CYIA Committee Starting in Western Wisconsin

As a matter fact, they've already had two meetings!

I'm tremendously excited about this opportunity to get Christian Youth in Action® peeps involved in decisions for this area. It gives them the chance to exercise leadership with their peers, disciple other teens, plan and take part in recruitment for CYIA, plan get-togethers for fellowship and find ways to encourage their fellow workers in ministry.

It also makes my job much easier, hearing what they want to see in the future for ministry opportunities and get-togethers. This is how I know we're on the same page in our aims for Western Wisconsin's CYIA.

My new catchprase?

Next month I'm heading down to CEF headquarters in Warrenton, Missouri, to start some support-raising training!

But before I can do that, I need a new catchphrase uh, vision statement, in 20 words or less.

Things continue

My two comrades-in-arms, Faith and Kyla.
We got to work together at training, and since
then we've been running three different directions!

Now that summer is nearly over, I'm struggling to keep my eyes ahead.

All I really want to do is look back on the last few months and say, "Whew! I'm done!" But I need to plan and prepare for what's ahead, or else what's ahead will jump out at me like so many things this summer. I don't want that.

Building Our Lives on Jesus: The Western Wisconsin blog

Here's the link to the Western Wisconsin team blog... we're starting it up again this year.

Building Our Lives on Jesus: The Western Wisconsin team: 2013: This year, eleven teens from our area will attend training camp in June and teach 5-day clubs throughout the summer! ...

Sooo... What DID CYIA look like this year?

Let's see if my brain has processed the two weeks of camp yet!

     There certainly were all kinds of adventures. There was serious car trouble when missionaries started heading out to 5-day clubs the second week. Then on our way home, two of our area missionaries got in a car accident that could have killed them, but they only suffered some bruises and sore muscles. The paramedics must've had an interesting night, because the two missionaries found the situation very funny and couldn't stop making jokes about it. God must have surrounded them with more than airbags in that car -- the front was completely smashed in.

So... we got back on Friday night...
that is Friday, June 22nd... and at least one summer missionary I know slept until 5:00 Saturday night. That's how tiring camp is, I guess.
It was intense.

So intense that...people had to write things down.

     The summer missionaries I worked with were mostly in the missionary class, meaning it was their first year and they would not be learning how to teach a Bible lesson. They would, however, learn everything else. :) Their requirements included presenting to their instructors all five missionary stories and segments, presenting the Wordless Book twice, presenting counseling for salvation, teaching a Bible memory verse, a 5-day club song, and a prayer teaching.

It was a lot of work!

Even more things written down.

     Our team of 9 young ladies was epic.

Their personalities are on all points of the... what shall I call it -- the personality spectrum. One of the girls has attended 5-day clubs as a kid for years, and she was passionate about learning how to share the Gospel -- not just for the summer, but in school too. She worked super hard, and finished her requirements with excellence!
     Another missionary had a harder time focusing. She's a people-person who likes to shake things up... not a good personality for finishing a task on time. But when she came back from her first 5-day club during our second week of training, she was excited to be actually reaching kids with the gospel of Christ. Her heart was touched by what God was doing in the lives of her students.
     These two missionaries are both first year students. But another of the girls, a 14-year-old second-year student, blew the rest of us away with her focus and hard work. Her skill at keeping things focused when others were pulling away was incredible to see. She is good at getting people engaged in the task at hand, and keeps things interesting so they remain focused. She's one of our four Bible teachers this year (meaning she had to present all five Bible lessons and at least a couple of the missionary stories, plus all the requirements of a missionary class student). Whew! What dedication.
It was an encouragement.

     So many new friendships were forged, and old ties from last year were strengthened. One of my friends, who started teaching about the same time I did, came back this summer -- she skipped last year, and we really missed her. She's gotten engaged in the interval (!!!), so of course we had to talk about that. I also got to counsel a cabin of girls who were leaving after the first week of camp -- meaning I lost my cabin halfway through training! -- and they were all super-friendly, uber-talkative people. No drama, no cattiness. Just new friendships and unity in our common goal. What a blessed year.

