Today I welcome as guest blogger Wendy Johnson, who works with my office as a social media consultant. Since taking her first job in youth ministry in 1999, Wendy has been an vocal advocate for the power of youth mission and pilgrimage experiences.

———————————-

Mission WITH Meaning

Mission trips and pilgrimages often form the cornerstone of youth ministry programs.

For most of us in youth ministry, our summer trips are behind us and we are taking a week or two break before we start preparing anew for next year’s program. That makes this the perfect time to reflect on our recent mission experience and to consider ways to continue to deepen our ministry.

This article by Sara Miles, The Most Important Word in the Bible, appeared on Episcopal Cafe a couple of days ago. Sara is Director of Ministry at St Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco and she’s the author of Take This Bread, Jesus Freak, and the upcoming release, City of God. As a lay person working in a church renown for its deep relationship with the community, Sara has been a consistent voice for grounded, faithful service and mission.

Having had the opportunity to travel on countless mission trips and pilgrimages over the years, I believe in the transformative power of these experiences. That’s why I highly commend this article to your reading and I hope that it inspires new dialogue in your faith community about how we can create ministry opportunities focused on abiding WITH rather than working FOR.

And, of course, I welcome your thoughts and impressions on this important topic.

God be with you.

Filed under: Mission