Memphis Mission Trip

What is it?

The Memphis Mission Trip has been a huge part of my spiritual life and has made a huge impact on who I am today. In general, multiple middle school students go with First Baptist Hendersonville to Memphis in order to serve the rougher parts of Memphis. We partner with Brinkley Heights Urban Acadamy in order to reach the area in the most effective way. According to  Streetreach.org

"Street Reach is a...nonprofit ministry located in an impoverished area of North Memphis, TN. For the children or youth in this community, drugs, gangs, crime and violence are not just stories seen on the news -- they are a way of life. 

Street Reach tries to impact these children's lives by meeting them where they are at and running Backyard Bible Clubs in their neighborhoods, where they feel most comfortable. Street Reach strives to meet the needs of the community and love them the way Jesus loves us."  

Preparation

 In order to prepare for this trip the main thing we had to learn was a specific scripture. This scripture goes as follows.

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:1-8

My Experience

All throughout middle school I went on this trip. I would say that the three times I was able to go are my fondest middle school memories. All of the camps that I have gone to were always great, but the mission trips were my chance to share what I learned.

In middle school, the experience is a huge part of my life. The opportunity to walk up to houses, knock on their door, and ask if their kids would like to come to a Bible Club is one that is both nerve racking, and extrodinary. I was able to explore my personal faith, while helping in need kids grow in their faith (or even experience this faith for the first time).

I went into Memphis this year expecting more of the same experience that I did in middle school. Instead while I was able to personally impact the people of Memphis, I got to lead those leading the Memphis children. While looking over the people, I was able to experience God in an amazing way

Sources

1. Romans. NIV Bible. 2015. Print.
2. "Street Reach | S+R." Street Reach | S+R. S+R, 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. <http://www.streetreach.org/>.

Video Blog

This week I will be reviewing what I have learned thus far in a video blog. This video goes over some of the information I have learned in my blog and what I've written about. I also have a brief preview of what I plan on doing for my future blogs, so I hope you enjoy it!

I'd like to also note that I did not film this at the beach (although that would be ideal).

Youth Minister Description

Why a Youth Minister?

I have wanted to go into the ministry since I was in middle school. Some of my major influences are people like my father, who is a pastor, Jeff Henry, and Scott Mathews (both men at the end are youth ministers). When I first felt truly called to the ministry, these strong influences were following their paths in this valet field of youth ministry.

When first looking into the ministry, I was surrounded by youth and felt that this was a good path for me. Although I do not feel it is in my future to be a youth minister for my entire career, I feel it would be an amazing way to enter into the life of the church and learn about how the inner-workings of the church work before becoming the leader of one.

Description

At the surface of a youth minister job the goal is to help bring people to Christ, specifically youth. Folcraft Union church defines the job description of a youth minister as follows:

"The primary purpose of the Youth Minister is to introduce young people to Christ; to disciple them in spiritual growth; to train them in serving Christ with their life. Of equal importance is to assist parents or guardians in raising their teenagers to a wholesome maturity. Finally, to oversee and support the activity entrusted to senior leadership of each Christian Education/Youth program."

Although this description technically only applies for one church's job, I like it very much because it seems to highlight every important aspect of the job. Although it does capture the important parts, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. The same website dictates three major categories within being a youth minister.

1. Program oversight
• This includes overseeing everything in the youth group and making sure all youth operations run as they should. 
2. Leadership training
• Appoint leaders under you, typically volunteers, to oversee task within the youth group and provide them with adequate training.
3. Administrative
• Behind the scenes things within the church (such as budgeting and planning for events with the leaders of the church).

Salary

The salary for a job such as this one is very difficult to calculate. Typically, a job in the youth ministry field is intended to launch them into the opportunity for a larger job. Because of this, as experience level goes up, salary is sure to follow. The salary largely depends on the location and size of the church. It also depends of the size of a given churches youth group.

 According to payscale.com, the median salary for a youth pastor is $33,249. This is a misleading number because it includes many young ministers that just came out of college. There is an obvious trend in the graph to the left that shows that as skill increases, so does wages. This is encouraging because if I ultimately decide to make this into my career, I will make much more than $33,000.

Sources

1. "Youth Minister Job Description." Youth Minister Job Description. Folcraft Union Church. Web. 20 Mar. 2015. <http://www.folcroft.org/policies/youthmjd.htm>. 
2. Smith, Dave. "Youth Minister Salary (United States)." Youth Minister Salary (United States). PayScale, 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. <http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Youth_Minister/Salary>.