I believe that the local church is the hope of the world
Already in my life I have seen the remarkable power of the Gospel to transform the lives of people. When the Gospel is proclaimed and people are well loved the local church can be God's redemptive presence in a community and I love to be a part of that. It's exciting!
I feel gifted and called as a Teacher- Pastor - Evangelist called of God to explain the truths of the Word of God clearly and to apply them effectively, particularly to young people, so that Christians are further transformed by the power of the Gospel into greater degrees of glory whereby they will, in turn, care for one another and themselves proclaim the Gospel so that others respond to the promises of Christ through conversion and join in ministry! (FULL)
I believe that Youth Ministry exists to help facilitate and encourage the church to be loving and serving its youth in the best way that it can. Youth Groups are not small churches within churches, but part of the larger body and are opportunities for our church's emerging generations to be known in an important way and to see themselves as in ministry to the church and community (and to have lots of fun!).
Being aged 29 I know that education alone has not prepared me for ministry, but that I need to continue to grow in maturity and experience which is something that only time among God's people can bring me. My obvious weaknesses are administrative and are related to my desire to grow in general responsibility and self leadership. I hope to grow under the direction and guidance of wise elders and a supportive community. I want to serve full time in a position of ministering to a church's youth or as a part of a pastoral team; I desire simply to be a part of the life of a church.
I feel gifted and called as a Teacher- Pastor - Evangelist called of God to explain the truths of the Word of God clearly and to apply them effectively, particularly to young people, so that Christians are further transformed by the power of the Gospel into greater degrees of glory whereby they will, in turn, care for one another and themselves proclaim the Gospel so that others respond to the promises of Christ through conversion and join in ministry! (FULL)
I believe that Youth Ministry exists to help facilitate and encourage the church to be loving and serving its youth in the best way that it can. Youth Groups are not small churches within churches, but part of the larger body and are opportunities for our church's emerging generations to be known in an important way and to see themselves as in ministry to the church and community (and to have lots of fun!).
Being aged 29 I know that education alone has not prepared me for ministry, but that I need to continue to grow in maturity and experience which is something that only time among God's people can bring me. My obvious weaknesses are administrative and are related to my desire to grow in general responsibility and self leadership. I hope to grow under the direction and guidance of wise elders and a supportive community. I want to serve full time in a position of ministering to a church's youth or as a part of a pastoral team; I desire simply to be a part of the life of a church.
Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia I watched my friends live without being exposed to the Gospel, without being taught how to process their emotions, without being told that their lives were bigger than themselves, and that their very identities can be secure in Christ. I saw large churches grow empty. In many ways in the North East there is a Biblical famine and people are desperate for the Gospel and the Bible.
The first PCA church I attended was very "high Church." It was located in a highly Roman Catholic area so the pastor and the elders wore robes, there was an extensive liturgy, and the building had a high steeple. My first Sunday there the sermon was out of Leviticus and they had a breakfast for college students. I had never seen the Bible taken so seriously and was impressed by how well they loved people.
The second PCA church I attended was a plant that meet in a store front on the Main Street of an artistic community. We wore jeans and homeless people walked in off the street. It couldn't have been any more different than the first, yet this one highly esteemed scripture and loved people in very real and powerful ways. The Gospel was remarkably evident in both of these churches.
My studies at Covenant Theological Seminary brought me to a small rural congregation in Illinois. There I saw business people from St. Louis and farmers from the Illinois country side come together lovingly under God's word for his purposes (and to host some of the best pot luck lunches ever!). A thousand miles from where I grew up (and from where Christianity is counter-cultural), that church became a real home to me. From there I began the long process of being ordained by the Illiniana Presbytery, gaining approval from MTW, and being called by the Presbyterian Church in the Cayman Islands. After graduating, passing tests, fund-raising, and years of prayer I was able to serve as the Youth Pastor in Grand Cayman. Gaining a more global perspective on God's church and doing the daily work of full time ministry was a great joy to me. Serving in a non-American context showed me the necessity of sitting as a learner - taking the time to ask questions and to simply minister with my presence and not my resume. God has been working on that island for as long as there have been people there and it is a privilege to have had the time to sit and creatively working to see how the modern teenagers fit into God's grand story of redemption - how the gospel can compel them and win their hearts in a way that shows them who they are in Christ, why they matter, and where they belong.
All of this has taught me that the location and the style of a church matter very little in light of the church's faithfulness. People are people - all loved by God, all longing to be known, and all looking for others to love. God has shown me time and time again that His Word is powerful. He can be known and the Gospel speaks not only to our initial justification and salvation, but to every moment of our lives. God is infinitely captivating and his church will make his presence known around the globe. I am committing my life to being a part of that in any way possible.
The first PCA church I attended was very "high Church." It was located in a highly Roman Catholic area so the pastor and the elders wore robes, there was an extensive liturgy, and the building had a high steeple. My first Sunday there the sermon was out of Leviticus and they had a breakfast for college students. I had never seen the Bible taken so seriously and was impressed by how well they loved people.
The second PCA church I attended was a plant that meet in a store front on the Main Street of an artistic community. We wore jeans and homeless people walked in off the street. It couldn't have been any more different than the first, yet this one highly esteemed scripture and loved people in very real and powerful ways. The Gospel was remarkably evident in both of these churches.
My studies at Covenant Theological Seminary brought me to a small rural congregation in Illinois. There I saw business people from St. Louis and farmers from the Illinois country side come together lovingly under God's word for his purposes (and to host some of the best pot luck lunches ever!). A thousand miles from where I grew up (and from where Christianity is counter-cultural), that church became a real home to me. From there I began the long process of being ordained by the Illiniana Presbytery, gaining approval from MTW, and being called by the Presbyterian Church in the Cayman Islands. After graduating, passing tests, fund-raising, and years of prayer I was able to serve as the Youth Pastor in Grand Cayman. Gaining a more global perspective on God's church and doing the daily work of full time ministry was a great joy to me. Serving in a non-American context showed me the necessity of sitting as a learner - taking the time to ask questions and to simply minister with my presence and not my resume. God has been working on that island for as long as there have been people there and it is a privilege to have had the time to sit and creatively working to see how the modern teenagers fit into God's grand story of redemption - how the gospel can compel them and win their hearts in a way that shows them who they are in Christ, why they matter, and where they belong.
All of this has taught me that the location and the style of a church matter very little in light of the church's faithfulness. People are people - all loved by God, all longing to be known, and all looking for others to love. God has shown me time and time again that His Word is powerful. He can be known and the Gospel speaks not only to our initial justification and salvation, but to every moment of our lives. God is infinitely captivating and his church will make his presence known around the globe. I am committing my life to being a part of that in any way possible.
