Posts tagged youthworks

I finally received my placement for RAMP training with Youthworks! Although I thought and was hoping I’d be going to Denver, CO I will be headed to Philadelphia, PA instead. It’s still very exciting and I know that it’s where I am supposed to be so it’ll be good. Part of the challenge this summer is explaining what I’ll be doing because I’m not even completely sure. But here it goes:

This is from Youthworks on its purpose:

Quite simply, our purpose is to provide life-changing, Christ-centered youth mission opportunities. This is our reason for being. We create extraordinarily fun and significant mission adventures, targeted to the needs and capabilities of youth, ages 12-19. By crossing borders of race and culture, and by placing students outside their comfort zones, we find something wonderful happens: God gets their attention! Without the distractions of everyday life, God uses YouthWorks to work in the lives of thousands of teenagers. By attempting to be faithful to our purpose, we find God is also at work in each of the communities we serve.

So what is my role in all of this? I have been assigned to “Utility Staff” which is basically filling in any roles that are missing. It also means that I do not have a particular community assigned to me. I may stay in one the entire summer or I may travel from one to the other as needs arise. So I’ll be in Philadelphia for a week to train but after that, I have no clue. I could be in Brooklyn, Washington D.C., a random town in West Virginia or maybe somewhere even farther away.

In the greater scheme of things, I’m there to help facilitate the youth groups as they spend a week serving in the community. The Youthworks staff is there longer term so that they can get to really know the community and therefore understand its needs and how to best serve it. They’re also there to serve the students who are coming in from around the country.  I’m be helping to lead worship and to serve Christ in the best way that I can. Honestly, this is a bit intimidating because I don’t want to mess anything up, but is yet another area where I’m trusting in Christ and continually striving to love Him and His people. As Mark 12:30-31 says:

 ”And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

It’s been difficult to explain because, well, I don’t quite understand all that’s involved myself. What I do know is this—I’m going to be working with youth, serving communities, and trusting God for all of what’s required of me. I’m not staying in a cabin (it’s not really a camp); I’ll be sleeping on an air mattress most likely in a church or a building that a church allows us to use. The schedule is completely packed from Sunday afternoon to Friday evening leaving little time for rest. Saturdays I will have free to hopefully explore and connect with my fellow staff (there are typically 4 for each community; 2 guys and 2 gals).