Brainerd Area Youth Ministries

The Network

Hey Team!

One thing I've learned over the past 25 years of youth ministry in the Brainerd Lakes Area, is the importance of getting and staying connected with the other youth Pastors and youth leaders in our area. It will build your ministry and theirs. We all win.

Y.L.F.M. Here are the dates of the upcoming Youth Leaders' Fellowship Meeting. Each Meeting is at the SawMill Inn in Brainerd. We begin at 11:30 and conclude about 1:30. Come and enjoy a tasty lunch, along with great conversation!

No meetings scheduled over the summer months .... We hope to see you again on

Tuesday September 8th @ 11:30 p.m.

Mission Statement

Brainerd Area Youth Ministries is a collaborative youth ministry representing the full Body of Christ. Our goal is to give every student in the Lakes Area the opportunity to have faith in Jesus, to exercise that faith, and to become part of the local church.

B.A.Y. Ministries works because of the collaborative network of youth ministers and workers who together, make a great and lasting impact on this community. Pastors and lay people come together to cross denominational lines and reach the Brainerd lakes area youth for the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are interested in being part of the network please contact us and let us know. Our meetings are open and held monthly (generally) on the second Tuesday of each month during the school year from 11:30am - 1:30pm

Statement of Faith

WE BELIEVE:

1. The Bible to be the inspired, the only authoritative Word of God. The only infallible authoritative Word of God.

2. There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

3. In the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return to power and glory.

4. For the salvation of lost and sinful humanity regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.

5. The present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

6. The resurrection of both the saved and lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.

7. In the spiritual unity of believers in Christ.

Notes from our Round Table Discussions:

At one of our recent Youth Leaders' Meeting (YLM) we had a "Round Table" discussion on our favorite websites. The following is a list of the best of the best; check them out. A very special thanks to Brad Aust for compiling the list!

Youth Ministry Sites

http://www.thesource4ym.com/index.asp

My favorite youth ministry site. It's full of great articles, games, movie clip discussions, and ideas. I go here first for games and creative ideas.

www.simplyyouthministry.com

Doug Fields' web site. Doug has been doing youth ministry for years and offers lots of helpful resources and articles.

http://www.youthworkerscloset.org/

A little known site with some valuable stuff. Free discipleship resources like devotionals. They also rent out inflatables, carnival equipment, and stage equipment.

http://www.cadreministries.com/

Cadre Ministries offers training, articles, and resources specifically for youth ministers.

Bible Study Tools on the Internet

http://www.biblegateway.com/

At Bible Gateway, you can look up a passage in 19 different English translations (and many other languages if you're interested). With a great search engine, you can look up Scripture by passage, phrase, or key word(s). Basically this site is an exhaustive concordance. But wait, there's more. Click on “topical index”, and you have instant access to Nave's Topical Bible where you can look up thousands of topics and have instant access to what Scripture says about them. Click on “additional resources”, and you have access to Bible Dictionaries, Commentaries, and more. A great place to start any Bible study.

http://www.biblestudytools.net/

This web site gives you access to a number of Bible study tools including an online study Bible, commentaries, Bible dictionaries, and encyclopedias. Click on the appropriate link on the left side of the screen to get where you want to go.

http://www.blueletterbible.org/

This web site is a wealth of Bible information. It has the basic Bible study tools like a concordance, Bible dictionaries, and commentaries but also has lots of other little treats including charts and outlines. Another great tool. The best thing about this site is you type in a Scripture reference, and it brings up buttons of what resources (Bible dictionary, commentaries, etc.) are available for that passage.

http://eword.gospelcom.net/comments/

This web site gives you access to 14 different classic commentaries. Hear what Calvin, Luther, Wesley, Spurgen, and others have to say about any given passage.

http://www.studylight.org/

This web site offers a number of Bible study tools including commentaries and Bible dictionaries. Scroll down a bit and you will see a “study resources” section on the left. Click on the appropriate link and you are on your way.

http://www.ancientsandals.com/index.htm

This is a great site if you want to see pictures of Bible lands. And it's easy. Just type in the name of the place you want to look at in the keyword search. Or scroll through the various locations in the menu just above the keyword search. Each location includes information on the location and setting as well as the historical and Biblical significance. A great site when looking at various geographical locations of the Bible.

http://www.bibleplaces.com/index.htm

This web site offers pictures of Bible places. Want to see a picture of a hill where some think Jesus gave his sermon on the mount? It's there. The web site navigation is a little more tricky with this site. Scroll down and look on the left side of the site where you see “The Sites” Click on a region and it opens a new menu with several different locations in that region you can “look” at.

Just for Fun (but useful too)

http://www.mikeysfunnies.com/

Free daily (weekday) funnies sent via email. Sign up for a laugh or inspirational story (great for Bible study illustrations).

http://www.reverendfun.com/

Daily Christian cartoons.

____________________________

At another one of our Youth Leaders' Meeting (YLM) we had a "Round Table" discussion on how to more effectively reach, teach and KEEP our students; especially those students who have indicated a desire to be in a full time ministry.

Here are some random notes from our discussion:

Get those students plugged into ministry opportunities right away.

This will give them the opportunity to experience success and failure while being under the guidance of a loving mentor.

As an adult, we need to be willing to allow things to change. Many times students will have a different idea or method of doing something. It's important to stay true to the Message and not hung up on the method.
Many times a student will feel the “call” on their life after a camp or retreat. As a leader we need to help them through the other 51 weeks of the year, keeping their focus on what God just did in the life.
Make sure your students know what they believe in and why.

All to often people know what the church is against, and not what we are for.
“Many times the most outspoken people are the most negative.” Jarvis

As our students grow in the spiritual maturity we need to do our best to make the “youth group experience” safe and positive but not judged.

We don't want our students to feel judged or condemned. However, we do need to point out to them the areas that aren't lining up with scripture.
Asking questions can be any of pointing out the areas of concern. IE. “How does watching those movies help you become a better person?” or “How is dating that person making you more like Christ?”
Youth Group also needs to be a place where put downs and insults are not allowed. Work on building each other, not tearing down.

And finally, as a youth leader be the example. Don't merely preach forgiveness, love, grace and acceptance….. live it.