Bible Teacher. Pastor.Educator.

Jesus Christ is bigger than my cultural boundaries! July 2018 Ministry Update

Dear Prayer Partners,

    Wow!! 2018 has been filled with major  personal setbacks and unexpected showers of blessings from God. On this first day of August and as I reflect on the past few months I am excited for what God has in store! This past weekend I had one of the my most memorable opportunities of an itinerant bible teacher! The Lord opened the door for to speak to a Chinese-American youth ministry in Naperville, Illinois from July 26th-July 29th 2018. Based on my past cross cultural experiences in other ministry context,  I was extremely honored but not initially super excited to serve at a  Chinese American atmosphere…(pray for me).

    I never would have guessed how touched and welcomed I would feel at this summer retreat. The teenagers at Living Water Evangelical Church were not like the typical youth groups that I encounter. These middle school and high school students were refreshing to my spirit, because I could tell how hungry they were for the Word of God! Not once was there an interruption to my presentation. Their willingness to drink deep from God’s word and take notes was unmatched by even some adult audiences. The worship team...Wow!!

I have never felt more respected and treasured as a guest pastor than by the students on this retreat. I have spoken to thousands of youth across my 20 years in ministry and although many retreats and camps have youth that enjoy my messages, the desire for the Word was striking with this particular group. Many students went out of their way to start conversation with me and during one of the lunch breaks a group of teenage boys and their leader invited me over for a Q&A! I enjoyed answering their well thoughtful and inquisitive questions about full time ministry work. It kept my personal morale very high as I worked through 6 different talks while feeling like a volcano was happening in my head and a tsunami was going on in my blood veins.

    After the first night I had a terrible drawback by catching the flu. I was aching, shivering, and had pounding headaches. With some of my energy effected and of course being visibly sick, I wasn’t sure how that would affect the response from the audience. To my surprise the students did not let my sickness all weekend  hinder them from getting God’s Word! I was blessed by a parent who overwhelmed me with the kindness she had to bring me medication after hearing I was ill. The graciousness of everyone I encountered truly made my experience as a whole better than I could have imagined.

After this awesome ministry experience here are three reflections:

• Jesus Christ is bigger than cultural boundaries and our foolish fears ! It is not everyday that a Nigerian American is asked to speak at a Chinese American Church. The fact that I was asked to speak at this event shows that God’s Word is for everyone and I am so glad that it unites us! I saw a handful of students make decisions that I personally believe will effect them forever. Students of all ages and genders commented to me that they appreciated the points from my sermons and I know that they saw me as a vessel in use of the Lord and not just my skin color. When students would give me compliments I could feel the genuine connections we made. I am grateful to have met Pastor Geoff who was so gracious to invite me and his hospitality showcased the need for us as leaders to invest in cross cultural relationships.

 

• The Word of God is powerful! I love that when the word is taught in different forums it always has the same impact. Even though my health was falling apart it did not cause a distraction or hesitation from the students because they already had set in their spirits that they were going to draw near to God’s Word regardless! They had a willingness to listen critically and they kept their hearts open to self reflection. I could see facial expressions change when I gave personal anecdotes from my life. Any gender or cultural barriers had no chance of surviving the mighty truth of the Bible! I love the bible because it never fails to change lives. I'm glad that it is a core value of my ministry to keep the bible at the center. I know that God purposed it to change lives and produce transformation. That is why I continually strive to always to teach the Bible with simplicity and depth.

20 Ways Satan May Seek to Destroy You this Week | Counseling One Another

20 Ways Satan May Seek to Destroy You this Week

February 13, 2012 by Paul Tautges | 0 comments

He is the serpent, the Great Dragon, Beelzebul, the ruler of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the evil one, and the adversary. He is Satan. And—if you are a follower of Jesus Christ—he hates your guts with a passion. Like a roaring lion he is prowling about seeking to destroy you. How can you stand firm and resist the devil so that he will flee from you? First, do not be naive; you must consider his ways.

1. He may slander God to you in order to cast doubt on God’s goodness and shipwreck your faith (Gen 3:4-5).
2. He may tempt you to deceive others in order to create, or maintain, the impression of being more spiritual (Acts 5:3; Jn 8:44).
3. He may corrupt your mind and steer you away from the simplicity of Christ and His gospel (2 Cor 11:3).
4. He may hinder [cut in on, as in a race] your gospel proclamation (1 Thess 2:18).
5. He may wrestle against you, fighting against your progress in Christ (Eph 6:12).
6. He may tempt you to commit sexual immorality against your spouse as a result of neglecting the intimacy 0f the marriage bed (1 Cor 7:5).
7. He may harass you with some form of  fleshly affliction (2 Cor 12:7).
8. He may blind the spiritual eyes of your unsaved family, friends, and neighbors so that they may not see the glory of Jesus in the gospel (2 Cor 4:4).
9. He may keep your unsaved acquaintances in bondage to sins that hinder them from coming to God (Gal 4:8).
10. He may smite you with physical disease (Luke 13:16).
11. He may murder you (Ps 106:37; Jn 8:44).
12. He may sow tares [counterfeit Christians, sons of the evil one] within your assembly of believers in order to deceive and create disunity (Mt 13:38-39;

via counselingoneanother.com

When you stop learning you should stop leading......Here are 40 great leadership book apart from the Bible thanks to Brad Lomenick for this list

40 Great Leadership Books to Read

August 31st, 2011 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

I love leadership. And I read a lot. So I wanted to provide you with a list of some of the books I recommend.

