Last night I took our youth group on a little trip. We went to a church in a small town on the other side of Kansas City that was running a ministry for young mothers. It's called Baby Grace Ministries, and is run by Anne Farmer and Juli Yocum. This is a great ministry whose effectiveness is clearly visible.
The students that I took really enjoyed it, and I think it did them a lot of good to get out and see others in action. This reminded me that it's so important to learn about and celebrate the things God is doing outside of your local church. Youth can get so used to the things in your own church that they forget that there are other churches doing other things. Sometimes they forget that those other things serve and glorify God just as much as the ministries your church participates in. And sometimes, if we're not careful, our youth will begin to think that their church is the only one capable of doing things right or worth doing. We have to guard against this kind of pride and arrogance.
Here's why I think visiting other churches and ministries is effective:
1. It gets the kids off of their home turf. Students need to see that God is worshiped and served in more places than just your church.
2. Students gain an appreciation for other people and denominations when they see them in action.
3. People from different churches and denominations think differently and have a different culture than do the people that we serve and worship with regularly. Letting our kids see and experience different people will broaden them and perhaps give them new insights they might not have received staying on familiar ground.
Question: What have been some successful trips to other churches, denominations, or ministries that you or your youth group have taken?
Training Tomorrow's Leaders Today,
Matt
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