For over four years now, we have written and rewritten the Enroute manual at least four times.  It started as Enroute - “a life and ministry design for along the way,” and has evolved to its present form of “exploring transformational youth ministry.”

This training experience which explores transformational youth ministry is guaranteed to help youth ministry move from a focus on programs to focuses on how to spiritually affect this students for a lifetime.  It allows participants to evaluate their current practices in the training and begin to make some of the necessary changes to transform students.

This past weekend, I had the privilege of training Enroute at my home church in Calgary, Canada.  Grant Weber, Dallas and Grant Sylvester brought their youth leaders from First Alliance Church for a two day training time as they looked to start the new ministry year off focusing on transformational youth ministry.  I was blown away by the reminder that comes through loud and clear in the training time that spiritual transformation only happens when it first happens in my own personal life.  I can’t take someone to a place where I haven’t been there myself.

So, as we kick off this new Enroute training experience, one that I believe will be life-changing for the participants and ministries that they represent, I can’t wait to interact with many of you through this blog.  If you are at all interested in learning more about Enroute or how to host Enroute, please don’t hesitate to contact me at mwilks@youthfront.com

I was standing at the counter patiently waiting as the girl behind the counter was helping another individual with the laminating machine. She was all tangled up with it and I was doing my best to not be frustrated with her. It was fine waiting since I noticed a tv was playing some of the March Madness games on it.

She paged a manager and I proceeded to help the manager know how to print it. I think that I have a future in the office supply workforce if I ever need a job. We got it printing and then the question came out –

“What is this Reveal thing?” she asked and then proceeded with the next comment of “It sounds very interesting especially when it says here – joining in the activity of God?” “Is God really involved in our world?” “Is this for students?” “What church do you work at?” “Is this because of Easter?”

The questions were coming faster than I could provide answers. I did my best and encouraged her to read a few things that I am reading and encouraged her to connect with a faith community in her area.

It proved to me something once again – the world is looking to see if God is at work in this world and they are looking directly at us. What are you and me showing with our lives?

This fall, Youthfront/Sonlife are releasing a brand new student initiative/event called Reveal. In Reveal, we teach students (and adults) a few things about how and what God reveals:
- God reveals himself to us
- God reveals himself through compassion and justice
- God reveals himself through character and community
- God reveals himself through conversations and stories

I am so excited to walk students through this two day experience. We are looking at doing it in 12 cities across North America this fall. Our biggest hope is that “communities” will be changed because they learned about God and then revealed God to the world around them. Could you imagine a community wide impact in your network or city?

- Matt

This past Saturday, I had the privilege of speaking to the group and it reminded me of my former life as a youth pastor. (One that I hope one day God will call me back into.)

I have loved helping Grant, the youth pastor there who was a childhood friend of mine. I wish that my schedule would permit me to be there more often but we both seem to have an understanding of my schedule so we just try and capitalize on the times that we have.

I have loved the chance to speak into Grant’s life and really just be a sounding board for him in regards to his youth ministry. It seems like all of us as youth workers have the same mindset that there is always a way to do something better. It keeps us up late at night and is a curse and blessing of working with students.

My friends at Youth Specialties have created a consulting group that brings a wealth of individuals together who love the church and are gifted in a variety of youth ministry topics and situations.

I have the great privilege to be included in this group where I totally feel unqualified next to these authors, ministry professionals and professors. The key is that this group really desires to serve the local church and I would encourage you to check us out if you are in the need of an outside voice for your youth ministry.

Check it out on www.ysconsults.com
- Matt

There are youth pastors and youth workers around North America who have partnered with us as an organization and took a chance on what we believe God has called us to.

Usually that chance involves a financial cost but it also involves a greater risk and that is allowing Youthfront/Sonlife to speak into their team and their ministry.  I know from past experience that there is nothing worst than having to debrief with your team after a “bad” experience.

There is the business side to what we do but the other side of the equation is really our desire to partner, lift up, encourage, and prod these youth groups and youth workers to think about what God is up to in this world.  Our dream is always that these partnerships would move to friendships.

We have learned lessons along the journey and continue to try and posture ourselves with an attitude of constant learning.  We have made mistakes, came with an attitude at times and even said things that we probably regret saying.  We are learning as we go and are trying to figure out always what the next right step is.

