what we share to them and how they try their best to work on the tasks we present to them. I’m blessed to encounter teens truly hungry for the Word of God and the principles imbedded in it. The youth that attended our sessions tell us of how the Level 1 training is essential to their call and responsibilities and plans as youth leaders in their respective areas of ministry. They were eager to listen and eager to put into practice what God had given to them during the training.

We are definitely thankful for the results of the guidance, empowerment, and victory that God has brought into every part of the training. I may be of the opinion that a successful seminar is not about the numbers (participants), although we had a large crowd. Our triumph in this congress is in the testimonies of those who have attended. They truly participated and declared that they have gained from the Lord through the sessions. The real victory for me is not in the presentations given but is in the rekindling of the fire in the hearts of those who came. The young leaders came, they worshipped, and went back to their respective areas of ministry eager to serve God through the reaching out and the discipling of other young people. Now that’s what triumphant ministry is all about, “You will take my place and do greater things.”

Level 1 graduates

The GYMN-Asia team headed by the Asia Director, Eric Duane Pantig, visited the Light of the World Church in Deparo, Caloocan City last March 13, 2011 at 10:00 in the morning. The team comprised of Pastor Eric’s family (wife Beth and daughter Elyssha), Grace, Penny, Windel and L.M.

The objective of the church visitation was to present GYMN-Asia to the church and encourage them to partner with us. We introduced the ministry through video presentation, Powerpoint slides and testimonies from the volunteers.

During  that Sunday service, Pastor Eric gave a message on Jesus calling the disciples to become “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).

Testimonies on how GYMN-Asia impacted the youth ministries in the three island groups of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Penny Ng from the Word of Hope Church in Quezon City (Luzon), Windel Manabat from the Immanuel Fellowship in Cebu City (Visayas) and Louis Mark Plaza from Baptist Conference Church in Iligan City (Mindanao).

Grace promoting the “Adopt-a-Country” program through Pringles.

Giving out of pledge forms, a commitment to pray for GYMN-Asia.

The GYMN-Asia team with the young people of Light of the World Church.

Chow time after the church visit!

February 26, 2011 marked the end of a process that begun 7 months ago. This was a project that begun with the thought that we have long been giving youth leaders and church workers tools for their youth ministry. But a question came up—

“Are the leaders strong enough to use the tools they get?”

Because we could give people a ton of information to help them in the ministry but it would not help them if their hearts where not in the right place–it would just consume them. That question asked by Chris Davis, our director, birthed an experience named “Heart of the Leader” wherein the focus was not on the tools of ministry but on strengthening the heart of the minister. Not just giving people information but provide a way for transformation.

I went through the process as a participant along with other youth leaders, pastors and church workers who had been in ministry for more than 5 years. The start of the Heart of the Leader was a retreat held in July 2010 and the end was another retreat we held last month, more than half a year from the first one.

Why so long a seminar? Built into the design was the need to address deep issues and destructive patterns in the life of the individual. That needed a community of fellow believers who had learned to trust each other over time. So it took 7 months to build that kind of fellowship.

You can read how others found it here, here and here.

For me, personally, this video captures best what I bring home from the event:

In the community created by Christ, your deepest questions can be safely answered, your deepest hurts can be more than healed.

It’s February, when a young man’s fancy is led toward relationships, especially the romantic kind. Okay it’s mainly by the media. But let me touch a subject that will not only help a romantic relationship, but hopefully go beyond that, to every relationship. And since I’m writing to youth workers let me speak in the context of youth ministry. The beauty of a relationship goes beyond how it begins to how it endures.  This is all about restoring right relationships.

Many youth groups I know are at first glance a tight-knit community but the youth worker who knows the group may feel the tensions that are invisible to the outsider. Every community is a group of imperfect people coming together, which means that as the youth group grows and evolves relationships strain. They sometimes break.

Teens, especially, can be emotionally volatile. A phrase wrongly worded could be misinterpreted as an insult. Annoying ways while playing a friendly sport could turn into a full-blown fight…or worse. The point is we sin against others and relationships are broken. The youth group may be keeping deep emotions of anger and resentment beneath the surface.

This is bound to happen in any group short of perfection. But in Christ Jesus, there is a way for repentant sinners to be restored into beautiful relationships.

First off, we need to take a closer look at ourselves.

As youth leaders we ourselves will not be immune to chaotic relationships. Indeed the pressures of ministry may make leaders more prone to the temptation to hurt others. But one way we can lead the charge of preserving and restoring right relationships is to acknowledge this fact in ourselves and have the humility to indeed show that you are also a sinner. A sinner on the path of repentance.

Says Paul David Tripp,

“One of the ways I preach the Gospel is declaring my own need for it. And that can be done casually. I was talking to my 17-year-old son recently. I felt I’d been impatient with him. And I said: “It’s not going to be any surprise to you that I’m going to say I’m a sinner.” Well he laughed at that, because I also said: “You have a robust experience of the same.” Then I said, “You know there are times when I think of myself more than you, and last night was one of those times.” And he said, “I do the same thing with you Dad, and I forgive you.” After that exchange there was a warmth between us.

I think the same attitude of being humble and repentant can work wonders not only between parent and child but also for the youth worker with our relationships with our fellow peers and even those youth under our care.

We also need to look up. Continue reading Restoring Relationships