It was  S O  M U C H  F U N.

What will CYIA look like this year?

This year, nine young people from Western Wisconsin will be training to reach kids with the Gospel. They'll be training with two team leaders, who have taught 5-day clubs for years and are now willing to share what they know with the younger teens. 

Here's a few things that these summer missionaries will learn this summer...

At the risk of being over-obvious...

They'll learn how to teach! And not just during the two-week training. One missionary said last year, “we were having difficulties teaching [at club] because of the large variety of ages and there were 36 kids. So we split the club, and it worked.” Another teen said she learned that God “can empower me to teach 25 kids just as well as 2.”

“I am excited to learn this year,” says another returning student from La Crosse, “and to review my lessons from last year.” She adds, “Watching those kids [last year] understand and accept the gift God has given was so cool.”

Some Good Reasons

  After you've done something once, the odds of you doing it again usually increase... even when you have a bad experience!

  My first year of Christian Youth in Action® (CYIA™) was not the best -- when people asked me, I said I doubted I'd be back for a second year. However, God had other plans. :)

  Some of our summer missionaries this year have questioned their own motives, and struggled to find God's voice in the tumult of everyday life. But from what I've heard them say, they all have excellent reasons for coming back this summer...

Faithfully

All educators must learn this. So must politicians, surgeons, parents, lovers, musicians, law enforcement officials, and students.

The thing we share, and all must master, is faithfulness.

To be faithful is to maintain your commitment to something or someone, whatever the circumstances or feelings you experience.

An educator has to be faithful to the people they teach, not filling their minds with useless knowledge, but guiding them into hard work and achievement.

A politician has to be faithful to their constituency's needs and desires and accurately meet them.

Surgeons and parents have similar jobs, as they remove the bad and strengthen the good. To make their work count, they have to follow through once they begin.

Lovers must learn to be faithful to each other to see their relationship grow, and musicians must practice their instrument in order to increase their ability with it.

Policemen and women have to uphold the law the same every time, no matter how painful.

Students (such as myself) have to consistently work at their studies to pass classes and graduate.

Despite the overwhelming need for faithfulness in our world, I have to admit that I am not very good at it. I am   inconsistent; I avoid challenges; I don't do things when "I don't feel like it."

But the last few weeks God has challenged me to remain faithful to Him and to the ministry to which He has called me. I have made a commitment. Now all that remains to be seen is, will I be faithful to it?

CYIA Winter Retreat!

This weekend a group of us came together for a Christian Youth in Action winter retreat. It was a time of refreshment and fun for everyone who came, though I think our visitors from down south felt it was a little chilly (and it was)!

Ready for lunch! And what a delicious lunch, too.

Conversations with CYIA-ers

            This week I had a wonderful conversation with one of my Christian Youth in Action friends, who is looking forward to her second year of training. This young lady can’t wait to learn how to teach a Bible lesson, although she has taught a couple in a Good News Club already—and quite well, I might add! She’ll also be joining the teens and adults for Good News Across America in the future, to “blitz” cities with 5-day clubs. She said she’s never done anything like that before, going away from her family for such a long missions trip! 

         Another of the CYIA teens I talked to recently is thinking of attending TCE (Teaching Children Effectively) class this year. 

"Christian Youth in Action" in a parent's words

I can talk for hours or days on end about the things CEF and Christian Youth in Action do to evangelize to children and to disciple teenagers. But I love hearing from other people - and sharing their stories as well. Here with a parent's take on things is... full disclosure... my mother. According to her, Christian Youth in Action has a lasting impact.

I have 3 daughters who have participated in CYIA and [I] have gotten to know several other CYIA teens over the years. Here are a few of the reasons I highly recommend CYIA.

The training at CYIA is exceptional. The teens are extremely well equipped to teach children the truth of the Gospel. Beyond that, the teens gain confidence in communicating with all age groups. They also come to understand that it is God who works to draw people to Himself. They become excited about God's work and humbled as they see Him accomplish His purpose through them.

