In 2010, I remember talking with my church’s youth pastor. We discussed his desire to be on sabbatical. At that time, I was excited about ministry. I was overly rejoiced with passion to serve within my church and community. I did not understand why he needed to take a break. After he left my church, two years later, I became the youth pastor at the church. When I first started to serve, I was indeed with excitement, energy, and love for my church and community. I went over and beyond the call to serve in my role as youth pastor. I did it because I loved God and more importantly, I loved the children and families. I had little assistance when I first begin my call to youth ministry. This was not because I did not have the help. I think it was because I failed to unitize the support systems that the youth ministry had in place.
After serving almost two years now as the pastor of youth ministries, I agree that a break is needed. I believe the task of service to others is not the work, we are called to, but how we respond to the call to ministry, God’s work for God’s people. More importantly, acting upon a vocation requires first commitment to God and secondly to self, so that one can be of services to others. Each and every day, I am
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In this book, he talked about “liberation through discipline.” In this concept he shared “The movement of self-discipline leads out of bondage to the self into an experience of newness and freedom, then back again to a liberated use and appreciation and enjoyment of material goods, in moderation without becoming entangled again by thousand little threads.” Being intertwined with so many other things, one can lose focus on self-disciplines. I now view the terms spiritual practices and spiritual disciplines both working together and not separate from each other. I attend to use these two concepts as a reminder concerning my individual prayer
“Youth Ministry” in a better way. Having little or no experience in youth ministry, I was not really sure where to start. I believe my start was chosen for me by a higher calling (God) do I believe I pick the right book to start reading or did the right book pick me? The book picked me and here is why.
I grew up in a home with a family that attend church weekly and was active in the church family. I knew about God and about His son but I never remember the story of salvation and the personal need for a savoir. As a teenager I walked away from the religion that I thought did not offer my anything. In my thirties, my husband was diagnosed with cancer and I immediately started my negotiations with God. Little did I know that He was not a negotiator but it was during this time in my life that I needed God more than He needed me. Since accepting the gift of God’s love, the salvation of a Savoir, and the renovation of my heart, I look to God for the path of my life. I share Gods truth through my career change to a Christian nob-profit that’s vision is to share God’s love to the community through the platform of pregnancy care and family services. Personally I have fulfilled God’s call to help the less fortunate by adopting a sibling group and participating and supporting mission trips to third world countries to support his children and missions there. My final piece of God’s plan I feel lead to complete is to volunteer my professional expertise and finances to work with a mission group that provides laboratory services to third world mission hospitals. I have done one trip for them and am currently planning a trip to Honduras in the new year. My day to
Ministry is messy, filled with many dichotomies that that can sabotage a minister’s effectiveness. Can a minister be entrepreneurial while being a good steward? Can a ministry grow and still be healthy? How does the business of ministry and culture of the church coexist? How do ministries remain ethical while maintain the business of ministry? These are the questions that pastors face and must answer correctly in order to be effective.
With that said, the time has come at OGBC to manage the inevitable transition of welcoming a new pastor. The researcher is an associate minister at OGBC and recognized the need for developing a transition plan to help her church to transition well. Transition is the process of letting go of the ways things used to be and then holding on of the way they subsequently become. William Bridges identifies a place in between the transition process called the “neutral zone”. Bridges suggests that while in the neutral zone people resist the transition because it takes longer (often much longer) than change, and it leaves us in this zone while a replacement reality and a new reality is gradually being formed. The researcher’s church was in the neutral zone for three years until they finally selected a new pastor. The time has come for OGBC to let go of the way things used to be and take hold of the way things have become and then move forward with their new pastor embracing the process for a healthy pastoral transition. Transition is the way that we all come to terms with change. The pastoral transition process does not have to be chaotic thus, this project is develop in the anticipation to make the way smoother for
Bryant and Brunson have done a terrific job of assessing the pastoral ministry and giving sound advice, to the young or prospective pastor. The present author believes that this book should be standard in every pastor’s library. “God promises to be with his servants as they follow” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 16) The apostle Paul gave three rules to keep the pastor on the track of a good reward: “Fight the Good Fight; Finish the Race; and Keep the Faith.” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 240-242) The greatest joy for a pastor is to, “Finish well.”
After a car accident three years ago, God used the recovery period to hone my old skills and birth new. Over the course of the process, He repositioned me for a different journey. The new path led to a transition from a secular K-12 setting to Christian higher education; yet, still within the context of supporting a diverse student population. My purpose became preparing and teaching ministerial leadership in a multi-ethnic church, “bridging the gap leadership.” In fulfilling God’s will and direction, I was led to me apply to graduate school.
