What would you say if you were offered the chance to influence an entire nation for the Kingdom of God in a single weekend?
What if you were presented with the opportunity to join hands and hearts with brothers and sisters in an effort to forever transform the lives of countless young people?
On Friday, February 17, several youth ministry leaders and I were afforded the wonderful privilege of participating in the Congreso Nacional de Liderazgo Juvenil, the first ever ministry training event geared specifically for youth ministry in Costa Rica. The event was a power-packed weekend filled with seminars, forums, and general sessions designed to encourage, equip and empower men and women who are responsible for discipling teenagers and young adults in their communities. The seminars and forums addressed relevant ministry topics like Creative Preaching, Mobilizing Youth Leaders, and Personal Spiritual Development from practical perspectives, while the general sessions gave the leaders an opportunity to be uplifted, affirmed, and challenged by the Word of God, and by one another.
When those leaders started arriving on campus, a sense of excitement and anticipation quickly filled the air. Most of the leaders had never attended any kind of leadership or ministry training, certainly none of the youth variety, but all of them were fully engaged in ministry to teenagers and young adults. In a time when adolescence is increasingly more complicated and ministry to young people is becoming more and more difficult, many of those leaders arrived in the final throes of ministry burnout—they were tired, discouraged, and overwhelmed by the needs of the coming generation. This event would be their final effort to renew the flame of God in their lives. They came with an unbridled expectancy to experience the presence of God.
Throughout the eighteen seminars and five general sessions, God was faithful to pour out His Spirit on His people. The opening service on Friday night featured a refreshing time of worship and a challenge by Eduardo Gonzalez, Senior Pastor of the Northwood Hispanic Church in Fayetteville, NC to remove the voices of opposition in their lives and the limitations of meaningless tradition in their methodologies to find the power of obedience as illustrated in the leadership of Joshua. Pastors and ministry leaders who had traveled from great distances, some even from beyond the borders of Costa Rica, were immediately stirred to new life by the power of God’s Word and the presence of His Holy Spirit and poured out their hearts in worship. As the weekend progressed, through every seminar and every general session, those pastors and youth volunteers continued to find encouragement through God’s Word and through the spirited messages from Costa Rican and American ministry leaders. Despite the adversity and opposition present in every ministry context, the overwhelming theme that emerged from each gathering was simply, “You CAN do this!” Regardless of frustration or friction, those leaders were reminded that they had been anointed and empowered by God to lead a revolution of young people who are sold out to God. From Friday night to Sunday afternoon, the shouts of victory quickly reached a fever pitch as the Spirit of God stirred those leaders and volunteers to “not grow weary in well-doing,” because they would indeed reap a harvest soon if they simply continued to be faithful.
The Costa Rican leaders and volunteers were present for every seminar, notepads in hand, ready to soak up truths from God’s word and principles from personal experience. They showed themselves to be diligent students who came to the discussions with real situations and genuine questions. In the face of such passion for young people and dedication to serving the Lord and the community, each of the presenting leaders walked away stirred and challenged by the tenacious Costa Rican faith.
Perhaps the most moving moment of the weekend for me came on Saturday night. The training placed a special emphasis all weekend on the value of community and working as a team, regardless of distance or disagreements. Each seminar, though different in scope and topic, was designed to affirm and encourage the leaders not to give up, but to expand their abilities and avail themselves of the resources present in each other. As a response to the message on Saturday night, youth leaders who had heretofore never met a youth-ministry peer introduced themselves to other leaders from their city and region and joined in prayer for one another. Groups of leaders formed tightly-knit circles and shared victories, failures and prayer-requests and began laying the ground-work for support networks in their own hometowns. Some groups cheered and applauded one another. The leaders who arrived with empty tanks were refueled and revitalized, not necessarily because of an eloquent message, but certainly because they now know they are not alone in their efforts to impact the next generation—and they left the campground with a few more ideas and tools in their toolbelts.
Words fail to express the gratitude I have in my heart for God’s intervention in our lives this weekend through the Costa Rican leaders. I am boarding a plane destined for North Carolina encouraged, rejuvenated, and reignited by the passion I saw in the worship of those leaders and humbled by the gift that I’ve been given—the opportunity to play a small role in the formation of teens not only in my local church, but also in the churches across the beautiful mountains and valleys of Costa Rica.
Stephen Jones is the Youth Pastor of Whitnel PH in North Carolina, a great friend of The Awakening, and natural born prodigy at playing Worms!
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