These are not the only leadership books you should read. There are hundreds of others that are great. But these are just simply 40 of my favorites.

So here you go. And please share this list with your friends, team, and other leaders who might benefit.

40 leadership books to read:

1. Good to Great- Jim Collins

2. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership- John Maxwell

3. Courageous Leadership- Bill Hybels

4. The Next Generation Leader- Andy Stanley

5. Now, Discover Your Strengths- Marcus Buckingham

6. Love is the Killer App- Tim Sanders

7. The Tipping Point- Malcolm Gladwell

8. Tribes- Seth Godin

9. It: How Churches and Leaders can Get it and Keep it- Craig Groeschel

10. Integrity- Henry Cloud

11.

via bradlomenick.com

Annual Report for Youth Ministry

 2007-2008 has been a year of transitions. We have created three (3) distinctive, age appropriate transformational learning environments for our weekly gatherings.

• Tuesday "The Bridge" which is a relational-focused ministry for young people from 16 up to 21 years of age to bridge the chasm between teenage years to college age to young adults? It is held at my (Pastor James') house and currently we have 20+ students attending every week. Staff includes three (3) adult mentors and one (1) support staff member.
• Wednesday: Revolution meets, which focuses on creating a weekly environment for middle school students to engage with peers in a fun-filled Biblical learning environment. Our June 2008 attendance has averaged ten (10).
• Thursday: Real Life meets, which is a ministry to Freshmen & Sophomore High School students to prepare them for the tumultuous times of being a Junior & Senior in High School. Real Life strives to assist their parents in building a solid Christian foundation for the last two (2) years of High School. Our current attendance is also ten (10).
• SWAT Team: meets monthly for a time of training middle school, freshmen, and sophomore students for ministry. The team also participates in bi-annual retreats, which have on average 20 members in attendance.
• Sunday school averages 28 students with 15 in high school and 13 in middle school. We are currently contemplating a 3^rd class to add in the fall of 2008 to pattern the weekly age-appropriate, transformational learning environments. (Bridge, Real Life and Revolution)
• Fellowship events are designed to foster healthy relationships between mentors and students; and to provide them with pleasant, delightful, fun-filled and safe environments to interact with other Christian peers.
• Student Internship Institute (SII) was a success last year. Students were encouraged to learn from various Christian leaders, serve in different challenging environments, and to help lead our Youth Ministry throughout the school year. Most all of the kids who went through SII are currently holding significant, vital leadership positions in our Youth Ministry and serve in specific ways every week.

Summary of the Year.

    It was my goal to have 15 small group leaders in both the Bridge and in Real Life also to have 4-5 students in each of those groups. It was my desire to have 5 student small group leaders along with 10 adult small group leaders. Although we did not reach our goals, we have been so blessed by God to have the youth workers we have and to have staff members who are supportive.

    At the beginning of the year we started with a handful of adult leaders: Mel Holland, Ken & Maureen Cox, Scott Clayton, Liz Stevens, Scott Clayton, Terry Pradmore, Sandy Balant, Mr. Walker, Scott Clayton, Sonya Germeau, and Ricky & Christanna Grimm.

    Due to family responsibilities and unavoidable circumstances we have lost half of our adult small gt leaders. Thank you to the leaders who continue with us this year; Ken and Maureen Cox, Scott Clayton, Liz, Stevens, Mr. and Mrs. Coffin Terry Pradmore, Mr. Walker, Sandy Balant, and Ricky & Christanna Grimm along with our two young adult/students leaders, , Sharon Porter and Shaina Doehle.

    As we come near the end of another school year, we are amazed at how God has used our ministry teams to serve families in different ministries.

 

• Kenny Cox teaches our Sunday school program to our high school students. His excitement and mind blowing illustrations make the bible come alive to our students and easy to understand.

 

• Maureen Cox teaches our Sunday school program to the middle school students, she is always consistent, towards the lost, loyal, and faithful and shows such compassion towards the students who are lack spiritual influences at home. She also goes above and beyond to getting our youth to our events and assisting me with my administration responsibilities.

 

• Liz Stevens cooks for the bridge every Tuesday nights with a sweet and gracious spirit.

 

• Mel Holland has been my administrative assistant and has contributed immensely to the organizational structure of our youth ministry.

   

• Alice Coffin cooks for the Revolution group with a constant spirit of gentleness and humility.

 

• Christanna & Ricky Grimm serve with gentleness, wisdom and grace.

 

• Mr. Walker is always punctual, always willing to assist the students in their academic development.