I find myself extremely passionate in Community Service, I have volunteered at Emmanuel Apostolic Church during Vacation Bible School for the past two summers, preparing food, coming up with creative ideas to keep children occupied, and making sure children are safe. During this time my leadership and conversational skills have strengthened. In addition to that, I have also volunteered there on numerous occasions to feed the homeless. In high school, I also volunteered at an Elderly home on bingo night to interact with the elderly, gave a listening ear, it was extremely rewarding to see them smile, laugh, and interact with me as if they had known me for a while; that showed me how much they appreciate having company. I take huge delight in
For me the next steps are full time pastoral ministry. God willing, I will have a congregation of my own. I look forward to the pastorate because in my heart I know that is where I think the most transformative and world changing aspects of my ministry will occur. I look forward to awakening people’s lives with the Gospel. I look forward to joining a community and growing in faith together. I am excited because God has anointed me to preach good news. And the good news is this; all of God’s children have a stake in God’s transformational work. We are all anointed to preach good news. It is time to get ready.
High school has been a very interesting experience for me. It has definitely had its highs and lows and many confusing experiences in between. Overall, I feel like I have been equipped for not only college, but also life as a whole. High school has taught me many things, both academically and emotionally. It has revealed and exposed my true colors, both good and bad, and as a result, has built many aspects of my character. My experiences at Alameda High school and Alameda Community Learning Center have shaped me into the person that I am today.
...what form of ministry I am called to, I do know that I am called and that there is nothing else in this world that I would rather do. I have a lot of maturing to do spiritually and academically but I could not be more excited to see how God leads me. One of my favorite quotes that sums up my excitement in knowing that Christ will continue to work in my life is from Mark Driscoll, “You are not yet who you will be, so keep repenting. But by God’s grace you are not who you were so keep rejoicing.” Although I do not know what is ahead of me, I know that God has a plan and a purpose for me and he is continuing to work in my life daily. My goal for this semester is to be more aware of his presence around me and trust him to guide me through each day. I want to be challenged not only academically, but spiritually so that I may be equipped to do whatever he calls me to do.
The internship that I acquired during the summer of 2010 at the Greenwood Sports and Industrial Rehabilitation Center (GSIRC), allowed me to gain an immeasurable amount of experience during my tenure at this facility. Within this period, the exposure to new concepts within the physical therapy industry allowed me to observe and work hands on with patients of all ages and disabilities that exposed me to various treatment plans and programs to restore client’s mobility. The essential Physical Education and Exercise Science (PEES) courses taken at Lander University were beneficial to my academic knowledgebase, which prepared me and developed me for the opportunity within the physical therapy discipline. Working as an intern taught me the responsibility of time management and working within a lean schedule that allow me to further develop my skill set. This reflection paper will illustrate my classroom experience, internship experience, and learning experience.
The shepherd and sheep relationship is the best illustration for the relationship between pastor and parishioners. When Jesus asked Simon Peter does he love him three times and said to him “Feed my sheep”, the shepherd and flock relationship has been set. Since Jesus is our good shepherd (Jn. 10:11a), he laid out a good example for us to follow - to lay down his life for the sheep. (Jn. 10:11b) Thus, the wellness of both in and out of the parishioners should always be the concern in the pastors’ hearts. Soul care for the people is essential. Christian friendship is the foundation of Christian soul care. Pastoral ministry including preaching, teaching, and worship forms the broad context of pastoral counseling. Pastoral care is within pastoral ministry but broader than pastoral counseling. God’s love is the source and motivation. Within the pastoral care, there are spiritual direction and pastoral
...rvice. After three more WorldChangers trips, this passion to be a servant to others has grown to have a deep effect on my work ethic, influencing me to do the best job I can when helping others in order to show God’s love to the fullest. As John Hope Franklin claimed, “I would use my energies to make me a better person.” With the wisdom acquired from experiences like WorldChangers and from fellow brothers-in-Christ like various youth pastors, I’ve gained a purpose behind the efforts put into my hard work.
The foundation is rooted in fellowship, classroom, and weekly Reach Out services for the community. The foundation for the church is community service my pastor has set forth and shared vision of supporting one another through community service this is seen through repeated efforts to support Community functions computer computer community Education Community Resources in partnering and adopting the shared Vision has enabled me to support the growth of toddlers. I have seen children enter into the classroom sometimes shy, unsure or frightened not knowing their surroundings be confort by service. Having had a part in their development throughout a years’ time is rewarding. Taking part in a shared vision by nurturing a child 's education from one year old to two years old is gratifying.Knowing that my time is appreciated and desired includes me in the shared vision the church has for the future of the
According to Hutchison (2015), “religion is symbolic patterns that consists of values, beliefs, behaviors and experiences” (p. 184). I personal conceptualize spirituality as a vital role in my life that helps me during a time of sickness, forgiveness, and needed guidance. Spirituality helps guide me throughout life during the difficult times I have encountered. Spirituality impacts my life in positive ways that influence and regulate my behavior and health. Health is very important to me; I believe the spirit can heal a person from their sickness. It seems that the spirit heals me every time I pray to be healed from sickness. The spirit gives me strength at a time of weakness. When I feel at my lowest point in life I call on the spirit to pick