I am the youth director for Hornby Presbyterian Community Church (in Christchurch), which basically means I am responsible for and co-ordinate all our various youth programmes. These include our high school youth workers, monthly social events, weekly small groups, and weekly discipleship groups, along with the odd camp, a tramp, Easter camp etc etc… This means that along with contact time with young people, a large portion of my role is leading our team of leaders, and quite a bit of the good ole administration as well! I also help run (with a team of people) our evening church services, called p3.
Hmmm, arguably it chose me… I trained as a landscape architect, and after finishing uni worked for about 18 months in this. However my job “fell over” somewhat unexpectedly, and so after having about six months off, God directed me to approach our church to see if they would take me on as a youth intern (I was already helping with the youth group at that time). So I did… And they did! And things have kinda just grown from there really, and I am now full time and have been doing this for about eight years.
That he IS at work! I still get surprised sometimes when certain people respond to God – the people you just don’t expect to – and it blows me away! It is very cool though, and reminds me that God is at work, and that he is the one who does the work. He has a plan, he is sovereign, and he is faithful and full of grace. And I continue to learn more and more about his heart and his special concern for justice and the poor and marginalised, and that inspires me! Our God is a radical and countercultural God, and that is an awesome, awesome thing!
The most awesome thing is undoubtedly seeing young people “grow”, and faith become real for them – it is flippin’ cool when that happens!!! It is just a huge privilege to be involved in people’s lives over a long period of time, to walk with them in the good times and the struggles, and see them grow and mature into outstanding young men and women! Another very exciting thing is the potential for community transformation – when the flow-on effects from what you do and the people you are involved with impact families and the wider community, it is very cool!
I find the biggest challenge is “difficult people” – the people who are just hard work... You really want to persevere with them, as that is what Jesus was all about, but sometimes it feels like even though you go the extra mile for them, and persevere with them when no-one else does, they “spit in your face” (so to speak). And that hurts… Another ongoing challenge is staying “fresh” – not getting stuck in a rut, but staying open to God and His leadings, and not thinking “right, we’ve found the answer, now we just need to keep doing this [for ever]…” Also maintaining good team dynamics when working with people, as it is easy to get frustrated. But we need to remember that in spite of our differences, we actually do all need each other to be “successful” in God’s mission, and when we work together we are all richer for it!
I find that I am inspired by “quality people”… These include our pastor Murray Talbot, the assistant pastor Darryl Tempero, and many of our youth leaders and young people! There are just some awesome people around, who love God, have big hearts, and are prepared to give selflessly of their lives for others, and that always inspires me!!! Bono from U2 is another inspiration. I was fortunate enough to go to their recent concert, and seeing his passion for justice and the way he included God in the whole concert experience I was just left thinking “you are the man!!” It was very cool! I am also a bit of a sports nut, so am inspired by the likes of Thierry Henry, Alejandro Valverde, Paolo Bettini, Jeff Wilson etc…
Hmmm, books, what are they again?!? I’m not really much of a reader to be fair. I really like the idea, and do actually really want to read more, but never quite seem to get around to it… (Although what about sports magazines, do they count?). Having said that however, I would recommend Purpose Driven Youth Ministry (Doug Fields) – for me this was a very formative book, especially the early chapters. Other books I would recommend include Beyond Renewal (Brian Hathaway), It’s Not About the Bike (Lance Armstrong), Walk On (Steve Stockman), and Blue Like Jazz (Donald Miller). I am currently reading Finding Life (Ashley Barker), and am planning to read Who Stands Fast? (Michael Duncan) and Bono on Bono (Michka Assayas) over the summer… And generally I like to read stuff that is going to challenge me and my thinking in some way. As for CDs, pretty much anything by U2, along with the likes of Shawn MacDonald, Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, Cat Stevens, Bruce Springsteen, Genesis, Switchfoot etc…
You can find us on the web, www.hornby.org.nz – just follow the links (under the hpcc menu) to fusion youth, or feel free to give me a call on (03) 980 2296.