These past two days, I was in San Antonio with the Evangelical Free Church of America who a year ago entered into a partnership with us at Youthfront/Sonlife.  These leaders (Fritz, Shane, Rob, Jim, and Dan) committed with SMC team to use Sonlife as the primary tool for their people.  They believed in us and took a chance.  Many of their team that was hosting Enroute training seminars in their areas had never even experienced one themselves.

We have both made some right moves and questionable moves in the last few months.  They have spoken heavily into the content revisions and I believe that when the new Enroute is released in the next few months it will serve youth pastors well.

This partnership with the Free Church started out as that, a partnership but I believe after these last few days, it has turned to a friendship.  What’s the difference you might ask – I think a partnership is built on equal terms but a friendship is built not knowing what you might get back in return.  A friendship costs more than a partnership but the beauty with a friendship is that it doesn’t necessarily involve business.

Thanks Free Church guys —- Mike King, Chris and myself appreciate you deeply.

Matt

It seems like the questions that we used to ask are not the most important questions to ask now.  It begs me to ask, “What was wrong with those questions?” or better yet, “Where we just asking the wrong questions back then?”

Here’s a short list of some of the former questions that I found myself asking in youth ministry:

- Have I developed a discipleship plan that is all encompassing, challenging and deep for our students?    (A real focus on the “content”)
- Am I seeing spiritually lost students accept Jesus?
- Am I seeing our youth group reach out to newcomers?
- Are students asking for more and getting involved in our ministry?
- Are students engaged in worship?  (remember “worship” as we know it today really took off in the 90’s)
- How big can our outreach event be?  How can we attract students to it?  How can we make sure that our students want to ask their friends to our event?

It seems like some of these questions have changed as we strive to get a deeper understanding of the student culture and the needs that are in it.  Here’s a list of some of the questions that I have collected over the last few weeks.  This is just the beginning of the list, I would love for you to help me contribute to it.

- Are students interacting with the entire story of God and seeing themselves having a role in it?
- Are students active in some form of restoration?  (Environmentally, spiritually, socially, etc)
- Are students seeing that there is a role for them in the world that they live in?   How are we as a church resourcing them to accomplish that role?
- Are students owning their faith through a personal relationship with God rather than a corporate relationship with the church or something else?  What do they know about their faith?
- Does our community (surrounding the church) recognize that the church is a place filled with hope, love and acceptance?  Do they view our church as needed in this community?
- Do students see that true Christian fellowship is needed?  What do they define Christian fellowship as?
So, there is the beginning list of questions that I have compiled over the last few weeks.  What questions do you find yourself asking these days in your youth ministry?  I would love to hear them.

- Matt

“To speak of the Biblical God - of the God who acts in the life of the world - is always to rush in where angels dare not tread.  Only fools will do it without fear and trembling.”

- Douglas John Hall

I am not knocking denominations or the denominational hierarchy that is developed whether by tradition, position or finances.  Denominations mostly function like the churches that make up the denomination so I wouldn’t expect it to look much different.

Usually, youth ministry in a denomination is relegated to a few large events that need to raise money to support all the other events that happen regionally and locally.  One of the problems that is facing denominations is the lack of ownership that the youth pastor has with it.  (I also think that churches are beginning to have a disconnect with the denom also.)  Finances are always tight and one of the first things to go in a budget, is that supporting the denom budget line.

Denominations (especially in the area of youth ministry) are going to need to reinvent themselves.  I think that one of the ways that a denomination can be viewed as beneficial is to start to drive the ownership back into regions and create healthy networks that build on relationships not a program or a need to facilitate something.

Let me highlight some denominations that I am really excited about and am looking forward to see what they will do in the upcoming days.

The EFCA is currently looking for a youth denom leader but in the interim is being lead by Fritz Dale and a great team of youth pastors.  This team is really taking the time to find the right guy for the position but is leading through the transition.  They are committed to bringing training to all their regions in the US in the next few months.  Pray for the EFCA youth leadership team.

The CMA just placed a younger guy named Jason Ostrander who is incredibly sharp and gifted in many ways into their youth leadership position.  I am so excited to see what Jason will do in the CMA in the month ahead.  Pray for Jason as he leads the CMA denomination.

Dave Curtiss and the gang over at the Nazarene denomination are really great people who have a deep heart for the volunteer in their denomination.  We have appreciated the opportunity to be in some brainstorming times with them.  I would encourage you to check out their publishing arm — Bearfoot Ministries.  They write some great spiritual formation for students stuff.