 

• Terry Pradmore embodies wisdom, consistency, and stability to our young men.

 

• Sandy Balant is a blessing to young women at the Bridge! She gives encouragement and spiritual admonition to young ladies' and is available for guidance every week.

   

• Scott Clayton and Mr. Coffin for the generosity, enthusiasm and availability to our youth to drive the bus!!!

 

• And finally thank you to Donna Brush, who does such a magnificent job at maintaining our rooms.     

    On Tuesday evenings, the Bridge group meets from 5:30 pm -8:30 pm at my home. We generally don't end up dismissing until after 9:15 pm. We currently have 18 students between the Junior and seniors in High School along with the freshman and sophomores in college. We do have 5 seniors who will be graduating this summer!

     As the Bridge grows to the huge numbers, we are looking forward to creating a new group soon for the college students and we will call that group "Connections". With that being said, we are praying for God's hand to be a part of the needs that come along with beginning a new group which includes a new location, new time, and a leader! Initially our goal was to use the Bridge as a catalyst to develop this ministry. Our desire for the new "Connections group" will be to meet on Sunday evenings.

    On Wednesday's our Revolution group (middle School students) has been meeting with an average 8 Students attending each week. Alice Coffin has been a tremendous helper in the kitchen as well as an example of hospitality and joy to our students. Ricky Grimm along with the help of Chris Lotsenheyer has been ministering to the middle school boys. Christanna Grimm has become a deaconess and filling her shoes is Sharon Porter working with the 8^th grade girls along with Shaina Doehle leading the 6^th and 7^th grade girls.

    On Thursday evenings our "Reelife" group meets with an average of 10 students who are freshman and sophomores in High School. Maureen Cox is assisting me every Thursday. The students will be allowed to come straight to the church after school during the next school year.

    Every month we minister to forty five students in our community. Every week we see about thirty five of them in our age appropriate transformational learning environments. Since September of last year, over 80 students have participated in an event hosted by the youth ministry at North Mason Bible Church. To God! Be all the glory! Amen!

Respectfully James Owolabi

Youth Pastor at North Mason Bible Church 6/30/2008.

Two words that kill us…. I Know….

What we dont Know will kill us................. Thanks Mark.............

two words that can kill your youth ministry
mark devries

College Street Church* had just hired Jack,* their new youth worker. And because he came to them with limited experience, the church provided him a year of youth ministry coaching.

Our first conversation was positive enough. But after our second visit, I had quickly learned Jack's favorite two words: "I know." Curiously, each "I know" was promptly followed by his failing to put into action the very principles we believed he already knew.

Within 6 months, Jack was moving on. His two-word mantra just didn't work. It didn't work with parents, with volunteers, and it especially didn't work with his boss.

Over the past few years, I've been amazed at how many youth workers have simply stopped learning, other than attending conventions and reading articles that echo their own opinions. These "I know" leaders seem to fit the description of learning guru Edward DeBono: "…the only people who are very satisfied with their thinking skills are those poor thinkers who believe that the purpose of thinking is to prove yourself right."

Those who study the learning process identify four distinct phases:

• Unconscious Ignorance: You don't know what you don't know
• Conscious Ignorance: You know enough to know what you don't know
• Conscious Knowledge: You're aware of what you know (but have to concentrate to access it)
• Unconscious Knowledge: You have mastered what you know (and it comes automatically.

Those who sustain long-term, deep impact youth ministries make a mission out of eradicating unconscious ignorance. Here's how they do it:

1. They are driven to discover what crucial skills or knowledge about youth ministry they do not yet possess. For some it may be knowing how to grow a youth group. Others might say, "I just can't seem to recruit volunteers or launch small groups." And still others struggle with getting parents (or senior pastors, or…) on their team." (Clue: If you can't discover what you don't know, keep your ears open to your critics).
2. They select a single top learning priority to focus on. They read, strategize, experiment, call, develop theories that don't work, and keep digging. (Clue: If you have trouble finding time for this kind of learning, take 10 minutes at the beginning of every day to work toward filling in the most important gap in your ministry skill set).
3. They run—they don't walk—to find youth ministry mentors. I've heard too many experienced youth workers say, "I've never been able to find a mentor." But as we talk further, it becomes clear that they have invested only minimal time in such a search. (Clue: As a last resort, f you can't find a youth ministry mentor in your area, contact Youth Ministry Architects. It's what we do).

I particularly love one of Jim Collins' descriptions of the "Good to Great leader" as the kind of leader who approaches challenges with a curiously teachable "I don't know" attitude. Let's declare a moratorium on the two words that can kill our youth ministries and embrace the effectiveness that can only come to those who are daily learning "what they don't know."

*Not Actual Names

(Edward De Bono, Six Thinking Hats, New York, NY: Backbay Books, 1999, p. xi)

Mark DeVries is a youth pastor and founder of Youth Ministry Architects, a youth ministry coaching service that works with individual churches to establish sustainable, deep-impact youth ministries (www.YMArchitects.com).