"Christianity," in contemporary western culture, has become a word with a blurry yet emotionally charged definition.  Never before have the basic elements of the gospel story been so popularly known.  A kind of rough sketch of Christian ideology exists in the Westerner's psyche, like a picture of the nativity at Christmas, a "Christian" charicature - a handful of conservative political stances, a stack of Christian cds and televangilist's messages, a Jesus fish on the bumper of their car, and a severe case of homophobia. 

The extremes color most people's understanding of Christianity.  A Christian is often thought of as either the fundamental extremist bombing abortion clinics or, and this is far more common, the guy that celebrates Christmas and goes to Church on Easter.  Somewhere in the middle is the Spirit filled believer.  All these groups add their part to the Christian concept.  But, in other words, if you bring up Jesus in a conversation with strangers, they are not likely to ask, "who?" 

In this climate of cultural Christianity, the evangelical believer's role, more than ever, is to live the story.  The right words at the right time are like seeds planted in soil tilled by establishing a loving and trusting relationship with people.  As believer's we must pour ourselves into loving the people God puts in our lives.

Loving, Supporting, and Sharing the Hope with Our Young Military Men and Women Serving Overseas

The United States Airforce stationed in Mildenhall, UK discovered several years ago that the young recruits stationed there were having trouble acclimating to life both overseas and on base.  The usual story was a young man or women shipped over after high school, never having lived away from home, finding themselves in a drastically different environment than they were used to.  Add in the stress and psychological impact of combat deployments and it's no small wonder that the main pasttime for most of these young soldiers was to sit on base and drink.  The military decided to create a position to help these young airmen develop healthy mindsets and lifestyles and mentor them into better leaders during their time stationed in Mildenhall.  Over the years Youth For Christ was able to step in and fill that role with a Christian missionary.

You might relate to my feeling like I want to support our troops, but aside from wearing yellow ribbons and praying, I didn't know how.  This program with Youth for Christ allows me to live right next to base along with another YFC staff member named Micah Steinwandt who will be helping train me.  For YFC international this is a pilot program.  They hope to develop similar programs like this one on bases all over the world with the military's goodwill. 

The basic approach is to partner with the chaplain program on base, working together to build relationships with the airmen and provide for their emotional and spiritual needs.  The chaplain program oversees the spiritual influences in these young men and women's lives.  In the ecumenical and spiritually pluralistic culture we live in, especially in a Military installation, it is vital that we are sensitive to other belief structures.  It will be our responsibility to work within the boundaries and guidelines the military has established for religious programs.  We are there to build up and encourage, to listen and to love, and to share our own stories and beliefs; how people respond to that is their own choice. 

By hosting events on base, anything from movies on the lawn to concerts or cookouts, I will be able to get to know some of these young people.  The flat where I will be living has an open door policy - if someone needs to talk or just to get away, that's what we're there for.  YFC has found that some of the most meaningful times happen off base.  One of my personal passions in ministry is helping people find boldness in being who they are in Christ.  Sometimes a great way to practice and develop that boldness is to put yourself in new situations.  The military and YFC has encouraged taking small groups of airmen on short trips across Europe.  These trips provide ample opportunity to go deeper in conversations and relationships by stepping out physically from the comfort zones we all try so hard to create for ourselves.

Life to the Full: My Personal Calling in Ministry

Clearly, at 24, I can't begin to fully grasp what God might want to do with my life.  What I do recognize are some of the themes and threads of passion that have characterized my life in ministry so far.  Namely, using music to worship God, communicate truth, and relate to people.  One of the nice things about being able to play an instrument is it tends to draw a crowd - a great way to meet new people.  I have a bachelors degree in Finance and over 2 years of experience working in the financial services industry with Northwestern Mutual.  Helping people manage their money and develop financial security is something I enjoy and care greatly about.  After sharing this with YFC they feel the airmen would benefit greatly from some solid financial wisdom in their lives as well. 

In a larger sense, my passion in minstry is one of helping people learn to pick their feet up and swim with the current of the Holy Spirit's moving.  We grow in Christ as we accept more of who he is in our lives.  We grow when we accept him as our strength.  We grow when we accept him as our joy.  Our faith must rest in specific promises of God, so knowing scripture is incredibly important.  I have found God very rarely works exactly the same way twice.  There is an unpredictability about God which can either make the Christian walk super exciting or desperately frustrating, and it all depends on our spiritual posture. 

One of my goals is to help these young men and women develop an appetite for God's will for their lives - whatever that might be.  John tells us that perfect love drives out fear.  I believe that the abundant life Jesus came to give us begins and ends in the freedom of being completely satisfied in our Savior God's love for us.  In that truth, we are free to love recklessly, free to speak boldly, and free to walk humbly with our God and his creation.  Thank you so much for your involvement in this ministry.  I'm so excited to share the fruit of what I know God can do.