This excitement goes well beyond 5-day clubs, as [the teens] have an increased awareness of God's work in everyone around them. All the teens I've spoken with have appreciated the friendships they have built with like-minded young people. I believe this experience encourages the teens to continue to seek such friendships outside of CYIA. 

Western Wisconsin, here I come! -- Oh wait. I'm already here!

I've just come on staff with Child Evangelism Fellowship.

This is crazy exciting!!

Keeping up with Testimonies

Unless you, dear reader, know a hardcore CEF/CYIA participant (and I happen to know several - what a coincidence), you may not have heard testimonies recently of the great work God is doing through CEF in the Midwest region!

My coworker's comment when I told him what I was doing was "wow, I haven't heard of CEF in a long time. Are they still around?"

I think Child Evangelism PR needs a reboot, maybe. But you didn't hear that from me.

Hopefully you (dear reader) know all about what CEF has been doing in Western Wisconsin over the past few years. But just in case you haven't, I've compiled a list of links to check out for testimonies, news, and some all-around fantastic pictures of teens and kids and grown-ups serving the Lord.
Check them out!

* Testimonies from Western Wisconsin hosts, parents, teachers, etc.
* A photo gallery of CYIA 2010 
* Quotes from children (what this blog is really about!)
* For old photos (I mean like ancient, ancient, 2008-2009 photos), see here and here

Check out the stories. Are you excited? :)

Exciting Stuff!

265 children were reached during the La Crosse Interstate Fair with 85 professing faith in Jesus Christ. Exciting?? Yes!

One more exciting thing: they were reached by teenagers from Western Wisconsin!

When you put those two things together, you may see what I see...

Teen Mentorship

A study by the Barna Group indicated that 6% of teens listed “pastors or other religious leaders they know personally” as their top role models, while 6% listed “entertainers (including musicians and actors)” - an interesting similarity in statistics.
But even with parents excluded from the role model survey (they had been the top response at first), a "close relation" to the teen came out at the top (37%).

Unfortunately, as the president of the Barna Group pointed out, "teens rarely identified spiritual mentors" in the survey.
 

Well. A new opportunity and call has presented itself this spring.

Over the past three summers, I've been training and teaching with Child Evangelism Fellowship to spread the gospel to kids in western Wisconsin. This year I won’t be training to teach kids… I’ll be helping train their teachers!

Change is Coming

So here we go, getting ready for another summer of seeing God transform lives!











This year, I'm not interning. Just working with the teens as they preach the Gospel.

There's nothing more fulfilling than seeing God work in the lives of young people - or older people. And that's what CEF is about... reaching children, and their families and caregivers. One child who had attended 5-day club was able to present the Gospel to children and parents at a fair later that year! She got to see the Lord use her as a worker for His kingdom - is there anything more exciting or life-changing than that?

The changes God produces in our lives have an effect on each person we come in contact with, bringing His love further and further outward until the whole world has heard the Good News!

Is this the summer when every tribe, every tongue, and every nation will hear it? God can transform any life; there is no task too large for God.

Christian Youth in Action

For the last two weeks, the team has been at training camp, learning how to teach 5-day clubs!

It was an amazing time of relationship building (as we're so fond of saying, not relationships between the genders - not those kind of relationships), a lot of mental and spiritual learning, and some fighting in the spiritual realms.

I really believe there were demons fighting us this year - whether it was trouble focusing or injuries and sickness, the kids were struggling to complete their learning... it was kind of abnormal. But... we had people asking God on our behalf back home and we spent some time each day asking Him ourselves. He blessed those two weeks of camp more than I can say!

During the second week as we taught practice clubs in the area, 22 children accepted Christ as their savior. 22 more received counseling for salvation assurance. It was awesome!

I was a 1/2 team leader - 1/2 student, which made life interesting at camp. But I'm really enjoying being an intern.

It's cool to see how the CEF leaders come to decisions and what they have to work through during CYIA training. It's also cool to see how they begin each day with prayer, and pray each time they meet together, usually sharing scripture too. I want to have a life like that, that is so full of Christ that in every circumstance His power is the first outlet I plug into! *