Quotes

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

—Apostle Paul, I Corinthians 11:1

The quality of the ministry can never rise above the quality of the sta". The quality of the sta" reflects the quality of the individual’s time alone with his Savior.

—John Miller, Back to the Basics

Being in the Bible every day installs within us a self-correcting mechanism, a spiritual GPS. Having this in place and finely calibrated, when something does go wrong, we know why it went wrong and, best of all, how to correct back before we are down the path of no return.

—Wayne Cordeiro, The Divine Mentor

God never intended the Bible to be studied for information or knowledge alone. The Bible was written so that we might respond to the truth and voice of God.

—Erwin McManus, An Unstoppable Force

Six Essentials of Young LifeThere are six essentials that every new volunteer leader must understand and put into practice. There are many qualities and truths that make e!ective leaders; there are many theological lessons that would be a tremendous benefit to our leaders; and there are many aspects of a biblical worldview that would impact those leading our ministry. Hopefully our leaders have learned some of these, and will continue to learn them throughout the course of their lives. However, the following are the essentials for Young Life leaders in training.

1. The key to success in ministry is total and complete dependence upon God. We are God’s, the kids we serve are God’s, the planet is God’s, the Gospel is God’s—and our job is to seek first God and His Kingdom. Our relationship with Christ is our number one priority. If we are not striving to seek Christ first in our lives, we shouldn’t be leaders in Young Life. (Matthew 6:33; 1 Corinthians 11:1; John 15:1-8)

2. Spiritual growth and health is a direct result of time spent with God and other committed believers. Don’t let anything distract you (even YL work) from your time sitting before the Lord. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:38-42)

3. Modeling is the key to discipleship. Kids watch everything we do; this is how our mentoring ministry works. We absolutely cannot fake it. In fact, Jesus tells us that it would be better to die a violent death than to lead a kid astray. (Mark 9:42)

4. Contact work is the foundational principle behind Young Life’s ability to communicate the Gospel to disinterested kids. We must understand all levels of contact work, how to do it, and why it is so critical. We must also understand why this makes us unique from most every other ministry. (John 1:14)

5. All leaders should be growing in their ability and heart for articulating the Gospel of Jesus Christ (our mission statement).

6. Every leader should understand and be able to articulate to others the heart and mission of Young Life.

If anyone grows tired of Christianity, it is because he has become preoccupied with something else in the Christian faith besides Jesus Christ. No one has ever lived whose personality is so fascinating as that of Jesus Christ. We begin with Him and go on in Him and grow up into Him. Christianity in the true sense is just Jesus Christ Himself from beginning to end.

—Jim Rayburn, Founder of Young Life

Inner Life of a Leader

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# 8

Reading

Required

My Heart—Christ’s Home(Robert Munger)

Recommended

The Divine Mentor(Wayne Cordeiro)

Practice of the Presence of God (Brother Lawrence)

Crazy Love(Francis Chan)

The Root of the Righteous (A.W. Tozer)

Knowing God(J.I. Packer)

Forgotten God(Francis Chan)

In The Name of Jesus(Henri Nouwen)

Prayer—Does it Make Any Di"erence?(Philip Yancey)

Media

Only One Thing is Necessary“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

Nothing is more important than sitting before the Lord each day and letting His words and Spirit transform your life. Jesus made this clear in His encounter with Martha who was busy with the tasks of hosting while Mary sat at His feet soaking up His every word. We live in a world of short-cuts, instant gratification and we are bombarded with activities that create lifestyles that keep us busy and distracted. As a result, we miss out on the only important and necessary thing in life—sitting at the feet of Jesus.

In his book, The Divine Mentor, Wayne Cordeiro does a great job explaining the importance of being in God’s Word if we are serious about growing and maturing in our faith.

We can’t a%ord not to sit at His feet as a daily regimen. Because each day will have its own challenges, doing devotions should not be our last thought but our first. This life essential cannot be a burden; we must make it a joy...an everyday joy.

Abide in the Vine (John 15)“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:1-5 ESV)

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Louie Giglio’s “I Am.” God is enough when you are not.

http://tiny.cc/Giglio

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Assignments

Assignment 1

Pray and think through what you will do each day (and when you will do it) to cultivate and grow your relationship with Christ.

Assignment 2

Memorize John 15:1-5. Talk about what you think it looks like for you to remain connected or to abide in the True Vine.

Assignment 3

Read Young Life’s Statement of Faith.

These are 5 verses that we want all our Young Life leaders to memorize so that we will never forget that what we have to o!er kids comes out of our relationship and connection to Jesus. We have to guard against relying on our own gifts or thinking that our Young Life Clubs and Camps are the key to our ministry. The key to our ministry is our life and relationship with Jesus Christ. That is why we always want all of our leaders to be able to clearly answer the question, “What are you doing daily to cultivate your relationship with Christ?” Do you build your day around your time with Him and is your time with Him the thing that you do not compromise or neglect? Everything else is expendable but not staying connected to the vine, to Jesus. It is a great responsibility to work with and lead kids. Our lives may be the only Bible these kids ever read and the only Jesus they ever see. Paul says in I Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” On our own strength, this might be impossible. But by sitting at Jesus’ feet daily, we can see Him transform us in the same way He will save and transform the kids who we work with. You will find that one of the greatest blessings of being a volunteer Young Life Leader is that you will grow in your faith journey like never before.

Developing A Life of Prayer“The purpose of prayer is to find God’s will and to make that will our prayer.” —Catherine Marshall

Prayer has always been and continues to be what moves and sustains the Mission of Young Life. We want to surround every kid and every Young Life work with prayer and have our leaders be people of prayer. We are certain we can’t do this work with kids without God’s guidance and power.

“The purpose of prayer is to keep you connected, and when you’re connected to God, you are moving with Him. Prayer that connects you to God positions you to seize divine moments. This kind of prayer gives you the courage to live the life of an adventurer. Prayer should move you, not paralyze you. And when you pray with intent to obey, you become a magnet who draws others into God’s presence. You can choose to establish a monument for prayer or pray to unleash a movement. One is religious; the other revolutionary.”—Erwin McManus, Chasing Daylight

Inner Life of a Leader

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# 10

Process

Discussion

Question 1

How are you daily cultivating your life in Christ?

Question 2

What has been your own personal experience with prayer in the past?

Question 3

What does Mark 4:35 look like in your life and ministry? What are your fears with “going to the other side?”

Leading Out of Prayer and VisionThe Oregon/SW Washington Young Life Region is committed to the following principles regarding prayer and our life in Christ:

Mission Statement:Out of our intimacy with Christ and dependence on the Holy Spirit we move out, exercising our faith, to where God is already at work.

Lead Verse:“Let us go to the other side.”—Mark 4:35If Jesus calls us to the other side He won’t abandon us in the middle.

Action Steps:We are committed to being still and listening through prayer and the Word.We are transformed into Christ-likeness by participating in Christ’s community.We seek clarity of our Personal Vision and the Big Vision.We tell stories of God at work to celebrate, inspire and move us.

“I believe this is the real meaning of what Jim Rayburn said, ‘Young

Life is Jesus Christ.’ Its people have to be so identified with this

Majestic Person that Young Life looks, acts, and reminds people of

Him.”

—John Miller, Back to the Basics

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1: Spend time brainstorming ideas of how you can daily grow in your relationship with Christ. What will you commit to doing this upcoming year?

2: Spend time praying together right now for the ministry that is before you. What are ways you can make prayer an integral part of your ministry?

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