As you can, the winds of change are blowing in the denominational circles…Exciting times we are in.

- Matt

Years ago, I remember a commercial from Wendy’s that had included this cranky old grandma type lady proclaiming, “Where’s the beef?”  It was a great marketing tool for Wendy’s square type burger patty.

Today, I feel like that cranky old lady as I write this blog.  I am getting increasingly frustrated at the way that the church (and Christ followers) have destroyed words that should be meaningful to us as we follow Christ.  These words hold great truths but now we are forced to use other words since the words we want to use mean something else.

Here is my immediate list as I sit here frustrated:

* Worship -    It now means the collection of songs that we sing with instruments and that are done by Hillsong, DCB or Tomlin.

* Fellowship -     Anytime that pies, coffee in a big urn and bad church juice is served in a “fellowship” hall.

* Service -    It is now a project that happens once a week or once a month in the form of a program that is planned by the church

* Outreach -     It is a program that we enter into and choose to leave at any time.  “I am now going to be involved in outreach…”

* Emerging -    Even though the world around us is constantly emerging through technology, science and thought, inside the church emerging is viewed as a bad thing and a thing to stay away from.  (Could you imagine if doctors and researchers were emerging in their medical practices?)

* Missional -    It is now a brand name that signifies a certain way to do church.  If God has called us to go into all the world, aren’t we all suppose to live a missional life?  On the flip side, missional is now becoming the popular term to describe some efforts that the church is doing with the programs that they are running…

There’s my list and my beefs…Where’s the beef?

Do you have any words that you can think of that the church and Christ followers have ruined?

- Matt

No, we haven’t solved the issue of why our high schoolers are leaving the ‘organized’ church in groves.  We haven’t even solved the issue of how to have an effective Wednesday night youth group.

Today, as I boarded Southwest Airlines out of Seattle, I scanned through the “Spirit” magazine as I waited for that magical ding that would allow me to get back to work on my Apple MacBook.  Airplanes give me a great chance to clean my Blackberry and my email box from those messages that just keep popping into it.

There was an article that said the average white-collar worker received 140 emails or text messages or instant messages in a day.  (I guess I must still be in the blue collar category).

It went on to say that there was a study done that said it takes 4 seconds to press delete per email that you want to delete.  On a typical day, it says that you would waste about 4 – 10 minutes deleting and going through your over-zealous spam filter.

So, it leaves me with a dilemma…Do I just ignore all those spam messages?  Do I just let the old “inbox” pile up or maybe the real question is how much time do I waste playing those “orbitz” games in a week?

I am looking forward to the next survey telling me how much time I waste trying to understand how my Blackberry works…

I’m tired when youth pastors and youth workers come together and complain about the same “old” things. I am tired of youth pastors complaining about the relationship that they have with their senior pastor but are not willing to do anything about it. I am tired of youth workers complaining about the “old” people in the church but do not strive to tell the stories of what God is doing in the lives of students so that seniors in the church could actually pray for us. I am tired of us pointing the finger at everyone else while ignoring the issues that we have perpetuated in the church. I am just tired of us not being apart of the solution but adding to the problem “pile.”

Today, my heart is saddened and tired because I am just tired of us all wanting to be the church but pushing the responsibility and blame to someone else. I know that we need to have an outlet to share our frustrations with the church and that what usually comes out of our mouths at gatherings isn’t fully what we believe to be true but I am starting to wonder if the reason we complain is because we don’t have a solution to what we see happening around us.

I am reminded today from the story of God that God loves to partner with His people. He is all about partnership and loves to use his people. Since that is the DNA of who God is, we see that theme throughout the entire Old Testament and into the New Testament. Here’s where it home for me today — there is no way that you can say that Jesus wasn’t “worried” about what the church would look like when he left the earth. I fully believe that in John 17, He is expressing his concern but God is a God who believes in partnership so He let the disciples develop the church from what they experienced with Him.

Here’s the thing - I am sure that there were things that God would have done differently with the church but God wanted mankind to “value” something that was important to Him - the church. If I really care about the church, then I need to work hard to be apart of the solution rather than the “peanut gallery” on the sidelines. What am I (and you) doing to be a part of the solution to all those issues we have with the church?

My list is getting suprisingly small - how about yours?

- Matt