Xforce Youth Ministries

Being a leader and being a Christian is the same thing, or at least that’s what it sounds like. Both are servants, both are different than the world, and both actually do the things that God tells them to do. There are no discernable differences between being a leader and being a Christian. How can we have Christians that aren’t leaders? At least that’s what I got from the speaker this weekend.

These past two days have been pretty cool! Yesterday we went through shape again…Haha…I’ve be through shape like 6 times. This time was different though. When we were going through the spiritual gifts, Bill said you will know when you find your spiritual gift because someone will tell you that you are doing well. It’s like a confirmation. Lately, I’ve been put into the position as the middle school worship leader. I absolutely love it. Yeah, it gets tough and hard sometimes, but I just give it to God and He takes care of it. Saturday, I realized my spiritual gift is music. It’s what I love, it’s what I’m good at, and it fits my personality. That is what I learned.

At Pursuit, I had a really good experience. It was fun and I really learned some new stuff. God also confirmed my calling to missions in foreign countries again and again. In some activities and tests we did, I found out that my spiritual gift is evangelism, and that also confirmed my calling. God just really spoke to me and kind of showed me the big picture that He has for my life which makes me matter. I matter to the biggest man in history, the greatest person to ever be- the king of the universe- I matter. It’s great and I loved Pursuit.

God showed me that leadership is more than a title. I’ve learned that when I am convicted about issues within our ministry, I should wait for God’s vision and then act on it. God showed me that being the same regardless of the surroundings is important to leadership. My desire to be a role model to the students I lead is ever stronger. My example to them should stay, even after I am gone. I also learned that there are habits that I should have in my life as a Christian, as well as a leader.

I learned that as a leader we need to have our own set of morals. Also integrity is made up of values and morals. Integrity can take a lifetime to build up and just one little thing to tear it down. Also we went through a process called shape which helps show us our spiritual gift, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences to help get us plugged into a ministry to help serve the body of Christ.

What God showed me at Pursuit Leadership Academy this weekend was that God has a plan for everyone and once you become a Christian, God gives you a gift to help the body of Christ to grow. I believe God is calling me to help people with hard things in life.

At Pursuit Leadership Academy this weekend, I learned some steps I need to take and some things I need to do in order to be a better leader. I also made some commitments that I can stick to in order to be a better leader in my church, school, family, and community. If I follow through with these commitments, it will lead to good things. God showed me that I need to quit comparing myself to others. I tend to think “Oh I’m not as bad as that person” or “I don’t do the bad things that this person does so I am a good person.” I compare myself to others who I know go to church, but I know that I don’t do that bad things they do, so I tend to just settle with that. If I would quit doing this, and form to God, I could develop my full potential to be a leader.

It only takes a few small starting steps to make a big change. It’s better to fail with Jesus than to not try at all and it’s okay to make mistakes as long as I learn from them. Listening to Chris Tomlin and Way FM can’t be a substitute for reading God’s word. Leader’s never stop learning. I think the most important thing I learned is that I don’t have to be perfect to lead. One thing I’ve heard a bunch of times is God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called, but it’s really sticking with me now. I used to hate hearing someone call me a leader but now I’m excited and ready to start making a difference with God’s help.

Well it says Wednesday but it is now Friday. On Wednesday some one closed the computer and I thought all they had typed in was ruined, but just like the name of the camp it was not. I found that the computer had sabed it when I was typing in their blogs this morning. Thank you Jesus.

The Homeless camp has taught me alot. It has reaffirmed my commitment to student leadership. When I first planned this I had another adult male and 2 fem coming. But at the last moment one had to work and two got sick. As the students Jay and Kristen were my only two seniors. I ask Kristen if she would be over the girls and Jay to be over the guys. They were amazing. They showed so much leadership. We did not have one arguement or gripe, amazing. Most of it due to their leadership. It was apparent that they both have the spiritual gift of leadership.

I then took Becca and gave her three girls and Megan and gave her three girls. I gave a boy and Josh a boy. They all did awesome. I know many have said they would have prefered one girl group but then these four would not have given a taste of leadership. I believe in giving students a taste of leadership so they can have the experience and see if the spiritual gift of leadership is in them.

As far as Ruined, the students are not the only ones that learned a lot. I loved the opportunities to love on them and the teachable opportunities. As many have referenced, we watched the “Glue Boys” a movie about kids in Africa that have turned to glue to forget about about their problems. Well, Tuesday night Tammy, Jim, Beth, and Randy came to be with the students so I could go home and celebrate my oldest grand daughters birthday. We had ordered a large cake so I would have plenty to take back to the students. I guess it is the old Army in me but I can not eat of they dont get to. Anyway, they bigged out on the cake and them got this extreme sugar high… similar to the “Glue Boys”, Thank you Jesus for such a great teaching moment. It was just one of many.

There will definately me another RUINED during Spring Break. I want to thank Andy at South Side for letting me picj his brain on this. This summer Jay went to his Ruined and came back with the idea. I saw how much it had changed Jay and knew I wanted to try it. I also found out that my body does not like sleeping in a box on the floor.

God is so good. I can not wait to see what he has for me and the youth ministry in the future. May He recieve all the glory!

Jay blog Today we got exhausted.  We hauled logs up hills and had no lunch.  Even though we were tired and wanted to quit we continued to work and got it done.  We Went to Ryans to eat as a surprise.  It makes you think of what a homeless person feels when they get a good meal after not eating for weeks.  As a group I think we have gotten closer because of this experience.  I also think the idea that Bill has for a chain of command will work well as long as God is at the top.

Suggestion for Spring Ruined

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